Saint Joseph's University Magazine News

Skill Building in Virtual Reality

Academics Saint Joseph’s School of Education and Human Development recently received a grant from Floreo VR to conduct research in schools with neurodiverse students.

Have you ever wished you could do a practice run on a hard conversation? Do you wish there was some way to do a dress rehearsal for a big presentation? While these are typical anxieties that everyone faces, they can disproportionately affect those on the autism spectrum. Floreo Virtual Reality (Floreo VR) has developed tools to alleviate these anxieties.

Floreo VR is a technology-based intervention and support platform that allows educators to motivate and engage their students in practicing skills they would like to learn using virtual reality. Saint Joseph’s School of Education and Human Development recently received a grant from the tech company to conduct research in schools with neurodiverse students using its VR headsets.

“This will be one of the first studies that puts the microphone in the hands of educators to provide direct input and feedback.” - Joseph McCleery, PhD

Practicing realistic conversations with similarly aged peers in virtual reality can help neurodiverse students feel more confident and better prepared for these interactions in the real world. But it goes beyond simple social anxieties. Simulating shopping in a virtual supermarket, for example, can also help students be more successful on their own trips by allowing them to practice real-world skills without the consequences.

“VR can be particularly useful for educators who teach students who need more practice in order to gain confidence and be successful," says Joseph McCleery, PhD, assistant professor of psychology and executive director of academic programs at the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support.

Saint Joseph’s has been working with Floreo since 2018 when McCleery joined the University from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Center for Autism Research. 

The University secured an additional $450,000 in funding for research into the impact of Floreo VR on learning in schools for individuals who are neurodiverse.

“A large and rapidly growing number of technologies have been developed and deployed in schools for use by educators with their students, but little research has been conducted to obtain input or feedback from the educators themselves regarding whether the technology-based intervention is useful and effective,” says McCleery. “This will be one of the first studies that puts the microphone in the hands of educators to provide direct input and feedback.” 

In order to execute on this research, McCleery is working with two undergraduate research assistants — Lenore Shaffer ’23 and Jules Spara ’23 — who will be responsible for measuring conversational and emotional self-regulation behavior change. 

“VR can be particularly useful for educators who teach students who need more practice in order to gain confidence and be successful." - Joseph McCleery, PhD

But how do you measure something so inherently internal? Shaffer and Spara will begin conducting pre-training and post-training assessments of each of these skills within the VR platform itself to establish an objective measure of skill progress. These assessments will be considered alongside educator reports on student skill development to create an ecologically valid measure of meaningful progress in the students’ targeted skills.

“Floreo always takes direct and timely action based on the feedback provided by educators in their studies,” says McCleery. “We’re looking forward to seeing how this platform can improve the teaching and learning experience for our neurodiverse students.”

Practice Makes Perfect (Pitch)

Academics Saint Joseph’s inaugural North East Sales Tournament (NEST) made its debut in the University’s new Sales Excellence Center, featuring Perfect Pitch and Role Play sales competitions. Not only do students have the opportunity to hone their sales skills at these events, but they also frequently walk away with interviews lined up and full-time job offers.

Marketing major Julia Butler ’23 ended the fall semester with more than she expected. Not only did the graduating senior and student body president win first place in both rounds of Saint Joseph’s first-ever NEST sales competition (earning her $2,000), but she also landed a full-time job with event co-sponsor Gartner, a technology research and advisory company that’s ranked No. 4 by Forbes as one of the top 10 companies to give the toughest job interviews.

The NEST, or North East Sales Tournament, pitted 29 students from Saint Joseph's, Temple and West Chester Universities against one another for a day-long competition in SJU’s new Sales Excellence Center. Students were given a hypothetical case study from Gartner and co-sponsor Paycom about a company that needed to cut costs while also improving its online customer experience.

During round one, Role Play, students had nine minutes to pitch their solution to the buyer in an office setting equipped to livestream to a panel of judges. In round two, Perfect Pitch, competitors had just 90 seconds to make their elevator pitches. 

The champions of the Role Play round concluded the day with a curveball case, during which the “buyer” had been fired and the student now had to present to another colleague who demanded quicker action and shorter timelines.

“I was anxious about the competition as it was my first time performing as a seller,” says marketing and business intelligence and analytics double major Julianne McGuire ’23, who won second place in the Role Play competition. “As each round went on, though, I could feel myself becoming more confident. [NEST] opened my eyes to the field of sales, as I discovered a passion for problem-solving and connecting with people.”

Igniting a passion for selling and problem-solving was one of the reasons Saint Joseph’s new Sales Excellence Center was established. Located in Mandeville Hall, the suite features four simulation rooms for interview practice and buyer-seller competitions and a meeting room for Saint Joseph’s Sales Club.

