What are Drones? Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that can be flown autonomously or by using a handheld controller. What once was thought of as a military piece of equipment has rapidly moved into the consumer world. Drones are available at a variety of retail stores and online ranging greatly in price. Some more simplistic drones are smaller and can only fly short distances from the person manning the controller. Other drones are more sophisticated and have GPS and cameras with the capability to take pictures and video. Even Amazon is working to use drones in their package delivery - known as Amazon Prime Air. With military, commercial, and residential uses, drones have become easily accessible, quickly recognizable, and of great interest for the future. As Smith and
Sefton (2015) explain, “when students understand how drones work and use them in applications at a local scale their understanding of drone use at a global scale will be enhanced” (p. 29). Drones are used on a global scale in agriculture, wildlife monitoring, data collection, and environmental assessments to name a few (Smith &Sefton, 2015, p. 29). It makes perfect sense then that schools at all levels would want to expose students to drones since this is a technology that is rapidly expanding and is already being used in innovative ways that are impacting our world.
Drones in Education In addition to the engagement factor, drones have many practical applications for students and teachers in K-12. Although they may seem like an expensive piece of equipment that may be too complex for students, there are in fact many educational uses for affordable drones in the classroom.
When I taught a 6th grade writing course a few years ago, we did an argumentative essay on whether drones were a benefit or a nuisance to society. I was able to borrow my Step-dad’s drone that he got for Christmas to show students who had never seen a drone up close. After a few “flying” lessons in my backyard, I was even able to take the drone for a quick spin for my students. It was a windy day and my flying skills were not the best, so the drone ended up in the elementary school’s recess area beside us, but we all had a great laugh! My students were hooked, and in no time, they were busy researching and writing their argumentative essays. This simplistic example did not use the technology to its greatest potential as I merely substituted images of drones for the real thing, but it still had a positive effect on my student’s learning.
Educators and schools who want to go deeper with using drones certainly can. Below are a few examples of drone uses in educational settings with the SAMR technology-enabled learning model.
SAMR
|
Brief Explanation of the Model
|
Using SAMR with Drones
|
S - Substitution
|
Technology is a substitute for a more traditional form, but there is no real change by using the technology
|
Argumentative Essay Preparation/Lesson Hook:
- Teachers can show a real drone to students prior to having them write an argumentative essay on the benefits and hazards of drone usage. The use of a real drone is substituting looking at pictures from a book or reading information about a drone.
- Although students are more engaged by seeing a drone in person, it does not directly change the lesson. Through pictures and reading a book, students could still learn what a drone is and what it looks like.
|
A - Amplification
|
Technology is again a substitute, but there is an improvement in the task.
|
Analyzing the Parts of a Whole and the Impact of Conditions on Drone Flight:
- Students can examine a drone in person, taking notes on its parts and features. They can then observe the drone fly and see how wind speed and the weather impacts flight. They could hover the drone inside for a set amount of time, then take it outside and repeat the process. Wind speed and weather could be noted when the drone is taken outside to compare the impact of flight. Depending on the type of drone, the age of the students, and their training, students could even participate in flying the drone. Testing flight conditions based on the weather could be done with a paper airplane, but using a drone brings another element to the learning and makes it more real-world.
- In this example, technology is substituting information that students could read about in a book or article. They could look at a diagram of a drone. They could read a guide on flying a drone that explains the impact of different conditions on flight. However, by actually witnessing the flight of the drone and seeing/taking notes on the drone up-close, their learning is improved and amplified.
|
M - Modification
|
Technology creates a significant change in the task.
|
Coding with Drones
- Students can learn to code through many platforms; however, coding a drone’s flight allows students to see their codes in action. It also allows them to easily see when there is an issue with their code. Note: certain programmable drones are needed for this activity.
Aerial Videos and Pictures
- Prior to drones, getting an aerial picture or a “bird’s eye view” was almost impossible for students unless they were flying in a helicopter. However, now schools can use drones to get aerial pictures and videos around their school. There are many uses for these pictures/videos that will be from a perspective that would be difficult to attain without the drone.
- Videos could be taken from overhead of a sports practice or a student-created game. Students could then analyze the footage from a point of view that offers new angles and views that a traditional video recording.
|
R - Redefinition
|
Technology makes a task possible in a way that would be drastically different or not possible without the technology.
|
Drone Mapping
- Cameras take 2D images, but many drones have the ability to take footage of an area that can be transformed into a 3D map. If available, students can then use Virtual Reality to view their 3D images that were created using drone footage.
|
Resources for Further Investigation and Use of Drones
- Resources for Math Classroom and Digital Literacy/Computer Classes:
- General Information on Drone Regulations from the FAA
- Ideas Across the Curriculum for Drone Use
References
Smith, P., Sefton, V., & Chaffer, L. (2015). Drones: Ict in action. Geography Bulletin, 47(2), 25–34.
What a cool idea! I loved your example of using drones to inspire writing in an argumentative essay! I started reading your post with the idea that this would not be something I could use as an ELA teacher, but would have to save it for life as a librarian. However, as soon as you began talking about how you used drones as inspiration teaching 6th grade writing I realized how limited my thinking had been. I am beginning to understand how much I need to integrate technology in my classroom now, as well as how much I need to learn in order to help lead other teachers into integrating technology into their classrooms once I become a teacher librarian. I can see how engaged your 6th grade students must have been after getting to see a drone first hand. My 6th grade students just finished writing an argumentative essay. I wish I had thought of a more hands on approach that would have hooked my students as much as you were able to! Thank you for the idea and for showing me that I can be more expansive in my integration of technology!
ReplyDelete