How would a Horticulture and Technology instructor incorporate drones in his classes? Gabe Oberlin, a teacher at Patrick Henry High School, used drones with his 8th grade Plant Science and Technology class and his High School Turf Science & Management class. Drones are part of the GrowNextGen lesson on precision agriculture, Dinner and data and drones, oh my!.
Oberlin said his students had different attitudes towards the drones. “Some are very excited and enthusiastic. Others are hesitant and reluctant to even try. Some are very cautious and others are reckless.” He said that in general, they enjoy getting out of the classroom to fly the drones.
The biggest concept for students to learn is how the controls depend on the orientation of the drone, Oberlin said. “The drone has a front, back, left, right, top and bottom. When you turn the drone 180 degrees so that it is facing you, then its forward becomes your backwards, its left is your right and so on… The camera view gives a real-time view of your location so that you have a whole different perspective of your world.”
Oberlin said that utilizing drones allows managers of plant systems to gather large quantities of data quickly. Putting drone technology in the hands of students studying Horticulture will allow them to develop big picture connections between common management challenges and common sense solutions.
Interested in a drone demonstration at your school? Contact us and we’ll help get something set up!
The workshop gave Oberlin the opportunity to collaborate with teachers from all over Ohio and “to practice using equipment at a top notch scientific facility with instruction from highly trained individuals from academia and industry.” Watch our events page for information about next summer’s Ag Biotech workshop.
