21 August 2024
UPDATE
Apple and 4-H bring technology to a new generation of learners
The name 4-H traditionally conjures up images of teenagers raising farm animals or learning to bake or sew—and those skills are still an important part of the organization, which has been supporting and educating young people across America for more than 100 years. Recently, members of the 4-H club showcased farm animals and displayed homemade quilts at the Franklin County Fair in Columbus, Ohio. But upon closer inspection, they spotted signs of something new and perhaps surprising.
In front of a mobile 4-H class bus parked near the fairgrounds, children controlled Sphero robots along the sidewalk with iPads while inside they programmed with Swift and composed music with GarageBand.
In a nearby barn, 15-year-old Calum Williams was preparing to show one of the ducks he raised by going through notes on his iPad.
“I like that 4-H is very inclusive,” Williams says. “Even if you’re not interested in ranching, sewing or cooking, which is what 4-H is known for, there are lots of other things you can do that involve technology, like STEM projects. 4-H has changed a lot and is still changing.”
4-H is the largest youth development organization in the United States, reaching more than 6 million young people each year in every county and community across the country. The organization is directly linked to the land-grant universities, which were established in the late 1800s to increase access to higher education, with an emphasis on agricultural and technical skills.
In recent years, 4-H has expanded to provide greater 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 regions 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 stretches back more than four decades.
Apple’s work to bring cutting-edge technology to one of America’s most popular community programs began in Ohio in partnership with Ohio State University, providing hardware, financial support, scholarships, educator resources, and access to Apple experts. The collaboration has grown significantly since that first partnership in Ohio. Between 2019 and 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 through programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. By the end of this summer, nearly 8,000 more students will have been introduced to the program, with expansions to Illinois, Kentucky, and Idaho. Programs in North Carolina are scheduled to begin this fall in partnership with North Carolina State University.
Jobie Thinthapthai, 12, has been part of 4-H for four years. At this year’s Franklin County Fair, she not only showed off the pig and rabbit she raised, but also visited the 4-H mobile school bus for the first time. The bus is equipped with iPad stations where children can explore robotics, coding, music composition and art.
“It was really cool and I especially enjoyed working with the robots and drawing on the iPad,” says Thinthapthai, who wants to be a doctor when she grows up. “Medicine is constantly evolving thanks to technology, so learning about it can help me for my future. And it’s the same with 4-H – technology gives us more tools for our projects so we learn skills that can be useful later in life.”
Mark Light is one of the educators who leads the 4-H bus. He began his career as a civil engineer before joining 4-H to lead Ohio’s STEM programs.
“In our state, there are 200 different 4-H project areas for kids to explore, and only 10 percent of them have to do with ranching or agriculture,” says Light, 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, that’s the spark that gets them excited to learn new skills. I love it when parents say, ‘It’s time to get off the bus and ride,’ and the kids don’t want to get off because they’re so excited.”
In New Jersey, Apple began partnering with Rutgers University-Newark and 4-H clubs in 2021 through the 4-H Computer Science Pathways project. The program uses mentors from colleges and high schools to engage young people and teach them STEM skills.
“The magic of this program and Apple technology is that our young people realize through hands-on experience that they can be successful in STEM subjects,” says Rodrigo Sanchez Hernandez, who studied mechanical engineering and now helps run New Jersey’s 4-H program. “When they see someone who looks like them and is around their age teaching these advanced topics in a relatable way, 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 this summer’s STEM Explorers Camp in Trenton. Over the course of the month, several dozen students in grades 7 through 9 completed iPad-based workshops on digital media, robotics, coding and engineering. Digital Media Week included a learning lab 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 equip young people with the skills they need for careers in technical and creative disciplines in the Detroit area and in Michigan’s tribal nations and communities. This summer, nearly 80 young people, many of whom are members of a tribal nation, attended a 4-H camp in Hiawatha National Forest, where they used iPad and Apple Pencil to create keynote presentations on building robots.
Back at the Franklin County Fair, Calum Williams and his duck had just finished judging. He had been preparing for this for months—taking notes on his duck’s weight changes since hatching and taking photos with his iPad camera.
After all the contestants had presented their animals, the judge announced the results. Calum had won second place and the only person who looked happier than him was his mother, Danielle Moeller Williams.
Moeller Williams was a member of the 4-H club as a child and that is the reason her son joined the organization.
“When I started, there weren’t as many projects as there are now,” says Moeller Williams. “I think with all the advances in technology, there are just a lot more opportunities for kids to get involved. 4-H has shown Calum how he can use technology to prepare for his future, and I’m incredibly proud of how he has embraced it and the young man he’s become.”
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