Hosted by OSOS , contributed by yairbh_nc on 17 May 2018
Helping farmers with specific environmental or agricultural problems
The project has two main objectives: (1) supporting the agricultural community in the school region by working towards solutions to some problems they present; and (2) allowing the pupils to make acquaintance with the agriculture profession.
50 pupils from the 8th-11th grades will participate in the project. They come from two different tracks: one is photography track, and the other one is Science & Engineering track. They will work in small groups in a full PBL process, while combining the skills from both subject matters. This combination between the two tracks is very interesting, as many of the solutions one can offer in precision agriculture involve imaging, thus they come from the integration of engineering, science and photography.
The learning process will be based on a new program in precision agriculture, dealing with state of the art technology for data collection and processing (such as drones, GIS technology etc.). To this program a new community aspect will be added: the pupils will meet farmers from the region in order to get to know some of the problems they tackle and to understand their needs. In addition, their hands-on work will be led by the supervisor of precision agriculture in the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, the pupils will get relevant professional information from representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and of the Environment Department in the Municipality.
Responsible Research and Innovation
One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI - Responsible Research and Innovation principles (more information at RRI-Tools.eu). This is how the NanoChannels Accelerator fits into the RRI model:
|
Governance |
Students will contact several stakeholders, with whom they will share responsibility when defining work future of this Accelerator.
I.e.: students will be in continuous contact with stakeholders such as farmers and farmers, and will ask them about their needs and the problems they may face. They will keep you informed throughout the project so you can anticipate unintended consequences. |
|
Public engagement |
Students will use science through an interdisciplinary approach that will allow them to innovate in the problems posed. In addition, students will take advantage of this activity to propose new associations and relationships with both stakeholders and each other.
I.e.: Students will be able to establish new relationships with farmers, farmers, etc., in order to mutually benefit from each other's knowledge, and to improve the quality of this activity throughout the project. |
|
Gender equality |
Students will promote a research team with gender equality, in which a culture without gender discrimination is promoted. They will also work on gender equality in the context in which the project is developed.
I.e.: Students will form equal teams in terms of gender, and will study and analyze the state of gender equality in the agriculture and livestock sector. |
|
Science Education |
Students will look for problems according to the topic posed by this Accelerator and will try to solve them through Science and with a critical and innovative point of view.
I.e.: students will talk to the stakeholders involved looking for problems that may exist. Once known, students will propose a scientific project to propose solutions to these challenges, incorporating social, economic and ethical principles of Science. |
|
Ethics |
Students will conduct an integral investigation that will be aligned with social and moral values, reflecting on the ideas and concerns of the agents involved in the world of Science and Research.
I.e.: when presenting possible solutions to the problems of agriculture and livestock raised in this activity, students will discuss with stakeholders about how Science can help the sector. |
|
Open Access |
Students will investigate how technology is used in the sector through scientific literature and popular articles, and will create their own materials to spread their inventions with other people who may be interested in the subject.
I.e.: as they progress in the project, students will create a series of dissemination materials (posters, leaflets) that will share both the stakeholders involved in the activity and anyone who is interested in knowing the progress made. |
Feel
Addressed Challenge: agriculture and livestock is nourished by scientific and technological improvements, but still has much room for improvement. This FEEL phase proposes that our students talk and exchange with some of the stakeholders involved in this activity (such as farmers, ranchers or farmers) to ask them what their work is and what challenges they think can be helped by Science and Technology.
The students will look for an environmental or agricultural problem to work on in their project. In order to do that, they will be in contact with on or more of the relevant stakeholders: farmers, researchers from the academy, or other environmental factors from their neighborhood.
It is important that the students will go outdoors to see and feel for themselves the problem and the relevant data - so it doesn't merely stays theoretical.
Recommended partnership opportunities for this project: Farmers from the region, academic representatives, Ministry of Education representatives, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development representatives, Environment Department of the Municipality, parents.
Imagine
The students will work to find technological solutions to the problems presented by the community stakeholdre(s).
This is when teh students need to learn about the relevant technological tools that can help them with their projects.
Regarding the resources needed for this project:
It is very crucial that the pupils will be in contact with people who work in agriculture, so they will have access to their knowledge and will be able to understand the main problems in this area.
Financially, this can be a low-budget program with the pupils working on the computers or with their smartphones. If one wants to address some more complex real life problems in this area and to be able to achieve solutions for them, some more professional (and expansive) equipment is needed (a drone with a camera).
Create
The students will work with the chosen technological tools and methods in order to find a solution. It is important that they constantly collaborate with the community stakeholders.
