The high school tech department of RSU 22, located along the Penobscot River near Bangor, Maine, offers traditional programming, such as woodworking and shop, as well as a bringing variety of engineering tech tools and an extremely well-equipped makerspace secured through grant funds. However, through a series of community partnerships and funding opportunities, it was able to launch its Higher Vision Drone Program.

“One of the things that appealed to me is that we already have nine community partners, which represent a range of businesses and organizations,” says Jennifer Nickerson, the district’s Director of Curriculum, who saw an opportunity to add drones to its career pathways. “A little local blueberry farmer in one of our four towns uses the drone to inspect her crops and plan what she needs to do for work that day. The Maine Forest Service visited, sharing stories about their advanced, expensive drones. But they use the same skills our kids are learning to use the drones to find missing people or protect forests and Maine’s natural beauty.”

ESSER funds enabled the school to create an esports lab, tech which served perfectly to accommodate the drone program’s flight simulators. Nickerson worked with Charlie Huff, a technology teacher at Hampden Academy and the department head, Todd Moore, to implement the Higher Vision Drone Program. Title II funds secured out-of-state training for the pair to get certified to teach the young prospective pilots.

“Each certified instructor can have eight kids fly under their license,” says Nickerson. “The first year, they co-taught the intro class together with 16 kids in the program for the fall semester. Of the 16, 14 continued on to take the Commercial Drone course for the spring semester. We have 11 students scheduled for their FAA Part 107 tests, with two passing this week.”

And from there, the program has taken flight.

“Now other students are seeing all this hard work pay off and next year's course enrollments have jumped up,” says Nickerson. “To be fair, some of it is probably because when you are sitting on the second floor in your English class and you see a drone fly by outside, it’s pretty good advertisement."

For this and other efforts, Nickerson was recently honored with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award. She shares her “Higher Vision Drone Program” implementation successes and tips for those interested in creating a similar program in their district.

Enrollment, Enlistment, Employment

RSU 22 dates back to 1803, and Nickerson’s family has long been a part of it.

“We like to say, ‘We’re rooted in tradition, but focused on the future,’” says Nickerson. “My kiddos are fifth-generation Broncos, I joke that I bleed purple. The success of RSU 22 is really personal to me and my family and to the four towns in our district. One of which is more affluent than the other three, which can cause issues with programming. However, it was also an inspiration to seek out the Teach with Tech grant from the Maine DOE, which includes a requirement to support underserved students.”

Nickerson saw it as a real way to level opportunities within her district.

”We have tons of AP classes in our high school, Hampden Academy, and we add to them every year,” she says. “But we wanted exciting opportunities for kids who don't fit in that AP niche. I went to a conference which leaned heavily on the concept of three paths for kids, all being equally valuable. Enrollment, enlistment, employment — we need to honor those kids by supporting them with a clear path to success. This was a great motivation to create our drone program.

One very exciting opportunity has presented itself from Cianbro, a nationwide construction company.

“They learned about our program and told me, ‘If you get kids to take and pass the FAA Part 107 test to earn their drone license, we will hire them the day of graduation,’” says Nickerson. “We want those opportunities for our students, because not everyone is going to go to college.”

The Importance of Community Partnerships

A distinctive feature of Hampden Academy’s drone program is its collaboration with nine community partners who share their expertise directly with students. These partnerships include:

• Hampden Public Safety: Demonstrating emergency response applications and public safety uses for drone technology.
• Cianbro: Showcasing industrial applications in construction and infrastructure development.
• News Center 2: Illustrating journalistic and media applications of drone photography and videography.
• Haley Ward Civil Engineering: Providing insights on surveying, mapping, and engineering applications.
• American Forestry Management: Highlighting environmental monitoring and forestry management techniques.
• Matt Thomas Media Productions: Sharing expertise in commercial drone photography and cinematography.
• Allan Gordon Jr Surveying: Demonstrating precision mapping and land surveying applications.
• United States Military: Offering perspectives on drone operations and career opportunities in defense.
• Maine Forest Service: Showcasing thermal imaging and precision aerial surveillance in public safety and natural resource management.

These partnerships provide students with real-world context for their learning and exposure to potential career pathways within their own communities.

“You can't just do it alone,” says Nickerson. “When your community gets behind you to share their expertise and open kids’ eyes to possibility, that culture can be one of your greatest resources even in small, rural, less affluent parts of the world. That’s one way this drone program will be sustainable for the future.”

Ultimately, Nickerson’s goal is just to do the right things for her students by securing the best tools for success.

“No one wants to build a house with a hammer that doesn't have a handle,” Nickerson says. “We need to have the best tools to do the best by our kids. Fortunately, this district has always put technology at the top of their priorities. We have a really supportive superintendent and assistant superintendent who believe in thinking outside the box. It’s just really great, because we need to prepare them. They are going to leave us one day, so we need to help them learn how to fly.”

4 Tips When Starting a New Tech Initiative

Nickerson offers advice to others who might be interested in launching a similar initiative:

• Don’t let lack of funds stop you. Think outside of the box and be creative and you will find the support.
• When securing grants, read the fine print. Some funds require specific choices in tech, such as drones that need to be made in the USA.
• Find your North Star and stay true to it. Think about what is most valuable to you and persevere. Don’t let setbacks stop you.
• Lean on your community. Resources don't have to be financial, expertise is invaluable.

