In this episode, I’m excited to share how Virtual Reality (VR) technology can transform career exploration for students by offering immersive, authentic experiences that bring a wide variety of professions to life. Through VR, students can virtually step into workplaces, try out job tasks, and gain firsthand insights into careers they might be interested in before entering the real world. As you listen, you’ll hear the two hosts discuss my publication, “Enhancing Career Exploration with Virtual Reality Technology,” which explores how to integrate VR into the classroom for meaningful career exploration.

Using Dr. Harapnuik’s COVA framework—Connecting, Ownership, Voice, and Authentic learning—this project demonstrates how VR empowers students to connect classroom learning to real-world careers, take ownership of their exploration, express their reflections, and engage in authentic learning opportunities. We’ll discuss examples from healthcare, the creative arts, and business, and address challenges such as cost and training. Additionally, we’ll offer practical strategies for educators interested in launching VR career programs in their classrooms.

My innovation plan and this project support forward-thinking digital learning initiatives designed to prepare students for their futures by enhancing career awareness and fostering self-directed learning through immersive technology. For access to this podcast, supporting materials, and my innovation plan, please visit the linked pages below.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: VR CAREERS

Podcast Episodes:

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: VR CAREERS

VR Podcast - September 24, 2025Beyond the Classroom: VR Careers

00:00 / 10:12

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Podcast Transcript

Developing the podcast

When I set out to create my innovation plan, I aimed to introduce new and exciting technology into the classroom for career exploration. Students in today's classrooms don't have the opportunity to see what real-world careers look like beyond a sheet of paper. For students on my campus, they are asked to sign up for their high school career path based on a class title and a teacher's name. Beyond that, they are at a loss for what we teach.

When asked to create this media project and develop a podcast about my innovation plan, I was excited. I wanted this to be something amazing that would really open people's eyes to the possibilities that lie out there for students. I have never created a podcast before; however, I was super excited to. There were two programs that I used the most, Notebook LM and Adobe Podcast.

I created my outline and talking points by combining my previous class material, my publication outline, my innovation outline from a previous class, and my literature review. I created my script for this podcast and used Notebook LM to help. Since I had never used this program before, it took me several attempts to get it correct. I even had to do the free trial to be able to play with it more than the default three uploads. Once I figured out how to use the program, I uploaded my script to the software and had it create my podcast using two hosts.

I had also talked to my school Librarian about using the AV equipment and podcast machine, but she was super excited to show me Adobe Podcast. She had just learned about it over the summer in one of her training courses and wanted to introduce it to the campus. She gave me a quick tutorial on how to use it, and then I was on my way. Had I not used Notebook LM, I had planned to record my podcast using this software.

I then downloaded my podcast file from Notebook LM and uploaded it to Podcast.Adobe.com. Then, I had Adobe transcribe it into text for me. The original audio file was 11 minutes and 35 seconds long. I used the edit feature to remove a lot of the filler words and conversations that didn't really flow or were unnecessary. I was finally able to get it down to 10 minutes and 11 seconds long. Since the transcript was generated by AI from the audio file, I had to refine the sentence structure and flow to ensure clarity. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, the hosts could never say 'COVA' correctly and kept calling it 'COVIA'. Then, I downloaded the file and placed it in my school's Google folder, where I cleaned up the transcript text, labeled and color-coded the two hosts, added category headers, and created a reference tab on the left.

After using both tools for my assignment, I can see how amazing and beneficial they are for students to use. I had never heard of Notebook LM or Podcast.adobe.com; however, as a Digital Art and Video Game teacher to 8th graders, I could see this being a really neat tool for students to learn and use in our class. I am always looking for new and fun technology to teach our students for exposure, and now I have a new challenge ahead of me: how to incorporate this into our lessons this year.