We believe we can fly
There are no such thing as 鈥榖oys鈥 toys鈥. Just ask the members of 韩国AV鈥檚 Drone Club, who along with our Robotics Club, are reaching for the skies when it comes to technology!
The world of drones might still feel futuristic, but the sort of things that can be achieved with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is evolving on a daily basis. Today, drones are used in all kinds of industries, from photography to ecology, humanitarian relief to surveying. But despite technological developments, the industry itself is still lagging behind when it comes to gender equality. This is something that avowed 鈥楽TEMinist鈥 and Director of STEM at 韩国AV, Dr Thompson is determined to change.
Led by our in-house 鈥楽TEMinist鈥 coaches, Ms Blake and Ms Simpson, 韩国AV has launched an extremely popular Drone Club for students in Year 5 and Year 6 on Monday afternoons, along with the equally popular Robotics and Coding Club for Middle School students.
Of course, nothing is more appealing to young people than the gadget that really isn鈥檛 designed for them. So, the advent of a Drone Club was greeted with much enthusiasm! What? We get to fly our own drones, exclaimed the students. You sure do, said Dr Thompson.
Drone Club takes place in the Hall on Monday afternoons each week and is overseen by Science Teacher, Ms Simpson and Junior School Teacher, Ms Bouterakos.
Ms Simpson said, 鈥淒rone club aims to teach our Year 5 and Year 6 students about the basic principles of flying drones. This includes rules/laws, the basics of how they work, flight-related terminology, and an introduction to automating drones through coding. We are teaching block coding, which allows them to insert pre-determined instructions in certain orders. The end goal is that each group designs an obstacle course that everyone has to fly a drone through!
The skills the students will develop are quite varied. They鈥檙e developing their hand-to-eye coordination through manual flight of the drone. They鈥檙e developing their mathematical skills in determining angles and distance. And they鈥檙e developing their ICT skills and technology skills as they learn to code. But most importantly, they鈥檙e having fun. And of course, we鈥檙e also trying to break the stigma that things like drones are boys鈥 toys!鈥
Currently, Drone Club is for the Junior School, but we鈥檙e hoping to extend into the Senior School at some point. We鈥檙e also hoping that our current members will carry on their coding skills into high school. So far, the students have been very enthusiastic! We鈥檝e filled up both sessions when we鈥檝e run the course and even had a waiting list! The best moment for me last year, was seeing the students finally manoeuvre their drones through their obstacles!
Prior to taking on Drone Club, I didn鈥檛 have a huge amount of experience with using drones, but I find them a lot of fun. I鈥檝e also been able to use my coding skills, which have been lying dormant for about 15 years. Mostly, I enjoy seeing the kids in a different environment and thinking about how I can use what I鈥檓 discovering in drones in my classroom.鈥
Far from killing off Lego, the internet has played a vital role in bridging the connection between physical Lego bricks and the virtual world. Lego Robotics offers hands-on, playful learning solutions that not only engage the natural curiosity of our young people, but also support them to develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking and problem solving.
韩国AV鈥檚 weekly Robotics and Coding Club has proved to be a popular way of fostering our students鈥 in Years 7 to 9 love of discovery and investigation, while also bringing abstract STEM concepts to life: computational thinking, engineering, science and maths. Using Lego, sensors, motors, and block-based coding, the students are given free rein to imagine, create and build their own robots. It鈥檚 a fun and engaging way of helping them to develop the technology skills that they will almost certainly be using in the future.
Robotics and Coding Club also takes place on a Monday afternoon after school. It is run by Science and Mathematics Teacher Dr Blake, with the support of Junior School Teachers Ms Cox and Mr Amato, who are keen to learn more about coding and robotics, so that they can take some of the learning back to their Year 5 classrooms.
"The girls have had a great time so far," said Dr Blake. "They are currently working on a 'minefield' challenge, where the robot must follow a path and detect obstacles. We have had a few funny instances where robots have launched themselves off tables, or in one case, fell off the power point panel in the floor.
The girls are learning how to code LEGO EV3 MINDSTORMS robots using a programming language that is similar to Scratch. For the first half of the term, they learn how to get the robot to drive and use its touch, ultrasonic and colour sensors. In the second half, they will learn how to write more complex programs that allow the robot to navigate autonomously and complete a series of challenges. Some of the students may choose to compete in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge in Terms 3 and 4. This is an international competition for students aged between 9 and 16 years."
Children learn best when teaching aligns with their natural exuberance, energy and curiosity. Drone Club and Robotics and Coding Club are enabling our students to be creative, to think critically and to be socially skilled. What fun!