The document summarizes a virtual career fair and job shadowing project held in 2010 in southeastern Pennsylvania. Over three days, the event included 8 live webinars attended by over 200 people and additional pre-recorded content. Feedback was positive about the convenience of the virtual format and ease of participation. Lessons learned included the importance of presenter preparation and interaction, advance technology testing, and expanded promotion. A related virtual job shadowing portal featuring video profiles of local professionals was also created to further career exploration.

1. SE PA Virtual Career Fair & Job Shadows 2010: Digital Services and Lessons Learned Presented by Michele Martin , Delaware County RCEP, Laura Heikkila & Laura McOdrum , Chester County RCEP and Michael Schweisheimer & Deb Arnold Brown , Primitive World Productions

2. Objectives Overview of the Virtual Career Fair Review “Lessons Learned” Overview of Virtual Job Shadow Project

3. The Virtual Career Fair

4. Our Goals Encourage you to: Try this concept in your area Join us next year

5. Going Regional—RCEPs Bucks Chester Delaware Lehigh Valley Montgomery

6. Target Audiences Students Parents Educators RCEP Network Youth-serving Organizations

7. Why go virtual? Convenience—for both the audience and presenters Archived materials for re-use Another way to get to parents and students Scalability & sharing—expand our reach Experiment with different technologies Go Green!

8. By the Numbers. . . 3 Days—11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m. 8 Live Webinars (now archived and available) 6 Pre-Recorded “Events” Dozens of resource and lesson links 1,304 visitors to our main website 5,389 page views 233 attendees at “live” events 104 members of our Virtual Career Fair Network

9. Topics for Webinars Summer Jobs How to Interview Employer Expectations PA High Priority Occupations How to Pay for College Alternative Pathways to Success—2+2+2 InterviewStream ExploreYourFuture.org Social Media for Parents (pre-Career Fair “marketing” webinar)

10. Technology Tools Customized Ning Network Wikispaces Twitter Facebook Google Docs Go-to-Webinar Vimeo

11. Google Docs—Planning Tool

12. Ning Network http://sepacareerfair2010.ning.com/

13. Google Analytics Says. . .

14. Traffic . . .

15. Virtual Career Fair Wiki http://sepacareerfair2010.wikispaces.com/

16. Presentation Pages

17. Promotional Page

18. Traffic April 2010 May 2010

19. Twitter

20. Promotion Online—Twitter, Email, Newsletters, Websites Schools Libraries Parent Groups—newsletters, state-wide PTA PA School Counselors Association Home School Groups RCEP Network Newspapers

21. What They Said. . . . N=42

26. What Worked? Technology Removed barriers for employer & school participation It was easy to access and participate—didn’t need to be technologically savvy to participate Practice sessions with presenters

27. Challenges Technology Promotion Scheduling Coaching/Preparation for Presenters

28. Lessons Learned The personality of the webinar presenter and their comfort level is CRITICAL. Use polls! Have two people to provide tech support (in addition to the speaker) Prepare, prepare, prepare

29. Lessons Learned Presenters should be conversational—need interaction & dialog Figure out how much planning time you will need—and then triple it! Test the technology ahead of time—a few times.

30. What We Want to Change Improve quality of presentations—more interaction, visuals Dates Try different webinar platform Expand offerings/events Build technology skills of team Survey participants ahead of time

31. Costs Ning, Wikispaces, Twitter, Google Docs, Facebook Fan Page—Free Go-to-Webinar—Free (used RCEP account) Vimeo--$9.95/month Promotion—Free (Press releases) Staff Time—approx. 200 hours

32. What Do You Need? Do it with an existing team—or build in a lot more time Teams/Individuals focused on: Technology Promotion of the event Recruiting presenters The right tools/software—you may have to pay!

33. What Do You Need? Instructions/resources to support users and make them comfortable—presenters & participants Flexibility Sense of humor Join our effort next year!

34. The Virtual Job Shadows

35. Objectives Provide online access to job shadow experiences for students Provide additional tools/resources to support career exploration Expose students to real-life careers in Delaware and Chester counties

36. Why go virtual? Reduce logistical challenges of field trips Scalability—expose more students to more opportunities Easier to supplement with resources Convenience for employers Connect to Virtual Career Fair

37. Virtual Job Shadow Portal Job shadow videos Associated labor market information Career assessment tools Forum for connecting to employers—virtual mentoring Create shared community

38. Primitive World Productions Experienced in creating job shadow videos, particularly in STEM careers Online and DVD content Responsive to our needs Fun to work with!

39. The Companies/Organizations Southco Sikorsky Global Helicopters Delaware County Community College STEM Center Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) Bentley Systems, Inc.

40. Value of Video in the Portal Tells stories, not just facts Engages students with relatable human experiences Demonstrates real-life career paths

41. Contact Us! Laura Heikkila -- LHeikkila@cceconomicdevelopment.com Michele Martin-- [email_address] Laura McOdrum-- [email_address] Michael Schweisheimer-- [email_address] Debbie Arnold Brown [email_address]