Paducah Innovation Hub

The platform, CareerViewXR, is part of a new partnership with the Hub that allows students to explore different careers in depth without leaving their classroom.

“CareerViewXR is a series of immersive field trip experiences that are all filmed on real-world job sites,” explained Matt Chaussee, CareerViewXR’s co-founder and CEO. “We use virtual reality cameras to create web-based tours that students and job seekers can access on desktop, tablet, mobile, or any device they have access to. Plus, we create companion virtual reality videos that can be viewed in a virtual reality headset to completely immerse students in a day in the life of different in-demand careers.”

Chaussee founded the company in North Dakota with his wife and co-founder six years ago, starting with a small content library. Now, the company has extensive experience across many fields, works with schools in 25 states, and produces content in 10. Chaussee said he saw special opportunities to work in Paducah and decided to go through with it.

“We were looking at working with potential employers in the area for another project we’re working on with Kentucky schools, and we were introduced to Ingram Barge through Paducah Innovation Hub,” Chaussee said. “Through that introduction, we were able to create one of our first Kentucky experiences right here in Paducah.”

Through this partnership, Chaussee said CareerViewXR realized how special Paducah is and the career exploration opportunities here.

Some students from Paducah Middle School have been trying out the platform’s experiences over the past few days and have enjoyed them.

“Just seeing all around because on regular video you only see what they show you,” said Rashonna Walker, a student in the elective class at Paducah Middle School. “Because it’s VR, it’s fun because you can look around, you can see different places. If you were watching it, you would only see what they’re showing you, but in VR, you can look behind you and beside you, and it gives you a close-up and tells you everything they are doing.”

The platform got students excited to learn about new job fields, according to Todd Rushing, a teacher at both Paducah Middle School and the Hub. He said he has seen students get immersed in the technology and is excited to give his students more experience in different fields.

“I was introduced to the CareerViewXR right back before Christmas, that we were going to be getting it and using it, and I was excited because a lot of our students don’t get access and knowledge about other careers other than kind of what we teach them in school,” Rushing said. “When we were able to start doing it, it was really interesting to me as an adult, not knowing what those careers truly did. I knew at that point that my students would be really involved, and they would be like, oh, this is really cool.”

He also said that his students are having an experience he did not have when he was younger — one in which students can have more immersive experiences with possible jobs, rather than just being taught what they do in class.

“When we were younger, you had people tell you what you can do,” Rushing said. “ ‘Oh, this is here. Oh, you could go this route,’ but until you can truly immerse yourself in the job, you don’t really know. With CareerViewXR, that’s what our kids have the ability to do. They can really immerse themselves into those different jobs and truly see what’s there, versus me as a teacher tell him, ‘Oh, this is what a baker does’ or, ‘Oh, this is what a nurse does.’ They get to feel what it’s like to be in that job.”