Written by: Monika Spaulding
When STEAM Lab Director Jessica Morgan recently attended a training at the Wilson Center, she learned about an opportunity to borrow equipment for extended learning options at Salem Schools.
After talking to Kristen Bailey, she put in a request to borrow VR headsets from the center that have videos about careers preloaded on them. Bailey’s eighth grade college and career classes were able to choose various careers to explore through a program called Career View XR.
“My eighth graders had the opportunity to use VR headsets to explore a wide range of careers beyond our local community,” said Bailey. “The students enjoyed being able to ‘step inside’ different jobs and see what the work environment and daily tasks look like in real life. I found the activity to be an engaging and powerful tool that brought career exploration to life in a meaningful way.”
The 360 videos on the headsets took students on the job and gave valuable information about various aspects of the particular job they were interested in. It allowed them to see the workplace environment and what kind of tasks are required for each job.
I thought it was very unique that they showed you the real job,” said eighth grader Kaison Eversole. “You got to watch people in action so you could understand the skills required. It felt like I was right in the hospital with the Registered Nurses.”
When students were not on the headsets, they were able to look at more on-the-job career videos on their Chromebooks. Morgan said students were very engaged and really seemed to enjoy this activity.
“I liked how interactive it was and how it showed all aspects of being a Criminal Investigator,” said eighth grader Breeley Brown.
Morgan is looking forward to utilizing more resources from the Wilson Center in the lab to enhance student learning.