{"513541":{"#nid":"513541","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u2018Civic Computing\u2019 workshop leads an unlikely group of youth to help advance metro city\u2019s vision","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDefining community in the digital age is often a nuanced exercise that involves looking at social connections far beyond where one works and lives. But even in an age of tweets, texts, and video chats, young people are willing to use their voice to support and shape the communities in which they live.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne such group of College Park students\u2014who are completing their high school credits at The Bridge Academy\u2014recently participated in the Georgia Tech design[ED] Lab workshop where they reviewed College Park\u2019s 20-year Comprehensive Plan (2011 \u2013 2031) to identify community issues and create computing technology solutions that could enhance community engagement and increase career opportunities for young people. The students chose to address three key issues from the city\u2019s policy guide: perception of crime, decreasing standardized test scores, and impact of crime on youth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor six weeks, the students were exposed to a design-thinking process and tools for creating user-focused technology that gave them an understanding of how to frame and tackle challenges within their community,\u201d says Monet Spells, graduate student in the Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction program and workshop organizer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents in the program brainstormed solutions, iterated on the prototypes, and critiqued their peers\u2019 work to come up with three viable technology concepts. These concepts were displayed in February at a special event open to the public at the Museum of Design Atlanta.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGiving students an authentic opportunity to present their work\u2014such as at the MODA public exhibit\u2014acts as a motivation for students to engage with learning, take ownership of their projects, and to see their efforts pay off,\u201d says Betsy DiSalvo, assistant professor in Interactive Computing and Spells\u2019 advisor.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EResults included:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EA physical prototype and supporting mobile application wireframe to change the perception of crime for the benefit of College Park citizens and businesses by highlighting positive things happening in the community.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EA customized test preparation system, using hip-hop music to motivate and prepare students to increase standardized test scores, which could otherwise limit post-secondary and future opportunities.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EA social network to address the impact of crime on College Park youth, by providing tips for resisting peer pressure, sharing community events, and facilitating a healthy relationship with law enforcement.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was very important that the students\u0027 solutions addressed practical and verified problems in the community,\u201d says Spells. \u201cThe College Park Comprehensive Plan allowed us to pursue validated, researched, high-level problem spaces that the community\u2019s elected officials are seeking to address over the next 20 years.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpells says the lab also aimed to expose underrepresented minorities to design-thinking as a method to solve important problems and empower young people with the tools to make a difference and inspire change. For example, some students\u0026nbsp;on their own accord are learning the technical skills required to pursue their ideas beyond the workshop by refining their designs and apps.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe public exhibit brought the work of these young people and their insights about the city to the attention of city council members, who have invited the students to present their ideas in other public forums,\u201d says DiSalvo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpells, who will graduate in May, is part of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/catlab.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECulture and Technology Lab\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech, directed by DiSalvo, which aims to understand how culture impacts people\u2019s practices with technology and designing new learning interventions with these understandings. Spells was also named the GVU Center\u2019s inaugural\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gvu.gatech.edu\/foley-scholar-finalistsgvu-dist-masters-student-2015-16-feature-story\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDistinguished Master\u2019s Student\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;this academic year for her work with underrepresented minorities and women in technology-enhanced dance performance.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECollege Park students\u2014who are completing their high school credits at The Bridge Academy\u2014recently participated in the Georgia Tech design[ED] Lab workshop where they reviewed College Park\u2019s 20-year Comprehensive Plan (2011 \u2013 2031) to identify community issues and create computing technology solutions that could enhance community engagement and increase career opportunities for young people.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Even in an age of tweets, texts, and video chats, young people are willing to use their voice to support and shape the communities in which they live."}],"uid":"27592","created_gmt":"2016-03-15 11:35:41","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:05","author":"Joshua Preston","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-03-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-03-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"513551":{"id":"513551","type":"image","title":"College Park students at MODA with MS HCI student Monet Spells","body":null,"created":"1458923790","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:36:30","changed":"1475895277","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:37","alt":"College Park students at MODA with MS HCI student Monet Spells","file":{"fid":"205054","name":"designedlab_workshop_for_college_park_students_cr.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/designedlab_workshop_for_college_park_students_cr_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/designedlab_workshop_for_college_park_students_cr_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1167827,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/designedlab_workshop_for_college_park_students_cr_0.jpg?itok=DBhhlKDu"}},"513561":{"id":"513561","type":"image","title":"Monet Spells (MS HCI sudent)","body":null,"created":"1458923790","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:36:30","changed":"1475895277","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:37","alt":"Monet Spells (MS HCI sudent)","file":{"fid":"205055","name":"pub_monet_spells.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pub_monet_spells_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pub_monet_spells_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":156266,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/pub_monet_spells_0.jpg?itok=QD2BSIz3"}},"355701":{"id":"355701","type":"image","title":"Betsy DiSalvo - Compressed","body":null,"created":"1449245756","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:56","changed":"1475895087","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:27","alt":"Betsy DiSalvo - Compressed","file":{"fid":"202045","name":"betsy-disalvo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/betsy-disalvo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/betsy-disalvo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":13256,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/betsy-disalvo.jpg?itok=V10eFFqa"}}},"media_ids":["513551","513561","355701"],"groups":[{"id":"1299","name":"GVU Center"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJoshua Preston\u003Cbr \/\u003EGVU Center and College of Computing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jpreston@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejpreston@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E678.231.0787\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpreston@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}