top of page
Cactus Plants

Influencer Strategy

Today, technology is changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) are becoming more prominent in our society. In 1968, Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull created the first VR headset-mounted display connected to a computer. In 2010, Palmer Luckey designed the first prototype of the Oculus Rift headset. By 2016, consumers could purchase the Oculus Rift for personal use. Technology in education is far behind the real world, but incorporating VR headsets into CTE courses will allow students to visualize a more realistic view of different careers. Using VR will allow students to experience potential careers in a controlled environment. It will also allow students the opportunity to enhance their critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities. Students will also gain valuable insights by discovering personal interests and aptitudes by interacting with virtual scenarios.​

What Results Do I Want To Achieve​
 

I want to incorporate VR headsets into CTE courses, allowing students to visualize a more realistic view of different careers.

​

  • Give students first-hand experience: This will allow students the opportunity to make better decisions about life beyond graduation.
     

  • Explore Careers: By allowing students the opportunity to use VR technology in a classroom setting, they will be able to experience potential careers in a controlled environment.
     

  • Empower Students: Allow students to enhance their critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
     

  • Uncovering Potential: Students will also gain valuable insights by discovering their personal interests and aptitudes through interaction with virtual scenarios.

 

​

How will I measure results?
 

I’ll use a combination of formative and summative assessments to assess the effectiveness of technology integration.

 

  • Research and poll former students to see if they followed their career choice.
     

  • Teacher and staff feedback on student assessments in class.
     

  • Formative: Pre-interest questions (how interested in careers before they are before using VR):​

  1. On a scale of 1-5, how interested are you in your chosen career path? (1 being not interested and five being very interested)

  2. What traditional methods or tools have you found most effective in preparing for your future career? (Please provide examples.)

  3. How do you believe that hands-on experience or real-world interactions have contributed to your career readiness compared to virtual experiences? (Please explain your thoughts.)

  4. Do you think that the absence of VR technology in your curriculum limits your understanding of your future career? Why or why not?

  5. What additional resources or support do you need to enhance your preparedness for your chosen career path? (Please list any resources or areas of support.)

 

  • Summative: ​Post-interest questions (how interested they are in careers after using VR):

  1. On a scale of 1 to 5, how confident do you feel about your career readiness after experiencing VR technology? (1 being not confident at all, and 5 being very confident)

  2. In what specific ways do you believe that VR technology has enhanced your understanding of your future career? (Please provide examples or experiences.)

  3. How has your engagement in class activities using VR technology influenced your interest in pursuing your chosen career path? (Please explain your thoughts.)

  4. Do you think that VR technology provides realistic experiences that can better prepare you for real-world challenges in your future career? Why or why not?

  5. What additional skills or knowledge do you feel you need to develop in conjunction with VR technology to feel fully prepared for your career? (Please list any skills or areas of expertise.

Vital Behaviors to Change

​

  • Student Engagement: Students will be able to use VR technology to see what encompasses each career.
     

  • Professional Development (PD): Teachers participate in professional development to better understand the equipment and help each other create lesson plans to maintain consistency across the district.
     

  • Peer support: Students support each other by helping troubleshoot each other when questions or problems arise.
     

  • Staff & Student Feedback: Teachers and students will be asked to provide feedback and fill out a Google form about their experience using a pre- and post-assessment survey.

Key Influencers

 

My key influencers are the following people:
 

    • Myself: Helping lead and maintain efforts by hosting a district training or smaller clusters of departments.
       

    • Teachers: CTE and CCR (College, Career, and Readiness) teachers help each other, troubleshoot issues that arise in class, lesson plan, and give feedback regarding what did and did not work.
       

    • CTE Coordinator & CTE Director: Supporting teachers with staff development days to lesson plan, talk about classroom assessments, and purchase devices.
       

    • School administrators: Supporting teachers with additional training.
       

    • District IT support team: Making sure that network issues are resolved with connectivity, the number of devices loaded onto the network, and the protection of student data.
       

    • The VR Company & its support staff: Continue to talk to them about upgrades/ repairs, software support, 

Climbing Plants on Stone Wall

SIX SOURCES OF INFLUENCES

image.png

Work with teachers on their conferences to see potential for bringing VR into course selections. Then help them lesson plan a lesson or two to get started.

Teachers meet monthly during a district scheduled professional development day. Teachers share "glows and grows" to foster a supportive environment.

Have a teacher that would like to take lead and be the point of contact. They can check in with others to see how they are doing and offer support.

Offer professional development at the beginning of the school year to prepare teachers on how to use VR technology in the classroom. Teachers use the VR technology to experience hands on and know more about the devices.

Incentivize teachers to be in the beta testing group with jean passes. In addition, offer a designated parking spots  in a prime location for those teachers using the VR with fidelity.

​

​

Once students have been able to use VR to assess carrer growth load other fun software and students can use it as a reward for meeting goals.

Plant Shop

References:

Barnard, D. (2024, October 17). Virtual Speech. History of VR- Timeline of events and tech

                development. https://virtualspeech.com/blog/history- of

                vr#:~:text=1968,simple%20virtual%20wire%2Dframe%20shapes

​​​​​​

Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The

               new science of leading change. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.​

​

Saldaña, C. M., Welner, K. G., Malcolm, S., & Tisch, E. (2021). Teachers as market

               influencers: Towards a policy framework for teacher brand ambassador

               programs in K-12 schools. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(109).

               https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.5654​​​​

bottom of page