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Drone-based Interdisciplinary Learning & Entrepreneurship Education

Pedagogy connecting Drone Technology to 21st Century Skills Development for Secondary Grades 9-10

A pedagogical model integrating Science, Mathematics and Information Technology was established to connect drone technology to 21st Century Skills. While enhancing students’ STEM literacy, it also aimed at nurturing their patience to resolve problems and courage to face failure, so that they could undertake the missions of improving our life by harnessing technology to good purpose ethically.

Employability
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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

Employability

Web presence

2018

Established

1.2K

Children

4

Countries
Target group
Students lower
Updated
April 2024
The program aims at nurturing students’ STEM literacy, patience to resolve problems and courage to face failure, so that lives could be improved by harnessing technology to good purpose ethically.

About the innovation

Strategies Promoting 21st Century Skills Development: Drone-based Interdisciplinary STEM Learning


INTRODUCTION

With conspicuous educational potential, integrating drone technology in STEAM learning and 21st century skills development has become a hot topic in education. Yet many drone-related learning activities such as drone-racing and drone-making are being reported, innovative pedagogical models connecting drones to the cultivation of transversal competences are limited. We would like to share the experience on the implementation of this structuralized interdisciplinary drone-based project that is hoped will be useful to educational practitioners interested in exploring the strategies promoting creativity, collaboration and entrepreneurship education.

INTERDISCIPLINARY DRONE-BASED PROGRAMME FOR 21ST CENTURY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

The programme lasted 10 months and comprised two phases, namely the Knowledge Developing Phase and Engineering Problem-solving Phase.

The 36-hour Phase One covered six experiential learning modules:


  1. Drone Science and Technology,

  2. Programmed Flight

  3. Drones, Geometry and Trigonometry

  4. Coding and Engineering Design

  5. Drones and Environmental Science

  6. Future Application of Drones


By the end of Phase One, students applied the knowledge acquired and creativity to present entrepreneurship proposals on benefitting the society with drone technology. The proposals should leverage on the advantages of technology while striking a balance between innovation, feasibility, safety and cost effectiveness. To tie in with various interdisciplinary themes, alumni working in related fields (e.g. aerophysics, surveying and valuation, stream water analysis, market strategising, etc.) were invited to share career insights and explore possible applications of drone technology to workflow.

The 12-hour Phase Two consisted of a series of engineering tasks during which students developed a drone-assisted water sampling system to collect water samples from rivers and coastal areas. Measuring water samples’ hardness, total dissolved solids and nitrate nitrogen content would then reveal the extent of pollution in the waterbodies concerned.


SHARING OF LEARNING EXPERIENCE & PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT

To promote the drone-based learning strategies, students shared their knowledge, skills and learning experience with other schools as well as in exhibition occasions enthusiastically. Teachers also took part in various seminars and conferences to present experiences in the programme implementation, including the challenges encountered, the direction of future development and effective applications of technology in the realms of 21st Century Skills education.



RECOGNITION

The project was selected to the “Global Spotlight of Employability” by HundrED, the Finnish innovative educational organization, and honoured with the NXTEducator Global Educational Innovation Award by Sayling Wen Cultural & Educational Foundation in 2019.

Impact & scalability

HundrED Academy Reviews

The project has actual impact and significance in the local area. The course material and planning are all available online, so it is easy for other teachers to try related projects.

The is one of a great demonstration of making steam curriculum become more hands-on and accessible for students. The students are engaging and the project of collecting the water sample tide into our climate change issue which can be applied to the current hot steam topic.