Tools They Use

• Parrot ANAFI Drones
• Claude
• MagicSchool
• Google Suite
• Kibo Robots (Kinderlab)
• zSpace
• edWeb
• Chalk
• Smore
• SWIS/PBIS Apps
• Canva

When it comes to teaching STEM, nothing quite beats the wow factor drones provide, says Henzé Gustave.

Gustave is the former chief metaverse officer and a drone education expert at Drone Cadets. He is also the founder of Skyhound Group LLC, a newly launched drone pilot training organization that is set to work with students across the globe. He has worked with students and educators across the U.S. and internationally to help teach about everything from coding, math, engineering, and physics to cybersecurity and teamwork.

Drones are increasingly used in agriculture, mining, search and rescue operations, and for tasks as diverse as helping power companies perform inspections on power lines. By learning about drones, students can become drone pilots and get real-world job training for these industries, plus the lessons learned while working with drones can be applied to many other areas beyond aviation, Gustave says.

Interest in all things drone-related recently saw an uptick thanks to a string of mysterious sightings that captivated the nation. These incidents started in New Jersey, but strange drone sightings were soon reported in other states. Theories about the origins of these unidentified devices range from government hijinks to mass hysteria to aliens, of course.

Secret government or alien drones aside, regular everyday drones have a lot to offer in terms of learning. Here are some of the things drones can teach students.

1. Teaching With Drones: Hands-On Building

Drone education is more hands-on than some standard computer science classes. In Gustave’s programs, students use kits to assemble their own drones. Even students who have some dexterity issues tend to enjoy this process, he says.

“We've seen an overwhelmingly great response to it because it allows the students to fully understand the functionalities of each component and understand how it works together,” he says.

2. Coding

Using drones to reinforce coding lessons is a great way for students to see the power of programming and how it influences the real world.

“We're in this digital world, and coding is one of those skill sets everyone should have,” Gustave says.

Drones help students learn block coding and other coding languages as they complete various drone missions. “We gave these students a task of get from point A to point C while avoiding point B,” he says.

3. Engineering

Students completing drone missions learn about coding but also about physics and math, Gustave says, as both core engineering principles are required to calculate what will make the drone perform at its best. For instance, maybe they can remove some components from a drone to make it lighter and therefore potentially move faster.

“We even teach them about the different voltages on the drones so that they understand what voltages are needed for the components that they're putting together,” Henze says.

4. Cybersecurity

“The drones are flying computers,” Henze says, which makes the devices a great vehicle to teach about cybersecurity.

“We teach the students how to find those little vulnerabilities, how to patch them up, and learn the basics of cybersecurity,” Henze says. “And they can take that skill set outside of the drone world and apply it to the greater cybersecurity space.”

5. Teamwork

Part of all these lessons is the equally important skill of students learning collaboration and teamwork.

“They're working together to solve a problem,” he says. This can be enhanced through the friendly competitive nature of things such as drone races.

“There's that excitement, you know, the team camaraderie and just bragging rights as well, being able to win a race,” he says.

6. Communicating Expertise

A bonus skill of late for students familiar with drones is that they can help explain what exactly has been happening in the night skies over New Jersey and elsewhere by explaining what conventional civilian drones can and cannot do.

Gustave says these drone sightings have sparked interest among drone students with whom he works. “They are very much more interested now because they have a sense of expertise,” he says. “They can properly articulate a little bit of what's going on to their parents or their friends.”

• What To Know About Buying Drones For Schools
• Drone Soccer Looks Like Robot Quidditch. Here’s How Educators Are Using It

If you're considering buying drones for schools, this guide could help you find the ideal setup to ensure pupils and educators have the best experience possible. Once you know what you need, it should make picking the best drones for schools a better process.

A great place to start is need. Think about what need a drone will serve in your school. Is this to get some aerial shots of the buildings for promotional videos? Are these specifically for coding and programming lessons that result in real-world actions? Is drone building a great way to help teach engineering and physics? Or perhaps it's a bit of all of those things and more.

Essentially, by narrowing down uses you'll be able to make sure you only pay for the features you need and don't waste money on a drone that doesn't ideally serve your purposes.

Read on to find out all you need to think about before buying drones for schools.

What's it for?

Many different types of drones are now available, capable of a wide range of tasks. But for education specifically, you may want to focus on drones that are capable of helping teach both physical building skills and coding programming. Since many of these also have cameras, using one for other purposes after it's up and running should be an option as well.

That can narrow the list down quite concisely as school-specific drones, with education-focused systems, are fewer in number. You can still get big name options, with lots of support and constant updates, but just expect to potentially pay a premium for the brand name. That said, the extra cost may be there for a reason as these companies offer some well-developed units that are super robust and often are more easy to use and have long warranty coverage.

Programming

If the drone is going to be an extension of a need to teach programming, then you may want to consider models that have the best software support systems. A few options are out there so be sure to keep in mind the type of coding you want to teach and check that the drone is compatible.

Some drones offer multiple coding options -- including block-based -- and work with Arduino hardware, so it might be something with which students already have experience. This could simply offer an extension of that virtual world, adding in the excitement of real-world results from their coding efforts.

Drone size

The size of the drone could be an important consideration. Essentially, there are two categories to keep in mind, and these are weight-based: The sub 2kg range and the smaller microdrone range.

Generally speaking, the microdrones are targeted at, and are better suited to, beginners. These are more simple in their construction, smaller and lighter for easier flight and simpler storage. Essentially a microdrone is less heavy and so stands less chance of being damaged from crashing, making it well suited to younger students or those new to drone operating.

