Georgia Tech’s Rural Computer Science Initiative has expanded its efforts to help high school students in rural areas gain skills in computer science and artificial intelligence, with a new focus on agriculture. The program now includes training on FarmBots, which are open-source automated farming systems that combine coding, robotics, and data science. These systems monitor key variables such as soil moisture, temperature, and sunlight.
Several school districts have received FarmBots as part of the initiative. Georgia Tech has also installed one of these systems in its community garden to serve as a testing ground for developing educational activities and supporting partner schools with their own installations.
T.S. Whitmore, who recently began teaching computer science at both the middle and high schools in Twiggs County, said the resources from the initiative are helping him plan lessons for different grade levels. He noted that most high school students have volunteered to help with the FarmBot project.
“I learned so much in so little time. I have so much to learn, but I’ve never been more excited,” Whitmore said. “I’m learning to think outside the box and find different ways to connect new learning to things previously learned. I expect to be more creative in my lesson planning.”
