CareerViewXR helps kicked off a $9.9 million contract to deploy XR learning solutions for youth and adults with disabilities
This week, CareerViewXR continued its year of education deployment success in North Dakota; the immersive education firm entered a $9.9 million contract via a partnership with Bismarck State College (BSC) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) to deploy XR learning solutions for youth and adults with disabilities.
The partnership is ongoing under the “XR for VR project” moniker, and it aims to boost digital vocational training alongside an esteemed list of additional North Dakota collaborators, including CareerViewXR, Impact Dakota, and ND Assistive. Moreover, additional out-of-state collaborators include LAB Midwest, CAST.org, and Immersive Reality USA, who are bringing the project to life.
Doug Jensen, the President of BSC, noted that “by promoting and building the capacity of all North Dakotans to support and participate in competitive integrated employment, we will overcome critical challenges on both sides of the employment equation.”
The partnership aims to boost accessibility to vocational training for students with disabilities by leveraging XR technologies and real-world manufacturing insights, helping those individuals gain valuable employment in the North Dakota region.
Alicia Uhde, the Project Director and BSC’s Dean of Automation, Energy, and Advanced Technologies, said:
XR for VR is designed to increase awareness among individuals with disabilities about available high-wage career opportunities in the manufacturing industry and educate employers about the untapped potential of this capable and eager workforce.
The immersive education solution replicates manufacturing environments, preparing students for real-world working environments. Meanwhile, the firms state that the XR for VR project will also aim to prepare employers by showcasing an “underrepresented and underestimated talent pool.”
Scaling Immersive Learning in North Dakota
Matt Chaussee, CEO of CareerViewXR, stated that through “the use of extended reality technologies,” North Dakota students with disabilities can have an “unprecedented opportunity to consider careers they previously thought were inaccessible.”
Following the launch of the XR for VR Projet, XR learning installations will take place across nine immersive learning spaces in North Dakota.
The immersive learning rooms allow students to access interactive XR without needing to use a headset device, allowing students to experience virtual working spaces via projected immersive environments. Although a headset option appears available, HTC VIVE devices are in the promotional images.
Chaussee also added:
This project will allow participants to become immersed in real-world manufacturing environments to see real people, just like them, thriving in the workplace, aided by the practical application of assistive equipment. Employers will also see firsthand how minor changes to a work environment can have a major impact on their capacity to hire perfectly capable individuals from the disability community.
Based on the success in North Dakota, the XR for VR project has the potential to scale beyond the region; “by supplying the right tools and providing training on how to use them, we’re ensuring that these individuals can thrive in careers that might have seemed out of reach before, creating both independence for them and bringing incredible value to employers,” remarked Chaussee.
North Dakota Deploys 300 HTC VIVE VR Headsets Statewide
Earlier this year, North Dakota received over 300 HTC VIVE VR headsets as part of a statewide initiative led by CareerViewXR in partnership with the trusted headset vendor; the distribution plan also involves integrating CareerViewXR’s first-party immersive learning platform into the headsets for deployment.
In an exclusive interview with XR Today earlier in the year, Chaussee added:
The overwhelming reaction has been positive. There have been some folks that have expressed concern, saying the best way for students to learn is to get there in person. I’m going to be the first person to say absolutely the best way is for them to experience it in person. But 99 per cent of the time, it’s not possible that’s where virtual reality provides a critical tool to assist with a gap that’s been there forever.
This initiative signifies a growing partnership between hardware provider HTC VIVE and CareerViewXR, as the firm distributes VIVE Focus Plus headsets to education groups in the North Dakota region. CareerViewXR also supported its statewide adopters in understanding the HTC VIVE devices, helping schools onboard and leverage its immersive learning service.
The CareerViewXR platform offers 360 interactive, immersive tours and trips, including VR videos, with a growing library of 65 experiences. The firm emphasizes how the immersive learning content library provides students a glimpse into professional working lives and environments in “in-demand” industries, thereby increasing career awareness.
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