UO Professor Equips Oregon Middle and High School Students with Virtual Career Counselor

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Oregon high school students can now have a head start when it comes to choosing a career path, thanks to a new ai-powered tool developed by a University of Oregon journalism professor.

Ed Madison, professor and media researcher at the UO School of Journalism and Communicationcreated Sassy, ​​a professional online coach that has been officially adopted by the state of Oregon. Sassy, ​​short for Sasquatch, the mythical creature believed to roam the forests of the northwest, joins the collection of other artificial intelligence technologies developed by the Journalism Learning Initiativea nonprofit organization co-founded by Madison that is committed to empowering students and teachers with educational programs and resources.

“ai allows us to do things like democratize tutoring so that families who can't afford to hire a private tutor or counselor have access to this individualized coaching,” said Madison, executive director of the initiative.

The group has a selection of ai guides for story writing and development, including a call Murrow which launched in 2023 and has provided feedback to 60,000 users in news journalism, Madison said. Sassy is the organization's first career connection tool, providing students with guidance on how to brainstorm career and business paths; write emails, cover letters and resumes; and preparation for interviews.

Sassy was developed in partnership with the Oregon Department of Education, Southern Oregon Educational Services District, and Massachusetts Institute of technology Play Labs in response to the need for students to start exploring careers sooner. Research across the country has shown that early career discussions make the core content of classwork more relevant, help students better plan for their future, increase school attendance, and improve emotional and mental well-being. of students, according to Beth Molenkamp, ​​coordinator of the state Career-connected learning program.

“We really wanted Oregon students to see the wide variety of careers available to them, the remarkable post-secondary training opportunities that exist, and support them in finding careers that fit their aptitudes and interests here in our state,” Molenkamp said. in an emailed statement. “We want them to see that Oregon is a great place to stay, learn and work. “Sassy uses employment data to ensure students also know the most in-demand careers.”

The developers said Sassy is trained on a variety of career readiness documents and resources generated by the state Department of Education. Stays current through real-time industry and institutional reporting on Oregon's labor market and educational opportunities. And it does not require or request personal data and has built-in guardrails to provide age-appropriate content.

Sassy is not intended to replace human advisors, Molenkamp said. Instead, he hopes students will use the chatbot to start career planning conversations that will continue in person with important adults in their lives.

“Our intent is to provide some relief to guidance counselors, as we know the student-to-counselor ratio is very high,” Madison said. “So if a student can do some preliminary work with Sassy, ​​print it out, and come to the orientation session with that in hand, the session will be much more valuable.”

Zach Knapp, a career and technical education teacher at Vale Middle School in eastern Oregon, and his students were some of the first to try Sassy earlier this year. He said he saw how the platform provided a safe conversation space for his students to comfortably ask any questions about future careers.

With safety barriers in place directing Sassy to avoid and discourage conversations about sensitive or personal matters, Knapp said that as a teacher, he felt safe offering access to technology.

“This tool gives them the opportunity to ask questions that they might be afraid to ask me or their parents, and it's smart enough to give them smart answers and solid advice, which I think is the most amazing thing,” Knapp said.

Knapp plans to integrate Sassy into her future curriculum to help high school students get started with career planning. High school is where children have some of their first opportunities to think and make decisions regarding their educational career, she said, “and I want to try to help them understand that those choices can have a very real and significant impact on what's next.” next”. after high school.”

“I want people to know that it is entirely possible for children this age to have serious conversations and thoughts about what their future might be,” Knapp said. “With a tool like Sassy, ​​along with other state resources, we can make an impact by helping every student complete their public education with an idea of ​​why this is what they need, rather than just going through the process.” to graduate. .”

Madison said the development team is looking to make Sassy more accessible and useful to students and communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds. They also plan to expand and localize similar professional ai trainers in different states.

“I'm grateful that we reside in a state that thinks about the future,” Madison said. “There is a frontier spirit in Oregon that I love and drew me to want to live here. We are open to discovery and I think that is the essence of the UO and the State. That is why we can proudly say that we are leading the nation in the adoption of this type of technology.”

this story originally appeared on the University of Oregon site and is republished with permission.