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ɫ����’s , which equips high school students in rural areas with computer science and contextualized technical skills, has added a new area of focus: helping students understand, master, and apply computer science and artificial intelligence (AI) tools in agriculture, including farming. 

Several school districts have received FarmBots — open-source, automated farming systems that integrate coding, robotics, and data science, and monitor variables such as soil moisture, temperature, and sunlight. One such system was recently installed in ɫ����’s community garden to serve as a test bed for designing related learning experiences and supporting partner schools in setting up their devices. 

T.S. Whitmore, a new computer science teacher for both the middle and high schools in Twiggs County, said the resources provided by the Rural Computer Science Initiative are helping him plan lessons across grade levels. Most of the high school students have volunteered to assist 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,” he 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.”

Norman “Storm” Robinson III, associate director for school and community engagement at ɫ����’s (CEISMC), said connecting the high-tech world of computing with agriculture has the power to transform students’ lives and communities by equipping them with practical tools. 

“What we’re trying to do in the project is build up our students’ computational reasoning and understanding. That’s a very useful competency to have in 2025,” Robinson said. “The goal is to harness emerging technologies to jump-start computer science proficiency, critical thinking skills, and new career paths for students.”

Robinson said grounding computer science in students’ lived experiences makes the initiative more meaningful. 

“We’re trying to show students that the things already in their communities — the stuff they see every day — can actually be influenced by technology,” he said. “That motivates students to take initiative and better manage and optimize what they’re doing in their world, including their farms.” 

The Rural Computer Science Initiative, developed collaboratively by CEISMC and — the K-12 outreach arm of the — has continued to grow rapidly for the second consecutive year, expanding from 4,400 participating students to more than 10,000. Launched in 2022 with initial funding from the ɫ���� General Assembly, the initiative has continued to receive state support, underscoring its impact and importance. This fall, five new school districts — Monroe, Hart, Baldwin, Coffee, and Evans — were added, bringing the total number of participating districts to 45. 

“My goal is to take these students as far as they want to go,” Robinson said. “They may want to stay at home, work on a local farm, or join a corporate farm. Whatever they choose, they’ll have the competencies and skills to use the technology of tomorrow — whatever that may be.”