You may be using drones for sport, such as racing, in which case the lighter and often more nimble microdrones can be the better choice.

Flight features

Aside from the building and coding of the drone itself, there is also the features it offers which are worth considering. For example, you may want a drone with a decent quality camera to capture images and videos for use in other lessons and areas of the school.

Flight controls are another area to think about as most drones offer auto hovering and even object detection to avoid crashing -- useful features if younger students are going to be let lose with these units.

Replacement parts are a big consideration too as a crash is inevitable, and damage to a model that can easily swap out parts will make life much easier in the longer term. The availability and pricing of these parts are worth looking into before you commit to any particular brand.

Pricing

Inevitably the price of drones is a consideration. Since this is for school, you may require more than one and often deals can be had for buying in bulk. In fact, some systems even give you central app controls that allow you to better offer the software to students as well as to monitor use. You can also often get bulk charging stations so everything is charged and ready to go each morning.

Take a look at warranty cover as this may be something that gets used after a few crashes. As mentioned before, it also literally pays to check on how affordable and available spare parts are, as you'll likely have need of these.

• Best Drones for Students

David Roberts, president of U.S. Drone Soccer, smiles when I tell him that after watching YouTube videos of drone soccer matches, I think of it as, “robot Quidditch.”

“We know that people have begun to understand how the game plays when they compare it to Quidditch,” Roberts says.

The high-tech aerial sport can now be found in 28 states across the country. Drone soccer involves student-piloted drones squaring off against one another in an enclosed drone arena. The sport supports a variety of STEM skills in students and helps prepare them for potential future careers in the aeronautics industry.

Here’s everything you need to know about drone soccer.

What Is Drone Soccer?

Drone soccer was invented in 2016 by researchers and drone enthusiasts at the CAMTIC Institute of Technology, based in Jeonju, South Korea. The sport is now played across the globe, and has grown exponentially in the U.S. over the past two and a half years -- ever since the U.S. Drone Soccer organization, which promotes it, started programs at four schools in Colorado.

“Now we're at over 240 schools across the United States,” Roberts says.

The game looks like a science fiction battle. It is played indoors or outdoors within a “drone arena” that is about 20m x 10m. The matches consist of three sets. Students on each team pilot drones that fly about 3 meters off of the ground. The “striker” is the only player on each team that can score. The striker does this by flying their drone through a circular goal post placed 3 meters to 3.5 meters off the ground. The other players help their striker score and try to prevent the opposing team’s striker from scoring.

What Are Some Skills Drone Soccer Teaches Children?

Dr. Robert Mayben uses drone soccer with educators and students as part of his role as a technology in motion specialist at ​​The University of Alabama/University of West Alabama Inservice Center, which provides professional development opportunities for educators within 13 school districts in Alabama.

“One of the best parts about drone soccer is that it's fun,” he says. “I'm not having to teach Excel or Google Sheets, or something like that. I'm able to do something that's tangible and fun for the kids.”

But although the fast-paced competition is fun, it offers more than that. “It teaches them not only skills in flying but collaboration and engineering,” Mayben says.

Those types of lessons are what U.S. Drone Soccer is all about, Roberts says. “Our mission is to inspire students to pursue education and careers in aerospace and science by providing a hierarchy of competitions and events that highlight student skills and engineering and aviation teamwork and leadership,” he says.

How Accessible Is Drone Soccer?

The sport sounds expensive at first glance but U.S. Drone Soccer and its industry partners are dedicated to making it more accessible. Michelin Inflatable Solutions, a subsidiary of Michelin, has partnered with U.S. Drone Soccer to provide educators across the U.S. inflatable drone arenas. These are easy to transport and lightweight. Mayben utilizes one of these portable drone arenas for his demonstrations with drone soccer in Alabama.

Anne-Frédérique Salit, CEO Of Michelin Inflatable Solutions, says Michelin partnered with U.S. Drone Soccer because the inflatable drone soccer arenas support diversity and inclusivity in STEM education. “We think that technology is inclusive by nature,” she says. She adds that drone soccer can encourage women and students from any background to get involved with STEM activities.

What If An Educator Wants To Get Their School or District Involved?

DroneSoccer.us has all the resources that educators who want to start a drone soccer program might need, says Roberts. The process will include a variety of steps, including PD for the educators who are going to lead the project. In addition, leaders of a school's drone soccer program need to find a space to fit the inflatable drone arena, but that isn’t particularly difficult in most school settings.

“It’s going to fit in any school gymnasium or multipurpose room,” Roberts says.

While going through the process, educators should also keep their eyes on the prize, Mayben adds. Remember: Drone soccer is a practical sport and activity for kids to get involved with, but it can lead to various STEM-related opportunities.

“There are so many jobs becoming available for drones,” he says. “In drone soccer, they can get that experience of flying the drone. They can go through and continue through the curriculum and get their drone license, and they can walk out of high school career-ready."

• Best Drones for Schools
• How Schools Use Drones to Deliver Internet to Students

The best drones for schools offer a way to elevate your teaching and student engagement all in one fell swoop. This can mean teaching coding and construction in one potential trip to the skies for your students.

Drones are more affordable and simple to use than ever before. That said, these aerial devices also offer a depth and complexity -- especially when you get into the coding -- which can help teach students of a wide range of ages and abilities. 

