Drones for Good: Drones in the Classroom

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Guest post by Kerry Guiliano at Monroe County ISD:

Image of Tello Drone 
A new trend on the horizon in education are drones in the classroom. Drones in the classroom, you say? Why and how could this even be possible? First of all, I’m not talking “50-pound cost thousands of dollars” type of drones, I’m talking about small drones that weigh roughly 12 oz, fly no more than 30 feet in the air (if that), have a short battery life, and do not cost an arm and leg. Drones that can be used INSIDE the classroom.

But why drones? We’ve seen some pretty cool things happening in the drone community. In my neck of the woods (Monroe County, Michigan), both Sylvania Minerals Quarry and Stoneco Quarry use a drone to measure and keep track of their stockpiles. Farmers are using drones to monitor crops, assess soil, and spot invasive plants that they can then target in certain areas instead of treating their entire crop, saving time and lots of money. Amazon recently stated that they are looking into drone delivery systems (Prime Air… not kidding!). American Airlines is using drones in their maintenance department. We are seeing drones in the entertainment industry, construction industry, even in firefighting! It makes sense that we have seen a drone influx into the classroom.

It’s easy to dismiss drones as just another fad, especially when so many kids got one for Christmas and fly them like they play video games. However, what if I told you that when we use them in the classroom, we don’t let them fly for fun? That we give them missions to complete and the drones are coded using block code and/or javascript? That sounds a lot more like alignment to the new Michigan Computer Science standards, MITECS competencies, and the possibility of Common Core/NGSS integration!

Mark Lyons, Bay Arenac ISD Technology Integration Specialist, says, “Working with others in the field of drones I've learned that part of our job as educators is to teach the youth that drones can be used for good.  When it comes to this topic, educating students to think about safety, question, program and how to problem-solve with the ability to fly a drone has been extremely beneficial to all who are involved. The integration of teaching Mathematics, Art, Engineering, and Science through drones has truly created excitement in the school buildings, for staff and students. Making learning fun and practical with interactive drone lessons has been a game-changer.”

Image of Droneblocks app
Each REMC in Michigan has two Tello Drones for you to check out for your classroom and many have more, thanks to the REMC Association’s Coding & Drones project last year (Find your REMC and contact here). When using a Tello Drone, you can use a couple of different apps. Firstly, the Tello app (Android/iOS). This app helps you set things up when you first get your Tello drone, and you can also use it to fly (like a videogame). However, the real classroom success is made with Droneblocks (Android/iOS/Chrome). I have personally used all three different Droneblocks apps, and the most reliable and successful app I’ve used is on Chrome, which is GREAT for Chromebook districts!

The Droneblocks website has a lot of great information on it, as well, including FREE curriculum and drone courses for educators. I’d definitely start here in the “Droneblocks Curriculum for Tello” course. Also, check out the missions. This is a great place to start! An example challenge might be: “There has been a flood in a village and the bridge is out. An elderly woman needs her medicine. Program the drone to fly the medicine to the village, and then fly out again, using the landing areas on the floor. If not correctly and within 60 seconds total, the mission has failed.” (Adapted from Droneblocks curriculum). Here’s a teacher who successfully completed the mission above during PD. Finally, safety first! Lenawee ISD and Ann Smart have shared their Drone Usage Board Policy and Consent and Release of Reliability Waiver for students. 

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