Everywhere you go, from TED Talks to education conferences, people seem to be talking about networks. Especially in Pittsburgh. But what exactly is a network? It's a powerful way to harness collective resources, skills, and ideas. Why should we adopt them? Read on.

Networks are in vogue these days as top-down hierarchies lose their luster and centralized planning shows it is not nimble enough to address fast-changing facts on the ground. Learning networks are rooted in the economic development strategy known as “cluster development,” which taps into the power of regional concentrations of firms, workers, and industrial know-how to form a hub of talent and expertise. Doing so enhances the competitiveness of individual firms and regional economies. Just look at Cleveland with medical device manufacturing or St. Louis with biomed.

A slew of the Pittsburgh's leading organizations traveled to D.C. for the National Maker Faire, which kicked off the National Week of Making. Among them were representatives from The Sprout Fund, The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, district school superintendents, and folks from local community arts organizations like BOOM Concepts, which made mini-murals to display in the Washington Garfield neighborhood.

Pittsburgh has come together to build a community of educators and innovators committed to rethinking education. Today, we release the Remake Learning Playbook to help other communities do the same.