In Birmingham today, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Ed Farm, which will help teach students to program with Apple’s “Everyone Can Code” curriculum.
In addition, Cook reportedly spoke about employing his company’s augmented reality tools in Birmingham’s civil rights historical sites.
Apple plants an Ed Farm in Alabama
Details on this newly-announced education initiative are still sketchy, but Apple’s CEO took to Twitter to say “Honored to join Birmingham’s students, teachers and visionary leaders in opening Ed Farm — a new education hub where students can connect, learn and create!”
Coding lets students of all ages breathe life into new ideas, solve problems and prepare for the jobs of the future. Honored to join Birmingham’s students, teachers and visionary leaders in opening Ed Farm — a new education hub where students can connect, learn and create! pic.twitter.com/4tbnuwzI9K
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 27, 2020
Ed Farm says it “equips educators in schools and communities with innovative tools and strategies that support active learning for all students.” That specifically includes Apple’s Everyone Can Code and Everyone Can Create curricula.
Apple often emphasizes the importance of learning to write software. And the company created “Everyone Can Code” to teach children and adults the fundamentals.
Bringing AR to Birmingham’s civil rights history
An attendee of Cook’s speach revealed that he promised to use augmented reality “to bring Civil Rights history to life.”
Tim Cook announces using augmented reality to bring Civil Rights history to life in Birmingham AL @Apple pic.twitter.com/Cri23jT02h
— Brandon Wilson, APR (@BrandonDWilson) February 27, 2020
Birmingham played an important role in the drive for civil rights. Among the more famous sites is the 16th Street Baptist Church, a meeting place for black activists that was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1963, killing four young black girls.
Alabama is Tim Cook’s home state — he was born in Mobile. Apple’s CEO will be interviewed tomorrow by Fox Business, and the Birmingham Ed Farm educational initiative is on the agenda.
