Rec2Tech
Transforming community spaces into technology learning centers for Pittsburgh youth.
Game Design with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Paulson Recreation Center, September 2016Meeting Kids Where They Are
During a one-week demonstration in September 2016, The Sprout Fund worked with the City of Pittsburgh and educators from the Remake Learning Network to transform 5 city-owned recreation centers into technology-enhanced STEAM learning centers where youth learned to use technology to express their creativity, solve real-world problems, and build job-ready skills.
In response to President Obama’s 2014 call to action that “every company, every college, every community, every citizen joins us as we lift up makers and builders and doers across the country,” Pittsburgh joined a national movement to transform underutilized municipal assets like recreation centers into youth-centered, technology-enabled, maker learning spaces. For people who lack reliable internet service and access to technology, these “Rec2Tech” transformations can increase digital literacy and cultivate skills connected to future employment.
With support from lead sponsor Comcast NBCUniversal, Rec2Tech Pittsburgh demonstrated how partners from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors can work together to start to address the digital divide and help young people engage with science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM).
Program In Brief
Demonstration Week
September 12–17, 2016
Community Centers Transformed
5
Youth Engaged
105
Public Celebration Attendees
500+
Rec2Tech Pittsburgh Video Recap
Learn more about the program partners and activities during the demonstration week in September 2016.
Program Activities
Rec Center Transformations
Each afternoon during the demonstration week, educators from local nonprofit program providers hosted hands-on learning activities for youth ages 7 to 12. Sessions challenged youth at each rec center to use what they learned from these activities to help solve a community challenge. Meanwhile, rec center staff made sure each session included a healthy snack, physical activity, and dinner to help participants stay engaged.
Exploration & Expression at Ormsby
Combining art-making and drone photography to enable youth to document their community.
Exploration & Expression at Ormsby
$8,000 » Assemble, 2016 Rec2Tech project support
Rec2Tech - Robotics, a project of Assemble, partnered with local experts from the YMCA programs to lead a student exploration of identity as to identify one’s self, one’s space, and one’s community. This ultimately led to the definition of a space for creativity within the Ormsby Recreation Center on the South Side. Students developed traditional art making and computer programing skills to start to overcome challenges they faced, such as overcoming physical and socio-economic barriers. The project was a tangible interactive exhibit and learning experience all in one.
Tech Solutions for Greener Living at Phillips
Using engineering to create a self-watering greenhouse out of upcycled materials.
Tech Solutions for Greener Living at Phillips
$8,000 » TechShop Pittsburgh, 2016 Rec2Tech project support
Tech Solutions for Greener Living, a project of TechShop Pittsburgh, promoted community health through maker-based learning during Rec2Tech Demo Week. Using creative design and engineering techniques, students tackled hands-on challenges geared toward gardening in urban spaces while collaborating on versatile projects that accommodate various ages and skill levels. Students identified issues of city living, then brainstormed, prototyped, and created solutions to problems of urban communities—such as air quality and food deserts—while beautifying the spaces they loved. The project’s space transformation involved creating workstations, group work space, two project hubs, a lounge area/conference space, and a Research and Design Hub.
High-Tech Health at Magee
Exploring biology and medical science, from anatomy to nutrition, through innovative Sisters e S.T.E.A.M. programming.
High-Tech Health at Magee
$8,000 » Duquesne University, 2016 Rec2Tech project support
Sisters e S.T.E.A.M. Biology, a project of Duquesne University, promoted the empowerment of youth through inquiry-based, hands-on science learning that incorporated real world applications. The Rec2Tech Demo week activities introduced youth to the world of Biology and the importance of loving themselves from the inside out. The project’s space transformation involved a lab space that was color coded to mimic the heart, with inquiry-based instruction happening simultaneously in a deoxygenated path and an oxygenated path that each student experienced daily.
Game Design Studio at Paulson
Teaching beginning video game design to help youth design characters, build levels, and make their own video game controllers.
Game Design Studio at Paulson
$8,000 » Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 2016 Rec2Tech project support
CLP Game Design Week, a project of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, worked across departments and areas of expertise to provide youth programming focused on game design at Lincoln-Lemington’s Paulson Center for Rec2Tech Demo Week. Game design allowed youth the chance to flex creative muscles and work as a team. The result of the program was a playable final product that could be shared at the Rec2Tech showcase event. The project’s space transformation involved team work stations that were identified by a group of tables or desks with colored tablecloths, paper, pens, iPads, and Bloxels kits.
Making & Breaking the Web at Warrington
Empowering youth to capture 360˚ images of their neighborhood to build a virtual reality experience.
Making & Breaking the Web at Warrington
$2,350 » IRL Labs LLC, 2016 Rec2Tech project support
SocialVR Workshop, a project of IRL Labs LLC, was a workshop that took place during Rec2Tech Demo Week. The workshop captured 360 images and video, explored virtual reality storytelling, and created an immersive experience using SocialVR. Social VR is a browser-based interactive design tool that allows non-technical users ages 8+ to create personalized virtual reality experiences.
Demo Party
To wrap up the demonstration week, Rec2Tech hosted a public party in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Plaza that made neighborhood programming accessible to everyone in the city. This showcase lifted up the youth participants’ work and raised public awareness of the program.
Broader Impact
White House Event
In May 2016, the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy convened more than a dozen cities to take the first steps toward building a nationwide movement to expand access to new and innovative learning opportunities for students living in under-resourced and disadvantaged communities through local Rec2Tech initiatives. Sprout helped lead and coordinate this event.
National League of Cities Event
In November 2016, Pittsburgh hosted the National League of Cities annual conference. More than 40 leaders from cities across the United States and Canada attended a “mobile workshop” that showcased Pittsburgh’s Rec2Tech demonstration project. Students from Ormbsy Recreation Center attended the event and participated in mini-sessions from each the five Rec2Tech funded projects.
Report & Recommendationssave_alt
The Sprout Fund produced a report documenting the demonstration project from planning to evaluation. It also included recommendations for replicating similar Rec2Tech programs in other communities.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all those who made this program possible!
Supporters
- Comcast NBCUniversal
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Partners
- City of Pittsburgh Office of the Mayor
- City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks & Recreation (Citiparks)
- City of Pittsburgh Department of Innovation & Performance
- Assemble
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
- The Citizen Science Lab
- The Digital Corps
- Sisters e S.T.E.A.M.
- TechShop
- YMCA Lighthouse Project
- Remake Learning
Staff
- Ani Martinez
- Tricia Monticello Kievlan
- Dustin Stiver
- Arielle Evans
- Ryan Coon
- Lizzy Nolin
- Njaimeh Njie production assistant