August 21, 2024
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Apple and 4-H equip a new generation of learners with technology
The name 4-H traditionally conjures up images of teenagers raising farm animals or learning to bake and sew — and those skills are a big part of an organization that has been supporting and educating young people across America for more than 100 years. Recently at the Franklin County Fair in Columbus, Ohio, 4-H club members showed their livestock and displayed quilts they'd made, but upon closer inspection, something new and perhaps surprising was visible.
Outside a 4-H classroom bus parked near the fair's midpoint, kids were using iPads to control Sphero robots on the sidewalk, while inside the bus they were coding in Swift and composing music using GarageBand.
In a nearby barn, 15-year-old Callum Williams was checking notes on an iPad as he prepared to show off one of the ducks he'd raised.
“I like that 4-H is so inclusive,” Williams says. “4-H is known for animal husbandry, sewing and cooking, but if you're not interested in those things, there are lots of activities that incorporate technology, like STEM projects. 4-H has changed so much and continues to change.”
4-H is the largest youth development organization in the United States, reaching more than six million young people in every county and parish in the country each year. The organization emphasizes agricultural and engineering skills and has direct ties to the land-grant colleges that were founded in the late 19th century to increase enrollment in higher education.
In recent years, 4-H has expanded access to technology, thanks in part to support from Apple and its Community Education Initiative (CEI). Since Apple launched CEI in 2019, the program has provided coding, creativity and career opportunities to tens of thousands of students in 99 countries and territories and all 50 states, with a focus on communities traditionally underrepresented in technology. CEI is part of Apple's broader commitment to education and educational equity that dates back more than 40 years.
Apple’s efforts to bring cutting-edge technology to one of America’s most cherished community programs began in Ohio with Ohio State University, providing hardware, financial aid, scholarships, educator resources and access to Apple experts. The collaboration has grown significantly since the initial partnership in Ohio. From 2019 through spring 2024, Apple-supported 4-H programs reached thousands of educators and more than 90,000 young people in Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan and Florida, including programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. By the end of this summer, nearly 8,000 more students will have participated in the program, which is set to expand into Illinois, Kentucky and Idaho. A program in North Carolina is set to launch this fall in collaboration with North Carolina State University.
Joby Tintaptai, 12, has been in 4-H for four years. At this year's Franklin County Fair, in addition to exhibiting his pigs and rabbits, he visited the 4-H classroom bus for the first time. The bus is equipped with iPad stations where kids can learn about robotics, coding, music composition, art and more.
“It was really fun, especially controlling the robot and drawing on the iPad,” said Tintaptai, who hopes to become a doctor one day. “Medicine is always improving with technology, so learning about that will help me in the future. It's the same with 4-H. Technology gives us more tools to use in our projects, so we're learning skills that will help us in the future.”
Mark Wright is one of the educators who runs the 4-H bus. He started his career as a civil engineer before joining 4-H to lead STEM programs in Ohio.
“Our state has 200 4-H project fields for kids to explore, but only 10 percent are livestock or agriculture-related,” says Wright, who was a member of the 4-H club in high school. “Technology is a big part of 4-H, and when kids pick up an iPad or Apple Pencil on the bus, it inspires them to learn new skills. When parents say, 'It's time to get off the bus and ride one of the fair rides,' it's fun to see kids so engrossed they don't want to leave.”
In New Jersey, Apple began partnering with Rutgers University Newark and 4-H clubs in 2021 through the 4-H Computer Science Pathways Project, which leverages college and high school peer mentors to engage young people and develop STEM skills.
“The magic of this program, and of Apple technology, is that it gives young people hands-on experience and makes them realize they can succeed in STEM fields,” says Rodrigo Sanchez-Hernandez, a mechanical engineering student who now runs a 4-H program in New Jersey. “When they see someone who looks like them and is their age making these advanced topics accessible, they think, 'If they can do it, why can't I?'”
Since 2021, the program has expanded to 4-H clubs across the state, including a STEM Explorers Camp in Trenton this summer. Over the course of a month, dozens of students from grades 7 through 9 rotated through iPad-based workshops in digital media, robotics, coding, engineering and more. Digital Media Week featured learning labs based on Apple's Everyone Can Create curriculum, where each student designed a project to raise awareness of environmental issues.
In Michigan, Apple is working with Michigan State University and 4-H to help equip young people in the Detroit area and tribal nations and communities across Michigan with the skills to explore careers in technology and creative fields. This summer, nearly 80 young people, mostly from tribal nations, attended 4-H camp in Hiawatha National Forest and used iPad and Apple Pencil to create a Keynote presentation on how to build a robot.
Back at the Franklin County Fair, Callum Williams had just finished judging his ducks. He had been preparing for months, recording the changes in his ducks’ weight since they hatched in a notebook and taking photos with the camera on his iPad.
Once all the contestants had finished presenting their animals, the judges announced the results: Callum won second place, and the only person who looked happier than him was his mother, Danielle Maurer-Williams.
Moeller-Williams was a member of the 4-H Club as a child, which is why her son joined the organization.
“When I started, there weren't as many projects as there are now,” Moeller-Williams said, “I think with advancements in technology, there are a lot more opportunities for kids to get involved. 4-H taught Callum how to use technology to prepare for the future, and I'm really proud of the young man he has embraced and grown into.”
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