Jexplore: Career exploration in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Jexplore connects students with the professional world through a diverse range of virtual reality experiences. The solution is designed for secondary school students and is used in a pedagogical context by teachers during workshop hours dedicated to career development.

Jexplore provides 80 immersive work modules across 20 professional sectors and qualification entry points, ranging from national vocational qualifications to PhDs. Through virtual reality, students have the opportunity to gain realistic insights into new work environments, broadening their career interests and aspirations.

Resource overview

Website: Jexplore

Students Video link

Above all, the virtual reality (VR) immersions should be considered as a pedagogical support used by teachers. Beyond the virtual reality experience, workshop frameworks and resources are provided for teaching staff.

The resource is modular and can be adapted according to the age and class of the students involved. Currently around 20 workshop themes are offered based on the needs and objectives of teachers to provide relevant, adapted and evolving content. A variation of these workshops is also planned for special needs classes with adapted content. In addition, around 100 individual pedagogical support resources (profession description, quiz, exercises) allow the teaching staff to create a personalized workshop.

Classes are divided into two groups of 15 students on average. The workshop generally lasts 1 hour and is conducted as follows:

• After the introduction and the presentation of the workshop's objectives, the students alternate between immersion in VR and collective reflection exercises drawing on the educational resources provided.

• These resources are built around the immersions, in order to ensure depth of learning.

• Over 1 hour, the students watch 4 immersions of 5 minutes each, which implies 20 minutes with the helmets on and 40 minutes of discussion and reflection.

Description of technology

Virtual reality headsets are used (Pico or MetaQuest).

An administration web platform allows the teaching staff to prepare the workshop by selecting the professions, the pedagogical theme and associated exercises.

The headsets include a viewing platform to browse the video catalogue sorted by a theme or a sector with a 3D description of a profession.

Each video, created and produced in-house, presents a job in 5 minutes. The immersions are scripted and written to be educational, didactic, easily understandable and accessible.

During the workshops, the VR presentations are projected using a video projector that shows the important points to remember and allows other students to follow the workshop in a fun and simple way.

How the resource makes career guidance more effective, efficient and/or equitable for students

Virtual reality has several advantages with regard to the career development of young people. Virtual reality:

• allows access to sites that are otherwise inaccessible e.g. operating room, dangerous construction site.

• gives access to young people living in remote areas far from employment areas with a low diversity of trades.

• is suitable for all types of learners, and allows students who are not well adapted to the traditional school system to better follow, memorize and retain information.

• allows the discovery of places and environments.

• can be adapted to different levels and ages of students and can be used in a wide variety of situations.

• is fun and arouses the curiosity of young people. The format is identified as "different and new" and group participation is excellent.

• also provides children from disadvantaged families with information about jobs and degrees that their parents and peers do not know about.

Challenges or potential barriers to use

The system is designed to be simple, accessible and mobile.

The only serious obstacle is logistical. Jexplore offers an all-in-one kit that is easy to transport, maintain and deploy, which greatly facilitates team buy-in and ensures frequent use in the classroom.

The Jexplore team are trained to handle the equipment in order to reach a sufficient level of mastery and confidence.

The resource is autonomous and does not require any other resources.

The resource is not free of charge.

Support for users

Users must be trained to master the technical aspect and the specific use of virtual reality in a learning environment. This training is done in 3 hours and the users are autonomous at the end of it.

Each training is adapted to the type of user and their type of audience (teachers with students, employment personnel with adults, educators with young people with special needs).

Further advice for users

These virtual reality workshops arouse the curiosity of young people and motivate them to get involved in their career development.

Witnessing real professionals allows students to identify themselves with role models and reduce self-censorship.

They show another facet of professions and the professional world, which makes career development less stressful for young people and reduces the pressure.

Additional details

 

Has the resource been…	Yes or No?	Description	Link
…informed by research?	Yes	Jexplore’s educational resources follow a strict protocol. The design is informed by scientific literature and the recommendations of institutions (Ministry of Education, ONISEP, guidance professionals, etc.). New approaches are piloted in the field on a small scale, before review with the teaching staff. In addition, a committee of experts meets several times a year. The committee brings together teachers, school management staff, educational experts and engineers, and representatives of institutions involved in the issue of school and career guidance.
…funded by government?	No
…recognized by peers?	Yes	Jexplore is recognised by the Academic Region of Île-de-France and is member of the EdTech Accelerator of the Banque des Territoires, a Deposits and Consignments Fund. Jexplore is a member affiliated of EdTech France and Afinef which group firms and NGOs of education and digital learning.
…evaluated?	No

This resource has been endorsed by College Villon in Paris, France.

Disclaimer: This content is provided by the submitting organisation.