Crucially, drones are valuable tools for STEM learning, both as a means to help students build their own flying machines but also as a way to work with those creations. Coding can engage students in the virtual world while their built machines show them just how that can translate into a physical world result.

Once the drones are built, the uses can continue with drone racing, video and image shooting, and other real-world projects possible, each also working hand-eye coordination as the drones are piloted.

Below are the very best drones for schools with a variety listed, to suit lots of different teaching needs.

• Best Laptops for Teachers
• Best Coding Kits for Schools

1. Robolink CoDrone Lite Educational: Best drones for schools top pick

The Robolink CoDrone Lite Educational drone and Pro models are available as stand-alone or as bundles for schools. In either case, these allow students to learn how to physically build the drone as well as how to program it.

Programming is done via an Arduino coding environment, or can be done using Python in the CoDrone Lite setup. The system helps students learn to code with blocking coding in Snap, text-based coding in Python, and coding in Blockly.

The drone itself is small and light, and features auto hovering, infrared sensors for educational games, and a barometer sensor to assist with altitude control. The limited eight-minute flight time isn't ideal, nor the max 160-foot range – but since this is more about building and tinkering than flying, these limits aren't a problem. 

2. Ryze DJI Tello EDU: The best camera drone for coding

The Ryze DJI Tello EDU is the result of a team-up between Ryze Robotics and the king of drone manufacturers, DJI. The result is an impressively specced drone for the price, complete with 720p, 30fps camera onboard, object recognition, auto take off and landing, and a failsafe protection system.

You get lots of coding options here with Scratch, Python, and Swift all available. This model also can work with other drones of the same type for a swarm mode so all can "dance" together. Mission pads offer uses as take-off and landing zones. This unit also offers a better-than-most 13 minutes worth of flight time. Plus, you can add a Special Development Kit (SDK) for lots of creative tinkering – ideal for curious and eager bright minds. 

3. Sky Viper e1700: Best affordable educational drone

The Sky Viper e1700 is a stunt drone that can be built from its basic parts and programmed to perform tricks. The fact this also flies at up to 25 mph is another feature that helps to make it a lot of fun while remaining educational. 

This unit is great for hand-eye coordination as it not only has the usual auto hover flight mode, but features pure manual, which requires a decent amount of skill, concentration, and patience to master. Despite the low price, it comes with lots of parts, including spares, which are great if the unit is going to get a lot of beginner pilots trying to control it manually. 

4. Parrot Mambo Fly: Best educational drone for coding options

The Parrot Mambo Fly is a very compelling drone option as it's made by a well-known drone manufacturer and is modular. This means students can build different drones based on what is attached, from a high-quality 60 fps camera to a cannon or grabber system. While that flexibility creates many options for real-world uses, the programming side is also impressive.

This unit offers some of the most varied programming language options of any drone with Block-Based Tynker and Blockly but also text-based JavaScript, Python, and even support for Apple Swift Playground. 

5. Makeblock Airblock: Best modular educational drone

The Makeblock Airblock is a modular drone that consists of one core master unit and six other modules that can be easily attached magnetically. It is designed and built by a STEM learning specialist and, as such, features comprehensive learning options. The Airblock comes with a dedicated mBlock 5 programming platform that features block-based and text-based coding. 

The Neuron app, which this comes with, is flow-based programming software that allows students to integrate this drone's actions with other devices such as AI or Internet of Things smart gadgets. All that makes for a very creative and comprehensive learning experience from what is a well-priced drone.

6. BetaFpv FPV Cetus RTF Kit: Best for racing

The BetaFpv FPV Cetus RTF Kit is a great option for students who enjoy gaming. This includes a VR headset that allows the drone to be flown in a first-person view, as if you are onboard during a flight. A super immersive experience that's lots of fun and teaches hand-eye coordination in a unique way.

The battery could be longer with a limited 5-minute flight time, except for the price this gets you FPV hobbyist kit without the usual outlay. You can even play a flying simulator game, using the controller, while the drone itself charges. The addition of an optical flow hover sensor is rare in these sorts of models, which is nice to see and makes this easy and safe to use.

• Best Laptops for Teachers
• Best Coding Kits for Schools

The best drones for education make for a fun and engaging way to help teach students, not only about physical construction, but about coding.

As part of a STEM learning project it's possible to use a build-you-own drone kit to allow even younger students to make their own flying machine. While that in itself is a rewarding task, the end result can be used to educate further.

Many coding platforms now work with drones, allowing students to write code that dictates what the drone will do. This helps to bridge the virtual and real worlds to make coding a far more understandable resource for students. 

The use cases continue, with cameras on drones ideal for shooting school promo videos, art projects, and more. There's also drone racing, for the competitive students, which is great for hand-eye coordination and is an exciting and freeing possibility for students who might otherwise struggle with mobility.

So which are the best drones for education? Here are the very best options, each clearly labelled with its special skill to suit your needs.

• Best Laptops for Teachers
• Best Month of Code Education Kits

1. Robolink CoDrone Lite Educational: Best drones for education top pick

The Robolink CoDrone Lite Educational drone and Pro models are available as stand-alone or as bundles for schools. In either case, these allow students to learn how to physically build the drone as well as how to program it.

Programming is done via an Arduino coding environment, or can be done using Python in the CoDrone Lite setup. The system helps students learn to code with blocking coding in Snap, text-based coding in Python, and coding in Blockly.

