Distance Learning & Virtual Job Exploration

 Hi Guys!

I know a lot of us are struggling right now when it comes to teaching hands on job skills to our learners during this challenging period. For those who are teaching in person, there are likely many restrictions which do not allow your students to work in the community or really even around the school itself on top of limiting shared materials, teacher prompting and proximity, etc. For those like myself who are teaching remotely, it feels impossible. But it isn't. None of this is ideal, that's certainly true. However, there are LOTS of ways you can continue to work on exploring careers and learning job skills virtually!

There are two main ways I have worked on these skills since distance learning began in the spring and I am hoping to expand on how I address these needs this fall:

1. Career exploration videos: 

• I have used a TON of videos from Career One Stop in lessons with my students. I do really like this website because they have lots and lots of videos and other information related to lots and lots of jobs. My only challenge with this website is that the videos themselves generally were fast paced and covered a lot of content in a short time, making it hard for some of my students to really follow what was happening. This varied by video & I have some students who these videos worked great for. Definitely worth checking out. 
• I have also found LOTS of great videos on YouTube (always preview these videos before sharing with your students, and I advise using the Safe You Tube website to generate a link that will only grant access to that video rather than allow your students to click and scroll their way through questionable content on YouTube...). I found so many videos which were an actual walk through of the job or provided a clear model of specific job tasks for things like stocking supplies or merchandise, busing a table, and more! 
• It takes some patience as you wade through all that is out there, but there are definitely worthwhile videos within both of these sites (and likely other websites as well!).

2. Simulated Job Tasks: There are plenty of ways to approach this, here are some of my ideas as well as ways I have approached this so far.

• BOOM Cards -  There are TONS of free career focused activities out there! I know there are lots of high quality paid resources as well. There are lots of you out there creating your OWN BOOM decks - well you impress me! I have yet to even try, though it is on my list so maybe that will change soon. 
• Interactive Google Slides - I have been working very hard on this, as I always believe that our students do best with HANDS ON practice. Although these digital practice activities look different from what our students will face once they are out in the workforce, the simulated tasks still allow the student to practice skills related to the job as well as get a feel for their skill and interest in this area.
• Here are some of the resources I have created!
• Job Skills Bundle for Google Slides
  
• Job Exploration Bundle for Google Slides
  
• Google Forms - I typically had students reflect on the job using forms so I knew the work was completed, as well as had a record of what they did and their preference. I usually began the form by having the student recall some information about the job (e.g., job title, tasks completed at this job, etc.) then asked them to indicate if this is a job they would like to try in the future. I also at times put in questions which required the student to demonstrate that they knew how to perform the task - e.g., determining if shelves were stocked correctly, identifying the proper cleaning tools needed for a job, data entry, etc. 
• Suggestions for Simulating Jobs at Home 

3. Putting it all together: In the spring I generally did the following:

1. Question of the Day Related to the job I planned to address *I used a combination of Vocational Questions of the Day from Adulting Made Easy as well as questions I created specifically for my own learners.
2. Simple written explanation and/or a video about the job (See #1 above)
3. Simulated, Interactive Job Tasks (See #2 above)
4. Reflection: Some of this was done verbally or via chat features during a live lesson, other times this was completed via a google form.

One NEW way I plan to work on this in the fall is using Virtual Job Fairs. This will allow learners to select jobs they wish to learn about, research them, practice some skills related to the job and reflect afterwards! I am SO excited to introduce this to my students and am hoping it will be a fun way to approach this need in an unideal situation. 

Although I am still working on it, here is a quick clip of what this looks like so far:

Virtual Job Fair 

EDIT: Since this blog post was written, I have created a Virtual Job Fair Template FREEBIE. You can find it in my TPT Shop, or CLICK HERE to check it out!

What are some other ways you are addressing this with your students? I know this is a challenge, but we do need to continue to provide transition services to our students, even remotely, and honestly for me it is one of my favorite parts of work - so I am very excited to still be able to work on these skills!

Best of luck this school year, I know you're all out there giving it everything you can. 

Take care of yourselves!

~Kristine