High-Flying STEM at Its Finest!

After learning the safety regulations and procedures surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles, they’ll then start with the basics of flight, first becoming comfortable on a training simulator before moving onto line-of-sight piloting. After mastering RubiQ’s controls, it’s time for learners to don their First-Person View (FPV) goggles for multiple extensions, experiencing exactly what super-charged STEM is like.

Discover Drones utilizes the PCS Edventures cutting-edge curriculum, LABCards. The LABCard approach is intended to provide a tool that enables a more student-directed experience. Educators are empowered to provide more facilitation, coaching and mentoring as students work independently and in their own fashion. To keep interest piqued, each card includes a mix of different activities for learners to flow between. From whole group discussions and time for teams to work together on their drone to individual quizzes and flight simulator practice, every LABCard is unique, engaging and downright fun!

Coupled with hands-on, experiential learning, Discover Drones also utilizes the online educational app, Droneology, a fast-paced, interactive online course that prepares pilots of all skill levels for safe and responsible drone entertainment. Droneology covers topics of safety, laws and regulations, flight basics and the many uses of drones! This digital course is optimized for use on mobile devices, allowing easy access from phones, tablets or computers, anytime, anywhere.

From learning to build RubiQ to making death-defying aerial maneuvers, Discover Drones is the trailblazing educational tool your learning environment needs. Preparing students for the future of UAVs and careers that haven’t even been invented, it’s time to take flight. Are you ready for high-flying education?

One Great RUBiQ Drone, Four Package Options:

With four different Discover Drones packages to choose from, we have the drone program for your learning environment! For 10-25 students, Base packages offer a 2-drone Club Package and a 5-drone Classroom Package. If you're looking for an even more hands-on experience with a lower student-to-drone ratio, look no further than the Premium packages with 7-drone and 10-drone options.

Grades: 7-12
Contact Hours: 30+

Subject Targets:

Physical Science, Technology

Recommended Settings:

• Before & After-School Programs
• Classrooms
• Robotics Clubs
• Drone Racing Teams

Tech Requirements:

Discover Drones incorporates three digital elements:

• Droneology: a web-based course compatible with all devices.
• RubiQ Configurator: Flight Configurator, available as an app for Windows. Requires a USB port.
• FPV Freerider: a flight simulator software compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems. FPV Freerider is not compatible with iOS, Android or Chromebooks. Requires a USB port.

Each Activity Includes:

• Scaffolded Student LABCards
• Safety Guidelines
• Instructor Prep & Schedule
• Step-by-Step Lesson Instructions
• Topic Backgrounds & Assessments
• Materials List

Professional Development:

• Half-hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $500+
• One-hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $1000+
• In-house and on-site additional training options are available. Contact PCS Edventures for more information.

Curriculum Topics:

YELLOW Level 1: BUILD

• Essential Drone Knowledge
• RubiQ Drone Construction
• Wave Behavior and Electron Flow
• Laws, Regulations and Coordinating Groups

ORANGE Level 2: TRAIN

• Flight Simulator and Radio Controls
• Radio and Flight Controller Configuration
• Electrochemistry of LiPo Batteries
• Ethics, Drones and the Future

PURPLE Level 3: FLY

• Flight Safety
• Line-of-Sight Piloting Skills
• Motor and Sensor Calibration
• Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

BLUE Level 4: RACE

• FPV Piloting Skills
• Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s Third Law
• Airfoils and Angle of Attack
• Racer’s Mindset

Student Resources:

Discover Drones uses three student-driven curriculum pieces: LABCards, Droneology and FPV Freerider.

LABCards:

The LABCard approach is intended to provide a tool that enables a more student-directed experience. Educators are empowered to provide more facilitation, coaching and mentoring as students work independently and in their own fashion. Almost all learning environments, including after-school programs, clubs and a wide variety of classroom models, can utilize LABCard curriculum.