The drone itself is small and light, and features auto hovering, infrared sensors for educational games, and a barometer sensor to assist with altitude control. The limited eight-minute flight time isn't ideal, nor the max 160-foot range – but since this is more about building and tinkering than flying, these limits aren't a problem. 

2. Ryze DJI Tello EDU: The best camera drone for coding

The Ryze DJI Tello EDU is the result of a team-up between Ryze Robotics and the king of drone manufacturers, DJI. The result is an impressively specced drone for the price, complete with 720p, 30fps camera onboard, object recognition, auto take off and landing, and a failsafe protection system.

You get lots of coding options here with Scratch, Python, and Swift all available. This model also can work with other drones of the same type for a swarm mode so all can "dance" together. Mission pads offer uses as take-off and landing zones. This unit also offers a better-than-most 13 minutes worth of flight time. Plus, you can add a Special Development Kit (SDK) for lots of creative tinkering – ideal for curious and eager bright minds. 

3. Sky Viper e1700: Best affordable educational drone

The Sky Viper e1700 is a stunt drone that can be built from its basic parts and programmed to perform tricks. The fact this also flies at up to 25 mph is another feature that helps to make it a lot of fun while remaining educational. 

This unit is great for hand-eye coordination as it not only has the usual auto hover flight mode, but features pure manual, which requires a decent amount of skill, concentration, and patience to master. Despite the low price, it comes with lots of parts, including spares, which are great if the unit is going to get a lot of beginner pilots trying to control it manually. 

4. Parrot Mambo Fly: Best educational drone for coding options

The Parrot Mambo Fly is a very compelling drone option as it's made by a well-known drone manufacturer and is modular. This means students can build different drones based on what is attached, from a high-quality 60 fps camera to a cannon or grabber system. While that flexibility creates many options for real-world uses, the programming side is also impressive.

This unit offers some of the most varied programming language options of any drone with Block-Based Tynker and Blockly but also text-based JavaScript, Python, and even support for Apple Swift Playground. 

5. Makeblock Airblock: Best modular educational drone

The Makeblock Airblock is a modular drone that consists of one core master unit and six other modules that can be easily attached magnetically. It is designed and built by a STEM learning specialist and, as such, features comprehensive learning options. The Airblock comes with a dedicated mBlock 5 programming platform that features block-based and text-based coding. 

The Neuron app, which this comes with, is flow-based programming software that allows students to integrate this drone's actions with other devices such as artificial intelligence or Internet of Things smart gadgets. All that makes for a very creative and comprehensive learning experience from what is a well-priced drone.

6. BetaFpv FPV Cetus RTF Kit: Best for racing

The BetaFpv FPV Cetus RTF Kit is a great option for students who enjoy gaming. This includes a VR headset that allows the drone to be flown in a first person view, as if you are onboard during a flight. A super immersive experience that's lots of fun and teaches hand-eye coordination in a unique way.

The battery could be longer with a limited 5-minute flight time, except for the price this gets you FPV hobbyist kit without the usual outlay. You can even play a flying simulator game, using the controller, while the drone itself charges. The addition of an optical flow hover sensor is rare in these sorts of models, which is nice to see and makes this easy and safe to use.

• Best Laptops for Teachers
• Best Month of Code Education Kits

Officials at Northland Pines School District in northern Wisconsin are working with a tech company and local entrepreneur on a pilot program to deliver internet to students via drone. 

The program, which received a $100,000 grant from the state of Wisconsin, will utilize drones that are tethered to a power source on the ground and can stay airborne for weeks, and even months. The drones will serve as flying cell towers, able to beam internet down to rural students who live in areas without high-speed internet access. 

“We’ll be testing it over the next few months,” says Harlan Leusink, director of technology for the district. 

About 10 percent of Northland Pines students don’t have any internet connectivity at home, while as many as 40 percent have inadequate connection speeds to meet the demands of remote learning. District leaders have tried for more than a decade to close that gap, but there are no easy solutions. “We’re a district of about 500 square miles and getting wired internet connection to those households that are at the end of that 500 square miles is a challenge,” Leusink says. In many cases, it isn’t feasible at all. 

Since the pandemic began, school districts have gone to extensive lengths to close the digital divide, in some cases even becoming internet service providers, but Northland Pines School District is one of the first to take to the skies to try to solve this problem 

The Tech  

The district is working with the drone companies Spooky Action and Wisconsin Telelift, which was founded by local entrepreneurs Scott and Greta Williams. 

Several years ago, Scott Williams developed the tethered drone technology while working with a nonprofit in Africa. It was conceived as a way of monitoring huge game preserves and preventing poaching. Rahul Tiwari, Spooky Action’s founder and CEO, worked with Williams in Africa and used the drone technology developed there to launch his company. 

Spooky Action drones are attached to a wire that transfers data to the drone as well as electricity. The tether is 400 feet, but usually the drone is not flying nearly that high. “What we find is for most radios, the sweet spot is about 100 feet,” Williams says. “Once you go above 100 feet, it starts to dissipate. Anything above 200 feet creates a little bit more complicated issues with the FAA for airspace, so we definitely want to stay under that.” 

The drones also offer flexibility that isn’t available with permanent structures. “One of the neat things about this technology is you can put it at 100 feet and go, ‘Well, we're not getting great coverage there, let's go to 120 or go down to 80,’” says Williams. “So you can kind of vary it based on terrain.” 

