This past summer, the William S. Hart Union High School District began implementing virtual reality headsets into its career technical education courses. With the new school year starting, the Career and College Readiness Department is preparing to integrate these headsets into its regular school year CTE courses.
Carolyn Hoffman, director of the CCR department, said she heard about the virtual reality platform Transfr at a workshop and thought the technology would be able to help provide practice and expand access for students.
“We started looking more into it and the grants that we apply for annually that sustain the equipment and materials and opportunities for the CTE students, they’re really looking for ensuring that we’re providing access and equity for all students in the Hart district,” said Hoffman.
With the grant funds, the department was able to buy 10 headsets. The headsets were brought into the summer courses in July to see how students would adjust to them. Hoffman said they received positive and exciting feedback from students and teachers who were able to test the devices. With this positive feedback, Hoffman said the next step is to implement the headsets in the junior high CTE courses.
“My team is actually going to be working in collaboration with the teachers, so that the teachers can see it working in their classroom,” said Hoffman. “The students will have the opportunity to try it, and then we will be able to roll out even more intense professional development for our teachers, so they can start to collect some of the information on what the students are really skilled at.”
Transfr’s virtual equipment provides students with a printout of what skills they are good at and what they can work on through adaptative technology. With this technology, students can explore fields they have interest in and see where their skills align most or learn what skills it takes in a safe and immersive environment.
“It really helps provide exploration, even for our students with disabilities,” said Hoffman. “There’s coaching that is provided, which provides the opportunity for students to try something. If they’re not performing at the mastery level, they can go back in with a supportive coach to get feedback and then continue to master that.”
Another feature is that the technology is translatable, said Hoffman. If a student’s native language makes it easier for them to learn, the coaching can be set to it.
There are over 300 simulations offered that support 23 high-priority careers in California. Students will have access to all the high-priority careers so they can explore, develop their skills, and build their workplace knowledge to set them apart after graduation.
“We’re just really excited. This is an opportunity for us, in a really safe way, to bring more advanced virtual reality and AI opportunities for our students,” said Hoffman. “It aligns beautifully with our strategic plan, where our goal is really to make sure that all of our students graduate opportunity-ready, and the CTE classes provide our students not only with academic knowledge, but also technical and professional skills.”