Each LABCard includes:

• Two step-by-step projects that introduce new concepts and skills by guiding students through self-driven activities.
• Two engaging challenges that take learners through the completion of Droneology, training on the flight simulator and the honing of their piloting skills.
• A final design project that gives students an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in an open-ended way.
• Key Terms are listed at the end of each card for reference.
• Along the bottom of most cards is a Droneology checklist, listing videos to watch and quizzes to pass before moving onto the next card.
• At the end of every level, an End Design Project challenges students to synthesize their learning with creativity, critical thinking and real-world relevance.

Droneology:

Coupled with hands-on, experiential learning, Discover Drones also utilizes the online educational app, Droneology, a fast-paced, interactive online course that prepares pilots of all skill levels for safe and responsible drone entertainment. Droneology covers topics of safety, laws and regulations, flight basics and the many uses of drones! This digital course is optimized for use on mobile devices, allowing easy access from phones, tablets or computers, anytime, anywhere.

FPV Freerider:

FPV Freerider is a top-of-the-line flight simulator for pilots-in-training. As a critical part of the Discover Drones curriculum, logging hours on the flight simulator allows learners to hone their piloting skills without running the risk of crashing a real drone!

FPV Freerider is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.

Educator Guide:

The Discover Drones curriculum centers itself around a single, unified instructor resource: The Educator Guide. As the Rosetta Stone to classroom preparation, progression and facilitation, the Educator Guide is the handbook on becoming a drone ambassador and expert pilot. Housing instruction and guidelines for student, flight field and battery safety, as well as detailed resources for aiding students through the 20 cards of building, training, flying and real-world connections, the Educator Guide provides instructors with the confidence and ability to dive into the STEM content and lesson plans with the same level of excitement as the pilots-to-be!

As the one-stop-shop on all safety guidelines, assessments and resources for explanation and facilitation, the Educator Guide is the instructor's roadmap to the future of drones.

Each RubiQ drone features an FPV camera, a GPS, a built-in accelerometer, a barometer and compass, brushless 2200KV motors with built-in ESC and a programmable RGB LED board.

Habits of Mind:

16 thinking habits developed by Art Costa and Bena Kallick to empower students to succeed in a 21st-century learning environment.

• Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
  
• Managing Impulsivity
• Persisting
• Striving for Accuracy
• Taking Responsible Risks
• Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
• Thinking Interdependently

21st Century Skills:

A set of widely-applicable abilities essential for success in the information age.

• Communication and Collaboration
• Creativity and Innovation
• Initiative and Self-Direction
• Media, Information and Technology Literacy

© 2019 Battelle for Kids. battelleforkids.org. All Rights Reserved. Battelle for Kids was not involved in the production of this product and does not endorse it.

Next Generation Science Standards:*

• NGSS HS-PS3-3 Energy
• NGSS Core Idea ETS1.A Defining Engineering Problems
• NGSS Core Idea ETS1.B Developing Possible Solutions
• NGSS Core Idea PS1.B Chemical Reactions
• NGSS Core Idea PS2.A Forces and Motion
• NGSS Core Idea PS2.B Molecular Interactions
• NGSS Core Idea PS4.A Wave Properties
• NGSS Core Idea PS4.B Electromagnetic Radiation
• NGSS Core Idea PS4.C Information Technologies and Instrumentation

* Next Generation Science Standards and NGSS is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

International Society for Technology in Education:

• ISTE.1.c: Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
• ISTE.2.b: Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
• ISTE.3.a: Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
• ISTE.1.d: Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability
• to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.
• ISTE.3.d: Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.
• ISTE.6.a: Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
• ISTE.6.b: Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
• ISTE.7.c: Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.
• ISTE.7.d: Students explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions.

ISTE Standards for Students, ©2016, ISTE® (International Society for Technology in Education), iste.org. All rights reserved. ISTE was not involved in the production of this product and does not endorse it.

Michelle Fisher heads up curriculum development for PCS Edventures! She has worked in STEM education as a classroom teacher, delivering content ranging from middle school math and robotics to high school biology and college-level chemistry. Michelle graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Cornell University and earned a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Willamette University in 2013. She worked closely with the talented team of educators, drone racers and aviation experts who contributed to the project to develop a quadcopter and write a curriculum that would make both teachers and students fall in love with drones.

