Drones are an exciting human invention. Today, you have a huge variety that can fly for files with just a remote control. They are equipped with cameras, GPS and can take off and even land on their own. As a result, they are used for special events, international competitions, and anything else, you name it. Back in the day, drones were nothing more than a distraction. However, considering the number of skills required to operate one, educational institutes are gradually changing their point of view. This is why we have compiled a list of some of the top reasons for kids to fly educational drones. Let’s begin.
Drones Developing Motor Skills and Hand-Eye Coordination
Hand-eye coordination is amongst the most important skills educational programs tend to focus on, especially when it comes to kids. From netball to tennis, it was initially thought that sports were introduced to improve hand-eye coordination.
While sports have been doing a spectacular job in that respect over the years but drones are considered a good alternative today as well. Drones require a lot of calculations and estimates while navigating from one destination to another and this helps develop and improve depth perception by requiring the user to judge the distance in space the drone is flying.
Providing students the options to build such skills at a young age, increases their chances of finding success and a niche that they can enjoy with their friends and family members. Educational drones have paved the way for the way future educational programs will be taught. Several studies have also been conducted on the same subject and found the results to be positive.
Drones Teaching Coding
Coding is one of the most sought-after careers in the world at the moment. It can be safely said that coding can seem less intimidating if students were to use drones for a hands-on learning experience. It is similar to many schools that have introduced robots, allowing the students to get a first-hand experience of coding effects.
Today, drones for educational purposes are trying to achieve the same goal as they engage students into a writing program that allow drones to carry out autonomous tasks. This is important interms of teaching computational skills to younger students who will utilize these skills as they progress in their careers.
Drones Teaching the Laws of Physics
Drones for educational use also tend to teach the laws of Physics. Physics is an essential part of every educational program. Drones in this respect can help teach and make the students understand several important laws of physics such as Newton’s 3rd law. This law states that an object at rest will remain at rest until an external force influences it.
At the same time, to teach the first law of motion, teachers can teach their students that if no controls are pressed, the drone will not act. Unless you use the controls, the drone will remain at a rest position and not make any move. This is perhaps the easiest way to help students understand otherwise slightly confusing physics concepts.
Drones Building Intellectual and Creative Skills
Not every student learns at the same pace. Some students learn by destroying and rebuilding. This helps them improve their memory-building and intellectual skill set. This is an important skill that needs to be embedded in young students as most of them can develop a fear of failure.
Teachers should teach the students how destroying/dismantling is another excellent opportunity to rebuild in a better way. By taking a drone apart and putting it back together, students learn more about the trial and error process.
This also offers them an insight into the mechanics of the drones. This is why, teachers need to be patient and let the students utilize their creativity, which ultimately promotes confidence.
Writing Exercises
Another way drones are proving helpful is that teachers are using drone imagery to develop descriptive skills amongst the students. The students are provided with an image without any related information as to where and how it was taken so that the students can develop a vivid description in their minds.
This stimulates creativity and helps the students engage. It is well-known that students will engage with anything that makes them curious. Therefore, unless they have an answer, they will keep up with the activity. Eventually, students learn to describe images and situations using the right vocabulary, which helps them in their academic careers.
Furthermore, the creative imagery skills are also improved. As a result, the students are able to develop or envision a clear picture of a situation or an object, especially when it comes to reading books.
Physical Activities
This is perhaps the most important educational use of drones. Believe it or not, several pieces of research state that students between 11 and 17 years of age are not as physically active as they should be. This can lead to health concerns as they grow up.
The reason is that physical activities have been replaced by video games and students tend to spend hours during the day playing video games. This results in obesity, weak eyesight, and other chronic problems.
However, teachers can easily prevent this by allowing students to use drones outside and compete against each other.
Drones Developing Soft-Skills
While creative, descriptive, coding and all other skills are considered the most important, soft skills are often ignored. As part of learning and development, the younger students need to develop emotional and social skills. The way they communicate and respond to situations will serve as a detrimental factor in professional careers.
Many educational institutes are working on helping their students acquire abilities such as flexibility, communication, collaborative work, and self-learning and drones are playing an important role in this area. Some teachers are using drones for team projects that allow students to work together, communicate and collectively solve problems.
Final Word
Drones are powerful learning tools that are continuously helping younger students develop the necessary skills for the future. Considering the ever-increasing competition, it is the teachers who are responsible for coming up with new uses and applications. However, it is equally important that the students are also taught the ethics surrounding the usage of drones, which leads to developing a sense of responsibility and safety.