After receiving a total of 82 submissions from southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia schools, museums, libraries, nonprofits, government agencies, and more, HundrED released a full list of the innovative submissions they received.

Submissions included:

• Innovative approaches from 27 schools and school districts in the Pittsburgh region
• 9 technology tools to facilitate learning developed by local companies and research projects
• 8 projects of local colleges and universities, including innovations from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Penn State University
• 31 programs and approaches from local museums, nonprofits, and community centers

Our Highlight

Listed as a submission, Message from Me (MfM) is an early childhood communications tool developed through the collaborative efforts of the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) CREATE Lab and Trying Together. MfM was designed with the intention to involve families in the education experience and bridge the home-school connection while enhancing a child’s communication skills, independence, and opportunities for interaction. Using the MfM app, a child can record and share daily thoughts and experiences, impacting his or her feelings of individuality, self-confidence, and well-being.

To learn more about MfM’s purpose, design, and impact, visit the HundrEd page.

See the full list of submissions.

What’s Next?

HundrEd’s global research team will be running a rigorous review of all eligible applications, in addition to a review by a local committee consisting of educators, parents, students, researchers, and community stakeholders who will score each innovation to help decide which ones will be featured in the Spotlight collection. Following this review period, the 10 selected innovations will be announced in May as a part of Remake Learning Days, a regional celebration of the future of learning.

About the Pittsburgh Spotlight

HundrED is a not-for-profit organization that researches, highlights, and propels K-12 education innovations in an effort to improve education and inspire a grassroots movement by encouraging pedagogically sound, ambitious inventions to spread across the world. The Pittsburgh Spotlight is one of 6 individual spotlight categories, all centered around specific regions or topics. Through this spotlight, HundrED seeks to highlight educators and innovators in our area that are doing extraordinary things to help students.

*Information provided by HundrED