Education Farm is a new program located in Birmingham, Alabama designed to prepare young people for a future job market that will see an increased demand for digital skills. The program seeks to encourage children and adults to explore technology, pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and learn to code through Swift, Apple’s coding language. Ed Farm is supported by Apple, which provided the program with all of the necessary hardware, software, funding, and professional learning support to ensure the program’s success. Apple granted Birmingham City Schools with over 400 devices that educators will use to deliver the program. Ed Farm also offers a Teacher Fellows program that trains educators from 13 Birmingham City Schools. In addition to professional development, educators are also provided with curriculums, new technology and instructional support. Outside of the city school system, the program also offers its Pathways program designed to reach adult learners who are interested in developing digital skills, acquiring post-secondary credentials and filling or creating new jobs in technology. Ultimately, Ed Farm intends to increase equality in education, use technology to improve learning outcomes and prepare the future workforce to be better equipped to take on jobs in the technology industry.
