Engaging Teenagers in Community-Centered Edge AI Projects

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Experiential Education and Community Engagement: Scholarship and Practice SIG Roundtable 1

Abstract

While K–12 AI education has largely emphasized generative tools, edge AI offers students a tangible way to design solutions grounded in real-world, community contexts. This study examines how teenagers engaged in community-engaged engineering during a two-week summer camp at a creativity and invention museum. The camp was guided by the Community-Engaged Engineering Design (CEED) framework, developed by our team to integrate iterative engineering practices with local relevance. Participants used sensors and edge inference to identify meaningful problems and prototype responsive solutions. Qualitative findings show that facilitator support was critical in surfacing community needs, and sustained scaffolding helped students align technical decisions with those needs. The study highlights edge AI’s potential to foster socially responsive engineering practices in youth.

Authors

• Andrea Ramirez-Salgado, University of Florida

• Lauren Eutsler, University of North Texas

• Anany Sharma, University of Florida

• Woorin Hwang, University of Florida

• Yessy Eka Ambarwati, University of Florida

• Talar Terzian, University of Florida

• Megan Barnes, University of North Texas

• Nicole Dominguez, University of Florida

• Dillon Donihue, University of Florida

• Swarup Bhunia, University of Florida

• Tamzidul Hoque, University of Kansas

• Pasha Antonenko, University of Florida