Career High:A Heinz Endowments Project

Cecile GaleaMelanie LamSerena LamBim MajekodunmiSeema Moorjani

Project Purpose

To create a fun website that allows HS students to assess their talents and explore career options available

• Heinz Endowment– Suzanne Walsh

Program Officer Economic Opportunity

– Lyceum Group

Howard HeinzFounder of Heinz Endowments

Why & Why Us?• Lyceum Group

– www.keys2work.com

• Why is a website needed? – student & guidance counselor

relationships– seek career advice, anonymously– create a novel interactive experience

Focus Group: Audience

• High school students (9-12th graders)• All females

• All college-bound students

Next: more diverse group

Focus Group: What’s Available

• High School guidance counselors not very helpful for career guidance

• Assessment tests are useless and B-O-R-I-N-G!

Focus Group: Recommendations

• Interviews with professionals in industry• Internship opportunities in certain careers• Ability to save information and take notes

on different fields• Opportunity to discover rare career fields• Advice: Don’t have too much to detract

from the overall goal of discovering careers

Lyceum Research5 Basic Elements for Career Development:

1. Self Discovery

2. Career Exploration

3. Career Decision-Making

4. Job Search Planning

5. Career Maintenance

Goal of Career High

• Get students to access career information in a fun engaging way

• Get students to successfully “graduate” by achieving a certain rank (eg. cadet, agent)

• Create a “Career Story” specific to each individual

Style Research1. Character Styles2. Website styles3. Location styles

Icon styleNavigation Bar

Stylized Vector Graphics

BrainstormingWhat makes a website

fun?• Personalization: general

style, music, layout design, customization

• Theme: an analogy that users can relate to

• Interactive Features: Assessment tests, emails, forum, messaging, decision trees,etc…

BrainstormingWhat else makes a website

fun?• Non-Interactive Features: Articles, interviews, videos,

random facts,

• Special User Features: Collectables, U-bucks (point system), search engine

Style Render Test

How does it work?

• Five "worlds“ • Highly interactive worlds using Flash,

and 3d environments rendered out as vector graphics

• Incentives and reward system: – Knowledge bar– Items to personalize site– Ranking system based on completing

assessments/ participation level

• Personal Avatar to guide, prompt • Personalized locker

• Each World:– Accomplishments– Facts collection– Mini games/ activities

Features

Flow Chart

Location: Front page

Functions: - Create user ID/ password

- Create Profile

- Receive Locker Number

Tour or Library

NoYes

Location: LibraryFunctions: - user can search for information on specific careers

Library

Registration

Location: TourFunctions: - user can navigate around the site but cannot take assessments/ save results - User can read any information posted.

Tour

Location: Home Page

Functions: - Inventory: user discover their locker

- Hints specified them to take assessment test in student lounge

World 1

Location: Student Lounge

Functions: - user can take assessment tests and obtain a reference score (locker combo)

World 2

World 3 World 4

World 5

Worlds

Take assessment test

Career High

• Gender neutral theme, students can relate to it

• School metaphor throughout entire site

• Building up an individual’s “career story” as the student navigates the site.

Heinz Recommendations

• Change Name Career High• Promote Southwestern Pennsylvania• Style needs to be more mature• Incorporate “Dream Robber”• Create Bulletin Board for a site

regulator to post links and articles

Milestones