(July 30, 2024) In the coastal town of St. George, Maine, a unique educational project is underway. Thanks to a new virtual reality career exploration grant, St. George Municipal School Unit (MSU) is welcoming a virtual reality film crew to create immersive field trips that will transport students into the heart of two different industries located in Midcoast Maine.
This film crew is part of Be More Colorful, the North Dakota-based company that created the immersive career exploration platform, CareerViewXR. CareerViewXR has worked with students, educators, businesses, and state agencies to develop immersive virtual reality experiences that allow students to explore careers across sectors - especially in the trades and technical fields. Using footage of real professionals doing real work in real world work environments, they create interactive, web-based field trips that can be accessed by any device as well as virtual reality videos for VR headsets. Members of their team will be in the St. George area to film from August 4th-9th.
Last year, St. George MSU’s Superintendent, Mike Felton, applied for CareerViewXR’s inaugural production grant. After an application and interview process, the PK-8 school was selected as one of three winning schools from across the United States. The prizes awarded to the school included one 12-month subscription to the platform, two HTC VIVE virtual reality headsets, and two field trips produced in their region, an award valued at up to $100,000. Superintendent Felton shared, “I was fortunate to meet Be More Colorful's Co-founder and CEO, Matthew Chaussee, through the Yass Prize. Be More Colorful is based in North Dakota and Matt appreciated the challenges faced by - AND opportunities found in - rural communities. Here we are today, working together to find new ways to innovate, engage students, and support our local businesses.”
It just so happens that one of the individuals making the trek from North Dakota for filming is CareerViewXR CEO and Co-Founder, Matthew Chaussee. Matthew has visited Maine briefly in the past while on vacation, but this trip will allow him to gain insight into unique industries and meet lifelong residents who will share their perspective on what makes rural Maine a great place to live and work. “We are incredibly excited to work with St. George MSU and the communities it supports. We’re also grateful to the Yass Prize for putting St. George MSU on our radar and creating opportunities for our organizations to collaborate,” Chaussee remarked. “The growing strength of St. George MSU’s PreK-12 CTE programming is rare, and something that is truly special. We work in a lot of states and hear many people talk about earlier and more diverse career exploration. Here in Midcoast Maine, there is a group who is actually doing it,” he emphasized, “As a mission driven organization, this initiative is something CareerViewXR has to be involved with.”
This collaboration with CareerViewXR aligns with St. George MSU’s Career & Technical Education (CTE)/ Makerspace Project – a partnership with MidCoast School of Technology to develop the nation’s first PreK-12 CTE Program and construct a CTE/Makerspace Building next to St. George School. The new building will have a shop space for carpentry, metalworking, and boatbuilding as well as a Makerspace with 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, robotics, and sewing machines. The goal for the project is to provide a model for transforming education by ensuring all students, PreK-12, have access to hands-on and minds-on, technical learning connected to career and community.
When thinking about CareerViewXR production partners for the virtual field trips, Superintendent Mike Felton was quick to recommend Steel-Pro, in Rockland and Cushman Lobster Corporation in Port Clyde.
Through Steel-Pro, students will be immersed in the manufacturing of stainless-steel tanks, biopharmaceutical equipment, vacuum chambers and other custom designed equipment. “Steel-Pro being 100% Employee Owned, we’re all about our employees and that includes our future employees,” stated Steve Ladd, Steel-Pro President and CEO. He continued, “Collaborating with St George MSU, giving kids exposure to hands-on technical career opportunities has been an awesome experience. We are thankful to St George for letting us take part in their CTE journey.” When asked about his thoughts on working with CareerViewXR, Ladd shared, “CareerViewXR is such a great way to connect businesses and students in a fun and meaningful way. Our Steel-Pro crew is excited for the CareerView Team to be onsite and capture the cool things our Engineers, Fabricators, and Welders do every day. The days of meeting students for the first time at a career fair weeks before high school graduation need to be a thing of the past. Connecting with the K-8th students with VR technology will be revolutionary!”
