I'm bobby reed, a computer science instructor at Oklahoma City University who believes technology should enable humans to do things they didn't think they could.
I build bridges between what was and what could be—using code to make archives breathe, history dance, and education more equitable. Whether I'm recreating neighborhoods from the past in VR or ensuring every student gets called on fairly, my work lives at one intersection: furthering human capability through technology.
Problem: Filing cabinets full of photographs and documents about Oklahoma City's historic fairgrounds neighborhood were gathering dust. Fellow librarian Judith Matthews and I knew these archives held incredible stories, but how do you make k-12 students care about old papers?
Solution: We built a VR experience that lets you walk the streets of 1950s OKC, hear the music spilling from the businesses, and experience the neighborhood that shaped American culture.
Discovery: Users will find purposes you never imagined within 5 seconds of launching any interactive app. One student may use it to understand their great-grandmother's stories. Another might trace gentrification patterns. The app is a canvas to allow modern humans to experience the past built from archives.
Why it matters: As my brilliant colleague Dr. Amber Bozer said in her Last Lecture at Tarleton: "Build for others and multiply your impact." This template removes hours of configuration headaches so creators can focus on the interesting problems. Every project built with it extends my reach—I'm teaching even when I'm sleeping.
Metropolitan Library System → Managed events and training, discovered how technology could democratize access to knowledge
University of Oklahoma → Led emerging tech initiatives, learned that the best tools disappear into the experience
Oklahoma City University → Teaching the next generation to build bridges of their own
"So it goes in the digital workshop of a bleeding-heart who likes working with things that eat electricity."