The MiSTEM Network’s Greater West Michigan Region recently completed a pilot with Grand Valley State University for the Career ExplorationMap and is now scaling the project up to the entire state.
"The goal of the Career Exploration StoryMap is to help educators and students make more real-world career connections in their communities as well as provide a visual resource for students to locate businesses in STEM fields that offer high-wage and high-demand jobs. In addition to items such as apprenticeships and internships, the map can be viewed by individual industry clusters like agriculture, construction, energy, finance, healthcare, IT, manufacturing, and transportation. Although the map is very user friendly, the website does include directions.
The MiSTEM StoryMap aggregates data available from AtoZdatabases in MeL and uses it to build a tool that will help students and adult community members quickly filter, sort, and analyze data in STEM industries by county. Essentially, the interactive map answers the following questions:
- Where are the businesses in my community?
- What industry has the most growth?
- What are the hot jobs in my area?
- What growth do businesses project?
The information presented not only communicates the physical locations of business partners and industry clusters in Michigan, but it also helps students identify trends, patterns and opportunities to make better career decisions, which aligns with the guidelines in the Michigan Career Development Model. The MiSTEM StoryMap can also assist adults in preparing for higher education, credentialing, and the workforce.
Whether it’s genealogy research, test preparation, accessing eBooks, finding the perfect article, or the ability to aggregate data, the eResources in MeL provide much support to all Michiganders."
- Ann Kaskinen, MeL Engagement Specialist with the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services