“The people at the competition could not believe the facilities,” says Donald Townsend, MBA, associate professor of practice in sales and marketing strategy, advisor for the Sales Club, head of the sales certificate program, and lead organizer of NEST. “We had [judges] all over the country and were able to calculate the winners in about 15 seconds,” he says, noting that other competitions can run well into the night just to tabulate first-round winners. 

The Sales Excellence Center is not only a physical space but it also comprises all of the students enrolled in the University’s sales certificate program. Saint Joseph’s is one of 50 universities in the National Collegiate Sales Competition to offer the certificate, which gives students a leg up both in the world of sales competitions and in the job market.

“All of our students enrolled in the certificate program who competed in a sales competition this fall had jobs lined up and other companies knocking at their door by November.” - Donald Townsend, MBA, associate professor of practice in sales and marketing strategy

“All of our students enrolled in the certificate program who competed in a sales competition this fall had jobs lined up and other companies knocking at their door by November," Townsend says. "If you have the certification, you can start a job six months to a year ahead of everyone else, and you usually earn 20-25% more salary because you’re trained at the University.”

Butler echoes the value of the certificate and Sales Excellence Center.

“Becoming involved in the sales program and working with Professor Townsend opened up so many doors for me, including an initial interview [with Gartner], three more after that and ultimately a full-time job,” says Butler.

How’s that for a win?

Seen and Heard

Academics Whether they were on the radio, your favorite podcast app, broadcast TV or in print, Saint Joseph's faculty spent the last year sharing their expertise on hot topics in the media.

Humanoid Robot Makes Hawk Hill Debut

Academics Perhaps you’ve caught a glimpse of Saint Joseph’s new artificially intelligent robot at an open house or in Mandeville Hall’s Haub Innovation Center. Now, you’ll have an opportunity to name the four-foot-tall bot.

Vote to Name Pepper

Artificial intelligence is all around us, from our Zoom calls and car navigation systems to our social media feeds and digital assistants. Now, an artificially intelligent robot is helping students learn computer programming skills and greeting families on Saint Joseph’s campus.

Standing at just four feet tall, the fully programmable robot (whose factory name is Pepper) is capable of conversations, expressive movements and even recognizing human emotion. It’s a humanoid robot, meaning that its shape resembles that of a human, complete with an articulating torso, limbs, head and hands.

 

 

The bot arrived at Saint Joseph’s after Haub School of Business Dean Joseph A. DiAngelo Jr, EdD ’70 saw the robot at the Paris School of Business during an AACSB accreditation visit.

“It was impressive,” he says. “I knew Pepper would be a great way to promote our business school and give students the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning with artificial intelligence while having fun at the same time.”

Shipped less than a week before the University’s fall open house, the robot underwent a mini hackathon with graduate and undergraduate students, organized by Marcello Balduccini, PhD, assistant professor of decision and system sciences, and director of Haub Innovation Center.

“We had the program written and running ahead of time but from Tuesday through Sunday, we had to work on the finishing touches,” Balduccini says, “much of which included the physical movements and motions of the joints.”

The android comes with three different programming options to accommodate varying levels of expertise. The simplest option allows programmers to build a presentation that displays on the robot’s chest, which is accompanied by corresponding gestures. The other options include hard coding using a programming language like Python, and a middle-of-the-road option — selected by Balduccini and his students — which uses drag-and-drop functions to program movement, speech and the tablet.

“Artificial intelligence forces us to basically teach a computer how to solve problems in precise terms. It takes mental discipline and teaches students problem-solving skills.” - Marcello Balduccini, PhD, assistant professor of decision and system sciences, and director of Haub Innovation Center

“I was amazed by all that our team was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Many of us had programming experience, but nobody had worked on anything similar to the robot before. It was a real learning experience,” says Andrew Holmberg ’23.

The robot’s open house premiere was well received, during which it greeted and interacted with over 25 prospective students and their families.

“Artificial intelligence forces us to basically teach a computer how to solve problems in precise terms," says Balduccini. "It takes mental discipline and teaches students problem-solving skills.” 

The humanoid robot isn’t the only futuristic technology housed in the Innovation Center; it also boasts home automation technology, including Google Home minis and WiFi-enabled outlets; Meta Quest virtual reality headsets; Ray Ban smart glasses and more.

“I was amazed by all that our team was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Many of us had programming experience, but nobody had worked on anything similar to the robot before. It was a real learning experience.” - Andrew Holmberg ’23, machine learning and artificial intelligence major

Balduccini plans to launch an initiative where students can submit proposals on how they’d like to leverage the Center’s technology. He’s also looking forward to further integrating the Center into workshops, classes and research opportunities.

“I see the physical space as a co-working space where faculty and students can each carry out their own activities and, through the magic of physical coexistence, start working together," Balduccini says. "The hope is that new and cooler things will ultimately come out of it.”