The CareerViewXR library currently features an assortment of manufacturing-focused experiences. “We need to do more in this in-demand industry,” Matthew Chaussee insisted, “The addition of a field trip with Steel-Pro is going to add some great depth and breadth to our manufacturing modules while providing locally relevant content for the students of St. George MSU.”
Aboard the Fishing Vessel RYLEEFINN with Michael Cushman and Cassie Clough, people will experience what it’s like rising before dawn to spend the day hauling lobster traps in Penobscot Bay. “We are very happy to be helping with this project,” shared Cassie Clough, “Michael has had four children go through the St. George School and my daughter is going into 1st Grade there and I can say, without a doubt, the focus that our district and Mike Felton are putting on the trades and hands on careers is much needed in our community.” When asked about their hopes for the project, Clough stated “Our hope in being involved from the fishing side is to show that even with all of the challenges this industry is facing (over regulations, offshore wind, etc.), it can still be a career worth pursuing. Our coastal communities in Maine rely heavily on what lobstering brings economically to the area and it is still a very important part of Maine’s identity.” She continued, “It can be a physically demanding job, but you can’t beat the view or the things you get to see while out on the boat. We are excited to see how CareerViewXR will be utilized by the students to see those different job options, some of which they may have never given thought to.”
Working with Cushman Lobster Corporation will result in CareerViewXR’s first coastal-specific career experience. “While most of our experiences focus on in-demand industries and occupations that exist in most communities, we know that unique industries like lobster fishing are incredibly important to local economies,” Matthew Chaussee remarked. He added with a laugh, “We’re based in North Dakota, a state that is literally as far as you can get from any coastline.” Building this experience will provide schools in landlocked geographies around the country with information about careers in commercial fishing, an important component to the nation’s economy, especially Maine’s economy. “This opportunity to increase diversity of content in the CVXR platform while simultaneously supporting Maine’s lobster fishing industry was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up,” said Chaussee.
As production partners, Steel-Pro and Cushman Lobster Corp. will share their knowledge and allow the CareerViewXR film crew to film day-in-the-life experiences over the course of their stay in early August. The two finalized experiences will be added to the platform’s growing library of content featuring high-demand occupations, offering St. George MSU students, students across the country, and career seekers across the globe a glimpse into their industries.
The CareerViewXR Production grant will allow St George MSU to enhance students’ learning experiences and career exploration opportunities. According to Superintendent Felton, “Through the use of VR immersive experiences, CareerViewXR will provide a new, innovative way to engage students in learning connected to career and community. Working alongside local tradespeople and businesses, while utilizing cutting edge technologies, we’ll move toward our goals of re-engaging students in learning, helping them understand career opportunities in their community, and, ultimately, strengthening our local economy.”
After concluding filming in Maine, the CareerViewXR team will begin planning filming trips to other production grant winners’ communities in Illinois and Wisconsin. “We couldn’t be more excited to be kicking off production of the inaugural CareerViewXR production grant in partnership with our new friends from Midcoast Maine,” Matthew Chaussee beamed, “We’re grateful for this opportunity to take another important step toward our vision of making CareerViewXR accessible to every student in every state.” CareerViewXR intends to offer its production grant annually to connect with more deserving schools and educational organizations across the US and capture the careers that make their communities unique.
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CareerViewXR is an immersive career exploration platform that brings field trips to the classroom through 360-degree web-based tours and companion virtual reality videos. Students and adult job seekers alike can explore engaging experiences highlighting in-demand industries like skilled trades, healthcare, energy, manufacturing, technology, and more. Best of all – VR headsets are completely optional; the content is accessible on devices you already own – including laptops, cell phones, and tablets.
CareerViewXR Website: https://careerviewxr.com/
For media inquiries, please contact:
Maddysen Boecker, Communications Manager at CareerViewXR by Be More Colorful
(701) 353-2000 EXT. 704
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