City of Learning
Recognizing learning and achievement anytime, anywhere with digital badges and enriching summer experiences.
Young Naturalists spend summer outdoors learning about the environment and gaining unique work experience
Frick Park, July 2014 photo: Ben FilioTurning the entire city into a campus for learning
From 2014 to 2016, The Sprout Fund worked with local and national partners to promote digital badges for learning. Like badges earned in scouting, digital badges recognize learning wherever and whenever it happens: in classrooms, in libraries, in city parks, and more.
Sprout led local and national conversations about this new model’s potential to transform how employers and educators recognize and reward learning. This work was closely aligned with our stewardship of the Remake Learning Network and its efforts to make remarkable learning opportunities available to all youth in the greater Pittsburgh region.
With City of Learning, our region joined a national movement to develop digital badges for learning to help young people explore their interests, develop new skills, and connect with real-world opportunities. In 2014 and 2015, Pittsburgh was one of the four vanguard cities piloting this approach, and we were one of 12 Cities of Learning nationwide using the LRNG platform in 2016.
Through this program, more than 6,000 students across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County had the opportunity to earn more than 8,000 digital badges through participating in summer programs in schools, museums, libraries, and learning spaces across the city.
To develop this new learning ecosystem, Sprout worked behind the scenes to coordinate the tools, trainings, and support that educators would need to translate their existing learning programs into the language of digital badges. We built major partnerships with regional institutions, hosted large-scale events to focus community attention on this opportunity, and developed tools and resources used in Pittsburgh and across the country.
Along the way, we enlisted the expertise of local community members, documented our work, and shared what we learned.
Program In Brief
Years Active
2014–2016
Total Investment
$349,000
Funded Projects & Events
72
Participating Organizations
55
Participating Youth
6,000+
Digital Badges Earned
8,000+
Competencies Developed
Local Employers Engaged
50+
What We Learned
Pittsburgh City of Learning Program Recap
Looking back at how youth in Pittsburgh spent their summer 2015 learning new knowledge and skills and earning digital badges.
Funded Project Highlights
Summer Learning Partners
Sprout supported 45 summer enrichment programs in 2014 and 2015 that provided 6,000 young people the chance to explore their interests, develop new skills, and connect to real-world opportunity. We recruited a cohort of smaller-scale partners who we led through a series of trainings and engagement activities to help them develop badges to reward their students for their achievements in these organizations’ summer programs.
We also built relationships with 3 major citywide partners: our public school system, our public library system, and the local workforce investment board, which champions our region’s summer youth employment program.
Finally, Sprout hosted several community events each summer to help build awareness of innovative learning activities available to youth and families throughout the city.
The Labs @ CLP
Developing digital badges to motivate teens to stick with summer reading and to reward developing skills in digital media learning programs from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
The Labs @ CLP
$6,500 » Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 2015 City of Learning project support
City of Learning 2015 Partnership with The Labs @ CLP and Summer Reading Program - Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP), a project of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, created opportunities for youth to explore new interests and continue learning throughout the summer months to help students maintain or increase academic gains achieved during the school year. The project engaged youth via two distinct programs: The Labs @ CLP and the Summer Reading Program, offering badgeable learning opportunities for teens related to both reading and technology. Additionally, Pittsburgh kicked off the 2015 City of Learning campaign at CLP’s 15th annual Summer Reading Extravaganza on June 7, 2015, an all-ages community event that celebrated the City’s community of readers, connecting them to learning opportunities not only at CLP, but also at other informal learning sites.
Learn and Earn
Rewarding participants in the city’s summer youth employment with badges related to a city-wide career readiness curriculum.
Learn and Earn
$25,000 » Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, 2015 City of Learning project support
City of Learning 2015 Partnership with Summer of Learn and Earn - Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, a project of The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, provided employment opportunities for youth ages 14-21 through the Summer Learn and Earn Program. A partnership with the Workforce Investment Board, the City of Pittsburgh, and Allegheny County, the 2015 program became a pipeline of career access for the region. The program was part of a comprehensive system that supported collaboration between public and private funding streams for pathways that provided youth with enhanced academic support, work readiness coaching, and on-the-job skills training as a means of developing a future workforce better prepared to successfully secure meaningful employment, post high school. The program engaged teens and young adults in summer work experiences where they acquired real world skills and knowledge.
Summer Dreamers
Developing badges to recognize academic and social achievements in Pittsburgh Public Schools’ premier summer learning program.
Summer Dreamers
$4,000 » Pittsburgh Public Schools, 2015 City of Learning project support
City of Learning 2015 Partnership with Summer Dreamers Academy - Pittsburgh Public Schools, a project of Pittsburgh Public Schools, engaged teens through their Summer Dreamers Academy to encourage a passion for learning and exploration, and to motivate campers to persist in the face of challenges. Summer Dreamers offered badges in three distinct areas and Pittsburgh Public Schools served as the issuer of badges for demonstrated accomplishments in morning academic classes and for regular program attendance and engagement
Learning Pathways Student Video Series
Enabling local teens to gain hands-on experience in production by interviews with local badge innovators and experts on topics such as art/storytelling, engineering, environmental science, gaming, robotics, design and making, and entrepreneurship.