Spooky Action’s drones were originally designed to provide access during events and as part of disaster relief efforts. “A hurricane comes in and blows down all your cell towers, it's pretty easy to put up a flying cell tower,” Tiwari says. “It's not necessarily to replace a cell tower, we're not going to be able to do that. The idea is to dynamically address the internet needs of a community without having to build a million cell towers everywhere.” 

While Spooky Action drones are capable of staying in the air for more than a month, that’s not usually necessary when providing internet to students. Tiwari envisions a scenario where the drones will be active during peak class and homework times, and maybe won’t be flying overnight. 

Leusink says his district is looking at the drone service as a proof-of-concept for where and how they need to deploy more permanent equipment. If a drone in a certain area gives students good coverage in that area, he says the next step will be for the district to look for more permanent land-based solutions. 

The Cost  

Emmett J. McBride, director of technology for The D.C. Everest Area School District in Wisconsin, started looking into providing internet via drone independently of the Northland Pines project. Though a mostly suburban district, McBride’s district serves many students who live in remote wooded areas where cable is unavailable and cell service is frequently nonexistent. 

Getting reliable internet to these students remains a challenge despite the district’s best efforts, says McBride. Wireless hotspots didn’t work well and satellite internet connections were plagued by latency (lag time). They explored building their own cell towers, but the cost was astronomical.

“We realized the couple towers we  wanted to put up were going to cost close to a quarter of a million dollars and they were going to cover like 10 houses,” McBride says. “Can you imagine telling your taxpayers, ‘We spent a quarter of a million dollars and 10 people got internet, and it's okay internet, it's not even great.’” 

McBride read about Google’s efforts with Project Loon, which was an initiative aimed at beaming high-speed internet to parts of the globe where it is unavailable with a fleet of high-altitude balloons. Google’s parent company announced in January Loon was ending, but last year McBride was inspired enough by the idea to begin exploring the possibility of his district doing something similar, albeit on a much smaller scale. He ultimately connected with the Northland Pines School District. 

Though drones are only one of several possible solutions McBride’s district is looking at, he likes the idea of delivering internet access via drone. “It's like a cheap tower,” he says. “We have a tree cover canopy of about 100 feet, so you have to build a big tower, and it's expensive.” But with a drone it's easy to fly above and around any obstacles. 

What Your District Should Know  

McBride advises connecting with others in the education community through organizations such as Digital Promise and to connect with local, county and state organizations about potential resources. 

Tiwari recommends reaching out to companies such as his so developers can better tailor their products to addressing the real-world problems occurring within districts. He notes that the challenge of providing universal internet is so complex, there is no one-size fits all solution. “The magnitude of the problem is so big that they're going to need technology like ours and technology like other folks have, all working in tandem to try to close this gap.” 

• Overcoming the Digital Divide: School Districts Create Their Own Wireless Networks
• How Public TV Stations Are Partnering with Schools to Increase Educational Content for Students Without Internet

Marine science researchers with the The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are using drones to gain newfound insight into the behaviors, physical cost of migration and humanity’s impact on marine mammals. 

We chat with Lars Bejder, Director of the Marine Mammal Research Program at The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (www.mmrphawaii.org), about this innovative program. 

Who: The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Marine Mammal Research Program 

Where: Kaneohe, HI 

What: Using Drones to Analyze Migrating Marine Mammals 

Marine mammals are fascinating animals, some are resident, others (like most baleen whales) migrate. Those whales feed and breed in different habitats, so they have to migrate over large distances. When humpback whales leave their foraging habitats [in Alaska for breeding grounds in Hawaii], they might not feed for four or five months. They have a thick layer of blubber to sustain the costs of migration, giving birth, lactating and fattening up the calf before they make the journey back to the foraging grounds. They change their body composition quite dramatically. Using this drone program, we are finally able to quantify those changes. Preliminary results show lactating females are losing 35-45% of their body mass. 

At issue is the conservation around these animals and how that relates to impacts of human activity. We use drones to follow these animals and getting repeated measurements throughout the breeding system, while working with the Alaska Whale Foundation to find some of the same animals to measure their volume as they change throughout the foraging season. Linking the whole cycle will allow us to work out the cost of living for a whale, so we can look at the bigger picture of what are the impacts of climate change and change of prey distributions on these animals. That's the overall goal for this project.

Positive Results

• Best Drones for Education 2020
• Meet the DJI RoboMaster S1, a Mini Tank Drone and Trojan Horse for Teaching Code

New technology is allowing us to answer questions we felt we'd never solve. Typically, dolphins or whales were approached by boat, so we only get a glimpse of them from the side. Launching the drones afforded a bird’s-eye view letting us see behaviors from above and more importantly, using custom-built altimeters and precise lenses to quantify the true size and volume of these animals. When you observe specific individuals repeatedly over time, you can see precisely how the animal’s health and condition changes, which is really important. Non-invasive suction cup tags bearing cameras, hydrophones and accelerometers help us understand how they move in three dimensional space and how they respond to stimuli. Coupled with the drone footage and cameras, we can observe fine details and the foraging behavior. We can see how they are capturing prey from the whale's perspective.

Biggest Challenge

The first hurdle was getting the animal ethics Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees’ (IACUCs) approval, then the federal approval to work with marine mammals. That’s a pretty large step to get through. Then there are the practical challenges. 

