We get a lot of questions on how to use Drones, multirotors or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects. Teachers are finding that this new technology and frontier is a fantastic way to highly engage students and accelerate higher level, critical thinking and problem solving skill development. So how do you do it?
Depending upon the focus, you could approach it from several ways. The best and most effective way we’ve used is to approach it from an “Ambitious Science” teaching method, where you start with a complex, contextual problem statement, then reverse engineer through it so you touch the various individual STEM skills and components.
Fortunately, multi rotors (drones, quads or any UAV) dives deeply into every single component of STEM so it becomes a perfect higher level, critical thinking learning experience for any student interested in these disciplines. What’s not included in that is the “Arts” or creative aspect, hence the Hawaii “STEAM” project was taking things one step further into the ‘application’ of the engineering result, and actually creating something (video, movie, documentary, etc) from the build. Adding the arts component extends your program into the A/V, multimedia, youtube video production or creative arts.
In short, it is a “Learn, Build, Fly and Create” approach.
The blend between the two (Arts and Sciences) is a very incredible thing and catalyses students into brilliant innovators and creators with solid technical and implementation skills. And you’ll find that the approach enables students to also develop the critical non-cognitive skills (grit, perseverance, learning how to fail). For example, it’s an awesome thing to watch a racing quad crash into a tree (or ground) and then have to reverse engineer the ‘whys’ of the fail. Typically it is a complex, interdependent failing of several things, so it’s perfect for getting young minds to postulate and prove. I.e. was it pilot error, did the amperage pull too high on the Speed controller during a turn that exceed the G’force, or perhaps all three? Sky’s the limit in the mental challenge!
Finally, the extra benefit you get by extending it into the arts, is that you spark the creative thought process that is sometimes missing in pure sciences yet it is what turns a good researcher into a ‘genius’ innovation rock star.
So as an example curriculum starting point, you could design something like this:
1) Create and assemble a basic electronics toolkit capable of building and maintaining a small UAV in the lab and in the field.
2) Create a basic media production toolkit that can record, edit and produce a 10 minute video to put on Youtube.
3) Create a small UAV, (quadcopter, etc) that can sustain flight for 10 minutes and take videos.
4) Create a pilot flight school to learn radio controlled flight basics and gain proficiency (this can be done with micro quadcopters like a Hubsan), define and implement a basic ruleset for responsible flying practices.
5) Create an establish a safe flying area and define a basic ruleset for safe flying procedures (including fly/no fly zones, crew pits and safe spectator viewing areas). Design an indoor obstacle course and create racing teams consisting of a pilot, flight crew and coordinator). Identify and define an outdoor flying ground that satisfies your safe flying area and responsible piloting best practices definition.
(This demo video was shot in a public library during normal business hours)
-Harry Arnold
Detroit Drone / iTVDetroit
contact me - harry@detroitdrone.com
