Wyoming Education Association

Spring 22

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Students used the drones in a competition held by the University of Wyoming: The Wyoming STEAM Drone Flight Challenge Series is a competition held throughout the state. Powell was one of the sites to host the event. Students from the high school and middle school participated in different challenges and won five different awards. Later this semester, students will make protective blade covers for the dro nes using their school's 3D printers. This requires math and engineering skills and the ability to transfer concepts to practice. All of this fun and learning has real-world implications for these students: Students in the Drone Class will be taking the FAA drone pilot's license test at the end of the year. Powell High School's Drone STEM Challenge Day was sponsored by the University of Wyoming and cal led the Big Horn Basin Drone Festival & Expo. There were many competitions in a variety of categories, guest speakers, and drones from organizations and businesses that visited with students and guests about how they use drones. There were high school and middle school competitors, and a total of 15 students competed. It was a great time to learn about drone use and compete in a timed obstacle course, vir tual reality racing, FAA and drone technology knowledge test, drone film festival, precision flight challenge, and computer coding flight competition. Awards were given in all events for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. When asked why she pursued a project that clearly demands so much time and effort beyond her usual teaching responsibilities, Wendy Smith replied with a smile, "Science should be fun! This is wh at makes the students excited about learning. It also makes my work fun! When I see students loving science and engineering with so much enthusiasm, I have no doubt that their lives are changing for the best possible futures!" Students in Powell are experiencing cutting-edge opportunities for science and technology learning thanks to a $5,000 grant Wendy Smith, a Science teacher at Powell High School, received from the NEA Foundation in 2021. This is Wendy's second $5,000 grant from the foundation–and she has access to these grants because she is a member of WEA and NEA. This current grant is called "Drones for STEM–The Future of Education," and it benefits groups of students working in teams to learn about the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math of using drones. Thanks to this grant project, students have learned about the physics of flight, data collection, and analysis, all while using drones and learning how to fly drones using a simulator. Students are also learning to write and implement code for drone flights an d drone racing. Wendy Smith brought this project to her colleague and fellow WEA member, Joel Hayano, who teaches Technology at Powell High School. Together, these teachers have fostered a practical learning experience for their students that has real-world applications and may inform their future careers. Students have dedicated countless in-class and afterschool hours to this work: learning to use the t echnology and improving their skills for eventual drone flight competition. Joel Hayano points out, "This project brings together all the technology skills I teach and helps the students see how what we learn in this class can lead to careers." Thanks in large part to NEA grant funds, Powell High School started a drone class, opening an entirely new curriculum area for STEM learning. They purchased four different types of drones for the class to use for hands-on learning. Wendy Smith combined the NEA Foundation grant funds she received with a Perkins grant to purchase four different types of drones: small mini-drones for practice, Tello Drones for coding flight, DJI Mini Mavics for outside flight, and Autel EVO2 professional drones for the highest level of drone flight. The NEA Foundation grant funds we re specifically used to purchase the DJI Mini Mavic drones. These are small drones that can be flown inside and outside. They fly by GPS and use an onboard camera to capture aerial views. Captions: From left: Teachers and WEA members Wendy Smith and Joel Hayano display one of the drones purchased through a $5,000 grant from the NEA Foundation. Pursue an NEA Foundation grant for your students! Learn more and apply at neafoundation.org/for-educators/ Scan the QR code with your phone or another smart device to learn more and apply!

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