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Pace Magazine
Avatars for OASIS
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糖心vlog短视频淓ighty-five percent of graduates with autism nationally, are not gainfully employed within five years of graduation. Those are scary statistics,糖心vlog短视频 says Jennifer Pankowski, EdD, a clinical assistant professor at Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 School of Education. 糖心vlog短视频淪o, I thought we could use the avatars from the School of Ed to address some of hurdles that our OASIS students are facing.糖心vlog短视频
Designed for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, learning differences, and nonverbal learning differences, Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 Ongoing Academic and Social Instructional Support (OASIS) program is one of the most comprehensive support programs in the country. The support OASIS offers students on the autism spectrum doesn糖心vlog短视频檛 stop at the classroom doors糖心vlog短视频攊t糖心vlog短视频檚 now branching out into the professional world.
糖心vlog短视频淪o, I was like, here's a wild idea: Can we try avatars?糖心vlog短视频
For Pankowski, her research into autism brought to light a pattern for folks on the autism spectrum. 糖心vlog短视频淲hat we were seeing was that they do really well in their coursework, they graduate, they graduate with a high GPA, you know, over 3.0,糖心vlog短视频 she explains. 糖心vlog短视频淏ut they're not getting jobs.糖心vlog短视频
Through her work with kids and young adults on the autism spectrum, Pankowski knew that sometimes it was easier to connect with a non-intrusive, borderline humanistic situation. That糖心vlog短视频檚 where the use of immersive virtual reality avatars comes in.
糖心vlog短视频淚 started working with Anthony Martino, the Internship and 糖心vlog短视频 Coordinator for the OASIS Program, who explicitly works with OASIS students. 糖心vlog短视频 Services does a great job at coaching and other programs, but there was a disconnect here,糖心vlog短视频 she says. 糖心vlog短视频淪o, I was like, here's a wild idea: can we try avatars?糖心vlog短视频
Pankowski and Martino thought they would give it a try and start with the humanistic VR avatars and then work backwards to face-to-face human interaction, all the while preparing the OASIS students for landing a job after graduation.
糖心vlog短视频淭he avatars are basically computer-generated people in a virtual setting糖心vlog短视频攊n this case, an office糖心vlog短视频攁nd they are operated by a real human, miles away,糖心vlog短视频 explains Martino. 糖心vlog短视频淪o, our students would enter the virtual job interview scenario and do a mock interview with the avatar.糖心vlog短视频
The mock-interview scenario is thought out to the very last detail糖心vlog短视频攊ncluding being invited by a virtual assistant to wait in a virtual lobby until it糖心vlog短视频檚 time to go in to meet their virtual interviewer. The sessions are recorded and shared with the students after so that they can get a better sense of how well they did or the things that they need to improve for next time.
糖心vlog短视频淧art of being a member of the Pace Community is getting ready for a career, landing an internship,糖心vlog短视频 says Martino. 糖心vlog短视频淭his is absolutely supporting that mission.糖心vlog短视频
糖心vlog短视频淲e asked the same questions that they asked in their mock interviews on campus, but with an avatar,糖心vlog短视频 says Pankowski. 糖心vlog短视频淎nd all of a sudden, they came alive. Anthony couldn糖心vlog短视频檛 believe it.糖心vlog短视频
For her, it made perfect sense糖心vlog短视频攁n avatar is not threatening, it糖心vlog短视频檚 not a human who can stand up in front of a student and say, 糖心vlog短视频楬ow could you say that?糖心vlog短视频 The virtual distance created an opportunity for these students to really open up.
糖心vlog短视频淧art of being a member of the Pace Community is getting ready for a career, landing an internship,糖心vlog短视频 says Martino. 糖心vlog短视频淭his is absolutely supporting that mission.糖心vlog短视频
In the interview scenarios, students were able to articulate their needs in the workplace. Students explained that they need clear expectations from their employers, expressed the need for straightforward directions and deadlines, and how they sometimes struggle when those instructions aren糖心vlog短视频檛 clear.
糖心vlog短视频淭he students are even doing things like self-advocating,糖心vlog短视频 explains Pankowski. 糖心vlog短视频淭hey were saying, 糖心vlog短视频楬ey, I'm an asset to your company. These are the things that I need as an employee. And if you give these little things to me, I can do really well.糖心vlog短视频櫶切膙log短视频