One of those is clearly weather; we wouldn't work in more than 15 knot winds. The drones could handle it, but the water is so choppy that the images wouldn’t be of use to estimate size or accurately obtain measurements. You need to learn how to fly a drone, then how to fly a drone and capture it from a boat (usually you are flying and landing a drone from solid ground). In this situation, you have the added challenge of catching the drone from a moving object with swell and wind.

Finding Funding

I applied for an Equipment Grant from the Office of Naval Research to help equip my lab, so most of these drones were purchased through that grant. We are also collaborating with Stanford University and Hopkins Marine Lab on non-invasive suction cup tags to put on whales that have cameras, hydrophones and accelerometers.

Pro Tips

Drones are a hot topic, there are hundreds of drones out. Do a lot of homework on what tech you actually need to answer your question, what fits your purpose. There's no need to buy a Lamborghini if a Volkswagen will do. We have several types—some have very good altimeters and cameras which is key for estimating volume, but when we are doing an extended focal follow, you don't need those kind of lenses, you need an instrument that can stay in the air a long time. Figure out what you need from your instruments and choose wisely.

What’s Next

We’re keen to work with the Computing Department to help us develop 3D models of some of our measurements. There is a wide scope of potential spin-off projects. Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be developed to automate detection of the same individuals instead of having to be done by human eye. They could search footage and find the particular telling aspects of a fluke [markings on the tale, or fluke, are unique like fingerprints]. Visit www.mmrphawaii.org for the latest findings and developments.

Tech Tools

• DJI Inspire 2 unmanned aerial system (drone)
• CRYSTALSKY ULTRA 7.85INCH MONITOR
• OLYMPUS*25MM F/1.8 - MICRO 4/3 lens
• DJI ZENMUSE X5S CAMERA

Videos

*Acknowledgments to Martin Van Aswegan, and to Frederic Christiansen who pioneered how to analyze this data.

Tech’s Gone Country, AR/VR in Rural Ed

One rural district opened the world to their students using augmented and virtual reality elements to enrich core subjects and prepare them for the future. 

Who: Tina Bobrowski, Library Media Specialist 

Where: Owsley County High School in Southeastern Kentucky 

What: Using AR/VR to enhance rural education

Our students live in an isolated area in southeastern Kentucky. Without access to experiences that would be readily available in larger cities, such as museums and job shadowing experiences, and with a steep socio-economic gap with learners from other regions, we quickly realized that augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can bridge this gap by providing our students access to virtual experiences and resources in the fields of medicine, arts and humanities, and mathematics. Students learn immersed virtual worlds more quickly and with greater mastery. 

[AV Goes Accessible]

A big thing about our community is its natural beauty. Being located in the Appalachian mountains gives our students the opportunity to be surrounded by natural beauty including the Kentucky river, the Red River Gorge area, and the nearby Daniel Boone National Forest. Our student senate began an initiative with support from a community challenge grant awarded by the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) to capture the beauty of our region and tell our story as citizens of Owsley County and southeastern Kentucky. We purchased a drone to fly in the woodland areas and capture images and video of the natural wonder that is southeastern Kentucky.

Positive Results

In a high school setting, where students are often hesitant to raise their hands, come to the board, or demonstrate their learning, we have witnessed our students jumping at the chance to put on the headset and explore, show their friends what they have found, and share their experience with others. Students make connections and use them to cement concepts gained from their texts and lessons. With the implementation of drone technology in our classes, students are beginning to see new fields of employment, including unmanned aerial photography and videography. 

Not only is it in their digital world, where they feel comfortable as digital natives, but it also provided them with more immersive learning, where students felt free to take risks and explore. In particular, they immediately bought into the idea of flying a drone for class. Journalism students were eager to “spread their wings,” learn to fly, get coverage of locations and scout ideas for other flights quickly. ELA students took a virtual reality tour of Ancient Greece, focused on Greek sculpture, then utilizing Z spaces actually created their own “virtual sculpture of a peer” in a similar style.

Biggest Challenge

Our biggest obstacle is capacity. With only one virtual reality headset currently and six augmented reality systems, students must work in small groups. We overcame our challenges by embracing modular learning, where students receive information at one station, work on Z Spaces in another station, and complete other portions of their lesson in the classroom.

Finding Funding

Grant funding has supported this initiative. In addition to federal Title I funding where available to support student learning. 

Unfortunately, in our small socio-economically distressed area, traditional jobs are not available. Our new Gigabit Community with high speed internet can provide new viable options for graduates who may choose to stay and work from their homes in tech fields. Having tech skills is imperative as our community's TeleWorks USA Hub has provided work in our area from Apple, DELL, UHaul, Amazon, Concentrix and is now the largest employer in our county.

Pro Tips

Target specific units of study when implementing software. Utilize available space and stage the learning environment. In addition, make sure students can not only utilize the technology, but observe others utilizing the technology, see what they are doing, and share their experiences. When looking into drone technology, educators should take a close look at larger companies and understand the standards for sensors, and how drones can be used in the classroom. Companies such as DJI cater specifically to the educational realm. 

Finally, make all decisions on what is best for students and what can remove barriers to student learning. Carefully review software to include students with special physical considerations, including assisted visuals, captioned audio, seated only interactions, and controller sensitivity adjustment for learners who may need assistance with their fine motor skills. We have found all students, including “differently-abled” students with special needs, find virtual learning to be more accessible than traditional learning resources.