Learning Pathways Student Video Series
$5,000 » Manchester Craftsmens Guild, 2015 City of Learning project support
Learning Pathways Student Video Series, a project of Manchester Craftsmens Guild, supported the Manchester Craftsman’s Guild student video team to interview a diverse array of professionals about their Learning Pathways and produce short films about their findings. The project enabled local teens to gain hands-on experience in production by creating raw footage of interviews with local innovators and experts discussing their roles within the community. The interviews explored topics such as art/storytelling, engineering, environmental science, gaming, robotics, design and making, and entrepreneurship.
Pop-Up Events
Featuring a range of learning activities in a diversity of settings throughout the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities of Allegheny County, these pop-up events provided free and fun interest-driven learning opportunities to expand participation in Pittsburgh City of Learning.
Formative Research
University of Pittsburgh, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University collaborated to understand the effectiveness of local badge programs in terms of youth participation and interest development and how practitioners overcame the challenges associated with initiating digital badges.
Badge-Enable Learning Pathways
In 2016, Sprout funded six projects that created cross-disciplinary, collaborative learning approaches called “learning pathways” during the 2016-2017 academic year. These projects empowered students to earn digital badges as they progressed through related learning activities at multiple organizations, enabling students to access new opportunities and organizations to reach new audiences.
Architecture Learning Network
Guiding youth through online and in-person programs from five regional program partners with a focus on collaboration, social justice, technology, and environmental responsibility.
Architecture Learning Network
$31,000, 2016 City of Learning project support
Architecture Learning Network, a project of Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Museum of Art, Assemble, Fallingwater, and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, involved youth directly in the process of making in order to motivate them to take greater responsibility in their world. The pathway had six specialized playlists comprised of programs throughout the Pittsburgh region and online initiatives that focused on collaboration, social justice, technology, and environmental responsibility.
Expanding Learning Pathways at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Enabling students to gain access to specialized maker equipment and innovative programming with community partners representing various cultural, tech, and arts organizations.
Expanding Learning Pathways at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
$31,000 » Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 2016 City of Learning project support
Expanding Learning Pathways at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, a project of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, created learning pathways for teens using digital badging at five additional Library locations while bolstering the process of badging that was already in place. Youth and Library staff at the five new sites gained access to specialized Maker equipment and innovative programming with community partners representing various cultural, tech, and arts organizations.
Post-Secondary Readiness Pathway
Developing a clear pathway toward post-secondary success through thoughtful planning, self reflection, and steady academic progress toward high school graduation.
Post-Secondary Readiness Pathway
$31,000 » Homewood Children’s Village, 2016 City of Learning project support
Post-Secondary Readiness Pathway, a project of Homewood Children’s Village, laid out a clear route toward college or other post-secondary placement. The project not only helped students understand graduation requirements but also guided them in meeting these requirements by measuring academic performance and attendance, completing community service, and exposing the students to different colleges and careers via field trips. The resulting Post-Secondary Readiness Badge helped youth to easily convey the experiences they had undertaken in preparation for their post-secondary endeavors.
Introduction to Solidworks and Design
Combining the efforts of four partners’ FIRST Robotics Competition teams to teach youth computer aided design (CAD) in order to design parts and create new mechanisms through 3D printing and rapid prototyping.
Introduction to Solidworks and Design
$19,000, 2016 City of Learning project support
Introduction to Solidworks and Design, a project of Carnegie Mellon University, Sarah Heinz House, City Charter High School, and University of Pittsburgh, combined the efforts of the four partners’ FIRST Robotics Competition teams to teach youth computer aided design (CAD), specifically Solidworks, in order to design parts and create mechanisms from assembly of parts. When completed, youth were able to fabricate their parts using 3D printing, local machine shops, and other rapid prototyping technologies.
Young Conservationist Connected Learning Pathway
Combining youth program offerings from four local outdoor education organizations to bring different lenses to outdoor learning and unlock summer job and scholarship opportunities.
Young Conservationist Connected Learning Pathway
$41,000, 2016 City of Learning project support
Young Conservationist Connected Learning Pathway, a project of the Student Conservation Association, GTECH Strategies, Venture Outdoors, and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, combined youth offerings from each of the partner organizations to bring different lenses to outdoor learning. Completion of the playlist unlocked several paid and unpaid summer opportunities with all four partner organizations along with the Young Conservationist Badge. Youth who earned the Young Conservationist badge as well as the Conservation Leadership Corps XP unlocked a scholarship to be on an Student Conservation Association National Summer Crew.
Youth Leading Change
Connecting and expanding knowledge of media making and digital storytelling to enable youth to use digital media as a platform for change.
