WHAT’S THE BUZZ
IN TECHNOLOGY?
DRONES!
There is no shortage of fancy technology gadgets on the market for students these days. Educational buzz words swirl around learning opportunities for STEAM projects that often require expensive boxes of supplies. Tech skills are absolutely a critical needs area for students, but it is also important to find ways to offer meaningful learning targets in the experience. Finding a happy medium of accessible and interesting projects that explore technology literacy is an important task for a school media specialist. Students love projects that provide hands on learning opportunities with good reason. Hands on projects with technology offer learners the space to employ the AASL framework standards competencies within the inquiry, explore, and create domains (2018).
This summer my son attended a summer camp at Roper Mountain Science Center to learn to fly drones. He is gadget loving kid so it was a perfect fit for him but I honestly figured they would spend a lot of time just flying things into trees. I know drones are a popular school science activity, but I never gave them much attention. I noticed the plans for his camp involved a great deal more than just flying. The class spent the first two days discussing aerodynamics and principles of flight. Before they even got to touch a drone, they spent an entire day taking them apart in order to rebuild them themselves. Most teachers would be horrified to spend money on drones only to rip them apart but the hands-on learning thru self-discovery that lesson offered students was a truly memorable experience. I can see the value of using the drones to connect curiosity and exploration to topics beyond just science. The drones also offered an opportunity for the students to research the possible uses for drones in the future and question ethical dilemmas such as privacy or control of airspace. There are multiple avenues of literacy that drones can be used to teach critical analysis with stimulating and interactive projects in social studies and even language arts (Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2017).
Drone usage in the classroom has grown thru science
grants, business supported events and library initiatives. There is no shortage
of creative ways to bring them to a school. There are multiple companies that
can come do demonstration events to help support specific curriculum units or
maker clubs. It is possible to find lots of companies that are willing to come
show off their equipment from construction companies that used drones on job
sites to real estate photographers who use them for aerial visuals. There are opportunities
to make them accessible with state funded library circulating kits. On the South
Carolina State Library website you can see circulating kits used to provide programming
opportunities that offer equipment rentals. The programs are usually reserved with
public librarians but that makes it another great opportunity for collaborative
efforts between the public and school sector groups.
Here is the link to explore the more information about
South Carolina Circulating Kits.
Circulating Kits | South Carolina State Library (sc.gov)
Drones
Can Be Fun—and Educational | Edutopia
Edutopia explores how drones can be fun AND
educational.
Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2017). Drones
Can Be Fun and Educational. Edutopia.org.
retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/7-ways-use-drones-classroom-heather-wolpert-gawron
Here is a video from SC ETV about the many uses for Drones in Education.
South Carolina ETV Commission. (2021). Drones: A Growing Tool for a Myriad of Uses. https://www.knowitall.org/audio/drones-growing-tool-myriad-uses-south-carolina-focus
Audio
Asset | Drones: A Growing Tool for a Myriad of Uses | South Carolina Focus |
Knowitall.org
American Library Association. (2014).
"Drones", Drones | Tools, Publications & Resources (ala.org)https://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/drones
http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/drones
(Accessed September 20, 2021)
Document ID:
b963f065-4942-10b4-8d14-ac832ad1e206
Suzanne! You do a really great job illustrating the many educational areas that could benefit from some sort of drone-based learning. I especially like the practical, career tech applications you describe that students might not initially connect with drone tech and also the digital citizenship instruction that might come with discussions of ethics and privacy. Great collection of resources as well. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSusanne,
ReplyDeleteI like the link you shared concerning circulating kits. I didn't realize this service existed and it is definitely one I will bookmark for future use. I noticed that the state library prefers school media specialists to work with their public library to reserve kits. This goes hand in hand with encouragement we've received from SLIS professors to partner with our public libraries! What a great illustration of one way we can do that as school media specialists.
-DeAnna
Awesome idea! Drones have so many uses in education. I only recently realized how useful drones could be in the classroom. I never gave them much thought in terms of an educational tool in the past, but the ideas are endless. I am so happy you mentioned the Circulating Kits through the South Carolina State Library. So many educators are not even aware of them. I have not personally reserved one, but I have shared one with other teachers at my previous school. Reserving a kit is a great way to try them out before purchasing them for your school. Yes, companies love to demonstrate the technology they are using for schools. We had a company demonstrate drone use a few years back and it was a huge hit. The students loved it!
ReplyDeleteStephanie Sulton