Tech Tools

• Z Space Augmented Reality System
• Primary and Secondary AR glasses/Stylus/Tables to support at least three chairs per Z Space
• Custom Built PC w/additional large monitor for other students to observe
• HTC VIVE Virtual Reality System with Audio Upgrade (over-the-ear headphones)
• Viveport software subscription service
• DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone

Watch as we are “Traveling Beyond Appalachia in a Virtual Learning Lab”: https://portfolios.digitalpromise.org/ip/Portfolio_Intro?Id=a2z1G000000X5afQAC 

 A high school journalism class uses drone footage in their monthly digital newsletters: https://owsley.kyschools.us/District/1622-Untitled.html

From our friends at T3: The beginner drone market is booming, but not all budget quadcopters are truly equipped to inspire new pilots, which makes it difficult knowing how best to spend your cash. There were six ace contenders in the shortlist for this particular T3 Award 2019, but we unanimously agreed that the Ryze Tello is the budget drone to own.

Why this matters:  Drones are becoming more and more widely used in schools, for everything from teaching coding to physics lessons. And with options under $100.00, drones are now within reach of most school budgets. Not only that, but they also offer the kind of excitement in the classroom that's hard to match, and can lead to real engagement with learning. Learn more about the top budget drone Ryze Tello at t3.com

The DJI RoboMaster S1 rover looks like a miniature tank, but acts like a clever Trojan horse for kids – it's a way to make education a little more fun.

It's the first ground-based DJI drone built by the company behind the DJI Mavic Air, a popular flying drone that got our recommended award in 2018. The new tank-like robot has rugged all-terrain style wheels, armor for competitions, and a gimbal-mounted turret.

The RoboMaster S1 features brushless motors with Mecanum wheels, allowing the rover to move in all directions. Users are able to assemble the RoboMaster S1 per instructions or with custom hardware using Pulse Width Modulation control ports.

While piloting the DJI RoboMaster S1, you can get a live video feed directly from the FPV camera that's mounted to the stabilizing gimbal. The gimbal also has an infrared beam and non-toxic gel bead blaster built onto it. 

There are a total of 21 sensors onboard, allowing the S1 to map its surroundings, identify objects, follow people, recognize hand gestures, recognize and respond to sounds, and acknowledge when it's been hit by another drone in competition.

As the RoboMaster S1 is about education, there's a dedicated RoboMaster app to help new users get acquainted with the robot and what it's capable of. And with support for Python and Scratch, coders can experiment with new ways to control the robot. 

Within the app, there are Road to Mastery and RoboAcademy programs to guide users through customizing the rover through coding. Coding allows tuning of the hardware as well as custom responses to things like gestures, sounds, preset Vision Markers (numbers, letters, and characters the camera can recognize), or other interactions, such as collisions. 

The RoboMaster S1 launches June 12 for $499 in the US, with educational pricing available for both students and teachers. International pricing and release date information isn't available just yet. In July, a PlayMore Kit will also launch with a dedicated controller, extra gel beads with a container, and a battery.

cross posted at techradar.com

Yuneec International is launching its all-new Mantis Q, now available for pre-order in the United States. Mantis Q is a drone controlled via mobile device or remote, features voice control technology and is small enough to tuck away inside a bag. The Mantis Q also features foldable arms, up to 33 minutes of battery life and autonomous flight modes with top speeds over 44 miles per hour. 

With the new Voice Control feature, users can command Mantis Q by using their voice. Voice control allows users to take a photo or begin recording video all without having to manually take their hands off of the controls. Mantis Q responds to commands such as "Wake up" for powering on, "Take a picture", "Record a video" and "Take a selfie." It will also respond to the flight commands such as  "Take off" to automatically start flying and then come up to a hover or auto-landing commands such as "Return home." 

Other notable features of the Mantis Q include its facial detection and gesture control. Users simply smile at the drone to activate face detection and as soon as the Mantis Q "sees" the user's face, it will take a photo from up to 13 feet away. In Gesture Control mode, Mantis Q will detect a hand waving and it will take a photo. 

Using an integrated camera, the Mantis Q records high resolution photos and videos. Pictures with a resolution of 4800 x 2700 (16:9) or 4160 x 3120 (4:3) pixels are saved in JPEG or DNG format on the included MicroSD card; the same goes for up to 4K of recorded videos. In up to Full HD (1920x1080), they are electronically stabilized live. The camera can be tilted upwards by up to 20 degrees or downwards by 90 degrees during flight. For cinematic camera flights, the Mantis Q also comes with automatic flight modes such as Journey, Point of Interest and Orbit Me.

The Mantis Q is available now for pre-order at Yuneec.com. The Mantis Q, priced at $499.99, includes a controller, one battery, spare propellers (one set), three-port charger, power and USB cable. The Mantis Q (X-Pack), $649.99, includes the Mantis Q, controller, three batteries, travel shoulder bag, spare propellers  (one set), three-port charger, power and USB cable.

Detroit Collegiate Preparatory High School will be receiving air-dropped packages of tech resources via drones for their soon-to-open STEM lab. The drones will serve as a kick-off to a day celebrating career readiness and the importance of learning tech skills.

A STEM lab populated with technology resources will provide an opportunity for students to explore STEM skills and potential technical career choices that were not available to them before.

[STEM GUIDE]

The effort is part of PwC’s Access Your Potential™, a national five-year, $320 million commitment focused on closing the opportunity, education and skills gap.

Participants include members of the business community from 10 total companies and universities, including Quicken Loans, Techtown and Wayne State University, who will advise students on career preparation.