Drones are Landing at St Aidan’s

MRS JENNY CROME

Drones are becoming more and more popular and are now used in many aspects of everyday life. Not only do drones enable stunning videos from above, but they have also been valuable in natural disaster responses such as in the Victorian bushfires of 2020, where forest and wildlife officers, with the help of the Victorian Police, used drones and infrared technology in a search and rescue operation for koalas. Increasingly used in rescue missions, as a tool to survey crops, or to gather data for conservation, drone technology will continue to improve and will become indispensable for many industries.

Using drones in our Junior School has been an important part of our technology lessons led by Mrs Jackie Child.

This year, the girls in our upper primary years are entering the How Cool is your School competition. As part of the competition, the students will calculate the percentage of shade and create a map that meets cartographic (mapping) conventions. In addition to using mapping and geospatial science to quantify just how much shade is in the St Aidan’s Junior School, the girls will then use their drones, which they will program, to conduct autonomous flights.

Using drones in conjunction with the She Maps program will foster collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills. In addition, the girls will develop their orientation and motor skills and acquire a better understanding of the world around them and the Junior School topography.