Students at Davenport Assumption High School are discovering a new tool for exploring careers in the STEM fields. They can now take a virtual reality tour of sites where people in STEM-related professions work.
The phone-based virtual reality mobile app allows students to view interviews of people from around the country who are working at science, technology, engineering or math jobs. Assumption science teacher Wendy Martin says it’s not like watching television. She says when the students put on the special goggles, they join the action.
“They’re actually standing there with the person who is being interviewed," she says. "They can look around and they can see the environment the person is in, and they can actually watch the person do the job.”
Martin says in one case, they are pulled into a scene with a dairy farmer using new technology to milk his cows.
“When you put these goggles on, you’re on the farm," she says. "The cows are all around you, and you are standing right there with the people being interviewed. Short of actually being there, that’s hard to beat.”
Davenport virtual reality provider VictoryVR developed the app. A $25,000 grant from the state and matching corporate contributions paid for its design.