Nikki Servatius served as the Director of Labs at PCS Edventures! While running drone summer camps and leading Drone Month, Nikki personally field-tested and refined the PCS drone curriculum through countless hours of teaching, building, flying and laughing along with PCS students. She attended the University of Idaho and received a BS in Environmental Policy and Planning before becoming an Environmental Education and Science Teacher at Nature’s Classroom in Colebrook, Connecticut. After a year of teaching, the world called her abroad, so Nikki joined the Peace Corps as an Education Volunteer. She had the opportunity of being stationed in a rural village in Tanzania for 27 months where she taught biology and physics at an all-girls secondary school. She now has a Masters in STEM Education and teaches math and computer science at an alternative high school, where she continues to spread her passion for hands-on learning experiences.

Conrad “Furadi” Miller Furadi started competing in drone racing in September 2015 although he was involved in the sport for a year prior. His very first race was the Las Vegas Underground put on by Adam Negron and MultiGP. He was the favorite going into the race and took the win due to his year of experience practicing in a low ceiling parking garage. He’s since competed in three International Drone Racing Association (IDRA) races, two Drone Racing League (DRL) races and a Drone Nationals qualifier where he took 2nd place. He was also one of 32 pilots invited to Dubai, all expenses paid, for the World Drone Prix. Furadi is the founder of the Facebook group, “Boise FPV” which he uses to promote drone racing in Boise, Idaho and gathers pilots to hold drone races in the local area. Furadi is well known in the drone industry for being very active on social media and being a source for people seeking information or unbiased data on new equipment that hits the market. Due to his social media presence and speed on the race track, Furadi is considered one of the top drone racing pilots in the world. Conrad joined Thrust-UAV in June 2016 in a Drone Tech Support role and Race Team Member and helped support the development of educational drone racing.

Chris “Hazak” Haskins Hazak began his racing career in October 2014. He won his first race at the Utah cup 2015, 2nd place at MultiGP Covington “Cave Race” in 2016 and is a featured Pilot with DRL. Chris has participated in three races with the top pilots in the world to earn season points. The pilots with the most points qualify for the World Championship race, where it’s winner-take-all. So far Chris has completed Level 1 “Miami lights,” Level 2 “LA apocalypse” and Level 3 “Project Manhattan.” Chris and his daughter Cadence, “KrazyK”, challenge each other weekly at the Boise FPV races. Chris joined Thrust-UAV in March of 2016 as the Production Manager and has a strong technical background in information systems and computer science. Working in the Thrust-UAV R&D department, Chris is excited to release the Enterprise and Tactical Entry Drones developed in collaboration with industry experts.

The PCS Drone Advisory Committee:

This team of professionals from a diverse range of industries was assembled to guide the development of Droneology and educational PCS drone products. Each member brought with them years of experience and knowledge from their prospective industry related to the development of the PCS Edventures Drone products.

• Ted Thompson, an active pilot and aviation instructor, retired military pilot, as well as rural airport manager, brought expertise related to flying and FAA regulations.
• David Becker, a retired engineer as well as a pilot, brought many years of engineering experience from the industry side related to controls and navigation.
• EJ Duarte, an accomplished designer and drone production owner, brought his knowledge from the private sector and the actual drone pilot experience. He has participated in many regional and national drone competitions throughout the US and international races.
• Jim Schmidt, Ed. D., a recognized K-12 administrator and educator of 30 years, brought his knowledge of the educational system and how drones could be applied in an educational setting.
• Robert Grover, former EVP of PCS Edventures, contributed to the development of both racing drones and educational STEM curriculum for the world market.
• Dahlton Grover, a global studies graduate with experience in STEM education and technology, used the input from the committee to develop and maintain the Droneology Ed! App.

Click links below to view files:

• Flyer
• Discover Drones Add-On
• Drone Price Guide
• Catalog & Brochures
• Professional Development Information
• Discover Drones Training Institute