Youth Leading Change
$21,000 » Duquesne University, 2016 City of Learning project support
Youth Leading Change, a project of Duquesne University in partnership with Sisters eS.T.E.A.M., Gwen’s Girls, Amil Cook, and Power(ed) by Grace, highlighted the variety of ways that digital media could be used to connect and expand the knowledge of youth. The playlist additionally helped youth understand the collective impact of media making and storytelling, enabling them to use the same tools as a platform for change.
Community Building Activities
We hosted regional events and led initiatives to engage key stakeholders in the digital badges ecosystem, helping strengthen the ties between the youth who earn badges, the educators who issues those credentials, and the employers who value the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that those badges represent.
Competencies Working Groups
The Remake Learning Competencies form the foundation of learning pathways that connect students to opportunities offered by schools, afterschool programs, cultural organizations, and online learning resources.
The competencies were developed through the active engagement of more than 100 local subject matter experts, informal and formal educators, youth workers, and program managers. Led by a team of trained facilitators, multiple meetings held in the summer and fall of 2014 harnessed the diverse knowledge and expertise of these community members.
The results were organized into centers of programmatic excellence inspired by the Pittsburgh education ecosystem.
Career Readinesssave_alt
Leadership development, people skills, personal wellness, job preparation, entrepreneurship, finance, technology, and positive habits.
Coding & Gamingsave_alt
Technical skills in computer programming and application and game development, plus creative competencies in game design, animation, and storytelling.
Design & Makingsave_alt
Imagining an idea, researching the user, designing a concept, choosing materials, practicing technique, fabricating prototypes, and interpreting the built environment.
Media Makingsave_alt
Producing mass communication, including television, radio, print, digital design, imagery and video, and diverse web-based communications mechanisms.
Roboticssave_alt
Training in computer programming, fabrication, and electronics with design thinking, iterative problem solving, and communication.
STEAMsave_alt
Purposefully incorporating elements of multiple disciplines—especially in the arts and sciences—to develop learners who can address the complexity of real-world problems.
Early Childhood Educationsave_alt
Competencies for teachers working with young children include the use of technology, activity planning, and pedagogical approaches.
Cross-Cutting Competencies
Although developed independently, several working groups arrived at the same or similar competencies, many of which connect to 21st century learning and innovation skills.
Pittsburgh Learning Pathways SummitPlay Video
In November 2014, Sprout hosted a large public forum to explore the potential for digital badges. The event featured a mixture of keynote remarks, panel discussions, table-based facilitation activities, science fair-style feedback stations, and an enthusiastic emcee.
Attended by more than 300 educators and 100 high school students and supported by a local team of 35 facilitators, the event helped kick off a region-wide effort to reimagine how Pittsburgh might recognize and reward learning.
Digital Badges Employers ForumPlay Video
In July 2015, Sprout hosted the Digital Badges Employers Forum, an event that convened representatives from more than 50 employers, government agencies, and workforce development organizations from across the region to discuss the opportunities and challenges surrounding digital badges.
This event featured panel discussions and remarks from local leaders, including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, and participation by representatives from key national partners including the MacArthur Foundation.
Other Events & Support
To help support the educators creating and issue digital badges, Sprout also hosted periodic “reporting parties” where we invited participating educators and organizations to look back on what worked and what didn’t.
Digital Badge Lab
We hosted awareness-building events to conversations among badge-curious educators and provoked them to think about incorporating digital badges into their own work.
Helpdesk
We recruited a team of “helpdesk staff” to train and offer tech support to educators from participating organizations as they developed digital badges and navigated the online badge-issuing platforms.
Research & Reporting Party
In addition to soliciting feedback through a survey for educators, Sprout hosted an the end-of-summer reporting party in order to capture stories from participants and celebrate partners’ work.
Related Programs
Remake Learning
City of Learning leveraged the strength and enthusiastic participation of Pittsburgh’s established network of educators and innovators developing new approaches for teaching and learning.
Open Badges Summit
Prior to beginning local badge efforts in Pittsburgh, Sprout hosted a national convening in Silicon Valley to set the course for the next evolution of Open Badges.
Digital Corps
The Digital Corps was a key program partner for Pittsburgh City of Learning and issued digital badges for skills like webmaking and dispositions like collaboration.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all those who made this program possible!
Supporters
- The Grable Foundation
- The Hillman Foundation
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Partners
- Pittsburgh Public Schools
- Partner4Work
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
- University of Pittsburgh
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Staff
- Khalif Ali 2014-2015
- Tim Cook 2015
- Tricia Monticello Kievlan 2015-2016
- Diana Avart 2015-2016
- Dustin Stiver
- Ryan Coon
- Matt Hannigan
- Mac Howison
- Cathy Lewis Long
- Jeremy Zerbe 2014
- Teresa DeFlitch Pathways Summit Event Organizer