- Academy member

Media

"A systematic Review of Drone Integrated STEM Education at Secondary Schools" Poster Presentation, 9 Apr, 2024 @ Faculty Postgraduate Seminar, EdUHK
My first publication @ Computers & Education: “A systematic review of Drone integrated STEM education at secondary schools (2005–2023): Trends, pedagogies, and learning outcomes”
"Exploring Drone-based Interdisciplinary STEM Learning" @ Symposium on STEM/STEAM and AI in Education (4 Dec, 2023, EdUHK)
Preliminary Study(Oct-Dec, 2023): Exploring the Experiential Learning Process in Drone-Integrated STEM Education: A Qualitative Investigation of Secondary Students’ Perspectives (Grades 7-11)
That teaching experience was truly memorable when I was invited to deliver a 3-hour lecture on interdisciplinary STEM learning using drones at EdUHK.
香港電台網站:《藝文一格》 - 學界創造 【迦密聖道中學 無人機跨學科STEM課程】
CHW Drone-based Interdisciplinary Learning Programme
Resource Book
Headline Story, Singtao Education
Refined Structure of Cross-curricular Integration
3D Drawings: Engineering Design of Drone-assisted Surface Water Sampling System
全球教育創新大賞 (NXTEducator Summit):迦密聖道中學「無人機跨學科課程」
Drone-based Interdisciplinary Learning & Entrepreneurship Education | HundrED Spotlight 2019
NXTEducator Summit, Taipei
Ednovation Fest Workshop: Drone-based STEM Interdisciplinary Learning
i-Journey Fair, EDB, Hong Kong
A Finnish Interdisciplinary Approach to STEAM Learning: Drone-assisted Surface Water Sampling
The Drone-based Interdisciplinary STEAM Curriculum Framework
Hanging Basket Sampling System
Water Landing Sampling System
T07: Participation and Involvement, Building the Sustainable Future
T06: Working Life Competence and Entrepreneurship
T05: ICT Competence
T04: Multiliteracy
T03: Taking Care of Self and Managing Daily Life
T02: Cultural Competence, Interaction & Expression
T01: Thinking and Learning to Learn
Transversal Competences Framework
Design of Drone-assisted Water Sampling System
The 36-hr Interdisciplinary Drone-based Learning Course
Drone & Water Rocket
Drone-assisted Water Sampling @ Tai Po Lam Tsuen River
Drone-assisted Surface Water Sampling & Analysis
Development of Drone Water Sampling System
Project Sharing & Taster Lesson for the STEM Week of CALFSS
Project Sharing in Tai Po Inno Expo, Science Park, Hong Kong
Project Presentation to Shantou Private Guangha School
Lesson 10 ~ Drone Entrepreneur Proposal Presentation
無人機。創業企劃 (DRONE X ENTREPRENEURSHIP)
Lesson 08 ~ Drone x Environmental Science
Lesson 07 ~ Drone x Micro:bit Water Sampling System
Lesson 06 ~ Micro:bit Engineering Task (Wireless Inchworm)
Lesson 04 ~ Geometry & Drone Programming, Trigonometry & Drone Application
Lesson 02: Flying a Drone Safely
Show more

Implementation steps

Lesson 00 (1 hr) ~ PROJECT INTRODUCTION

Brief Introduction to Drone Technology

Course Outline

Demonstration

Lesson 01 (3 hrs) ~ SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

0.1Course Content, Schedule & Administration

0.2Google Drive & Google Sites

1.1How Do Drones Work

1.2History of the Drone Technology Development

1.3Commerical & Industrial Uses of Drones

Lesson 02 (3 hrs) ~ DRONE PILOTING

2.1Safety Concern

2.2Basic Flying Skills (1): Indoor Flight

2.3Basic Flying Skills (2): Outdoor Flight

Lesson 03 (3 hrs) ~ PROGRAMMED FLIGHT

2.5Simple Coding Concepts

Blocky Games

Introduction to the Programmble Drone: Tello

Tello Edu App

2.6Qualified Test: Program Tasks

Lesson 04 (3 hrs) ~ DRONE CODING & MATHEMATICS

3.1Simple Geometry & Drone Programming

3.2Practice on Trigonometry Calculation

3.3Flying of the Drone & Calculation of FOV

3.4Qualified Test: Calculation

Lesson 05 (3 hrs) ~ TRIGONOMETRY & DRONE SURVEYING

3.5Application of Drones on Zone Area Measurements

3.6Residential Areas Estimation

3.7Advantages, Limitation & Improvement of the Measurement

3.8Qualified Test : Valuation of a Zone Area

Lesson 06 (3 hrs) ~ MICRO:BIT CODING & SERVO MOTORS

4.1Introduction to Micro:bit & MakeCode Programming

4.2Servo Motors (180 & 360) & Driver Boards

4.3Coding Task

Lesson 07 (6 hrs) ~ ENGINEERING PROCESS

4.4Micro:bit Coding & Water Sampling System

4.5Engineering Design of a Water Sampling Robotic Structure

4.6Trial Run of the Water Sampling System on Drone

Lesson 08 (6 hrs) ~ DRONE-ASSISTED WATER SAMPLING

5.1Drones & Environmental Studies

5.2Field Experiment: Water Sampling with a Drone

5.3Analysis of the Water Samples

Lesson 09 (3 hrs) ~ DRONE OPPORTUNITIES & MARKETING

6.1Basic Concepts & Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

6.2Opportunities of Drone Business in Hong Kong

6.3Presentation & Marketing

Lesson 10 (3 hrs) ~ ENTREPRENEUR PROPOSAL DEFENSE

6.4Course Debriefing & Consolidation

6.5 Defense Presentation of Entrepreneur Proposals

6.6Assessment & Course Evaluation

6.7Presentation of Prizes & Certificates

Lesson 11 (4 hrs) ~ SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

  1. Hanging Basket Design

  2. Device Testing

  3. Loading Test

  4. Stability Test

  5. Installation

  6. Drone Fixing

  7. Remote Test

  8. Water Collecting Trials

Lesson 12 (5 hrs) ~ FIELD EXPERIMENT (SEA WATER)
Testing of the Water Sampling System:

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Lesson 13 (3 hrs) ~ FIELD EXPERIMENT (RIVER WATER)

Testing of Water Sampling System:

Tai Po Lam Tsuen River

Alumni Workplace Sharing 1

By Mr. K. M. JIM (Assistant Building Surveyor)

Alumni Workplace Sharing 2

By Dr. T. W. CHU (Environmental Scientist)

Alumni Workplace Sharing 3

By Mr. C. K. YEUNG (Assistant Marketing Manager)

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