In this post I will outline how I have integrated drone use along with other technology like VR and videos to create a connection with traditional ways of knowing as shared by community Elders.
My approach to technology adoption in the class has been as a tool to enhance a students learning experience. I have been using technology as the thing we are learning about, while simultaneously integrating the program of studies outcomes in the process. I have found this to work really well because a lot of my students’ prior learning experiences have missed information or grade appropriate skills. By integrating technology into the learning experience in this way my students have the opportunity to attend and participate in a way that is meeting them where they are at. This approach also frequently allows for cross curricular learning opportunities. My science class was often reminded that science is not only about a way of observing our surroundings but requires the use of all the other skills and knowledge they are learning in other classes. Science is everywhere. Drones, for example, are a topic of understanding flight, but also reading maps and graphs, calculating velocity, distance, and time, evaluating ethics of rules and limitations (social), and being able to articulate their learning through communication skills(english). Also gym class to go run after the drone when it lands far away from where you started.
The project we had that integrated drone technology was actually a project about the ecosystems and water. My students were introduced to the topic of water quality and testing in an ecosystem. We had our schools Elders come into the classroom for a period and the students shared what they were learning about. The elders began to tell them about their traditional knowledge on water. This sparked an idea, could the students build a project to share their learnings and this experience. A lesson on video recording soon turned into a lesson on how to take video with a gimballed camera, that evolved into how to use a green screen with a video, and eventually to use a GoPro 360 video for video. The practice videos that came from this was 360 videos of students running around the school with green screened in dogs running around with them. This was converted to a VR video so you could put it in the Oculus headset and go on a virtual tour of the school with a dog. I think it should be noted, that I had never used any of this technology, and relied highly on the students learning how to use everything from the camera to the video editing software and then sharing with each other how to use it. I like this method, It builds their sense of community, engages them to figure out how to ask the right questions, and immerses them in the technology. Also I get to learn a lot about the basics from them.
Eventually we brought it back in and the students began applying this technology to our chosen topic of water and ecosystems. They began to develop a list of interview questions and started interviewing the Elders in front of a green screen. We got a drone pilot trainer to come into the classroom for a few days and get the students and a few teachers certified to fly the drone. A group of students began to find a way to 3D print a mount for the 360 camera to be mounted to the drone. With a Drone, a new set of drone pilot licenses and a GoPro 360 camera mounted to the drone they were ready. A couple of teachers and students took a quick afternoon field trip to the river, and flew the drone up and down the river valley gathering footage. Later the students combined the footage with their green screen Elder interview footage and rendered it on a very fast computer graphics processor for a VR video. The final product was a VR video you could watch on your phone or in a VR headset. This VR video showed the Bow River on the Siksika Nation, with two Elders floating in the air telling you the stories and traditional knowledge about water and the role it plays. When showing this to the Elders, it was really reassuring how excite they were about the technology and the application of their knowledge. They shared that it was important for them to be able to share this information in a way that students would engage with it and cary forward this knowledge. The youtube version of the video was deleted when my teacher account was closed, but I have been assured it is still on the hard drive, and I am trying to get a copy. (on a side note, take more pictures of the projects and their different stages, I only have 3 photos of this project.)
The Drone pilot trainer we used was connected to us through IndigeSTEAM and it was there first time teaching High School students. Darcy Hunt from Aboriginal Training Services was the one who helped us get the students RPAS pilot licenses to fly the UAVs.
This interesting and fun project had several outcomes. Students learned about how to use technology to explore learning, they integrated and embraced traditional knowledge and cultural teachings with outcomes for the program of studies. This allowed for a personal connection to the material, by highlighting traditional and cultural teachings as part of their learning experience. There were a number of STS(science technology and society) outcomes around technology and technological literacy that the students engaged with. Additionally, a number of students were able to become certified as drone pilots. The students started coming up with ideas of how else they could use the drone to demonstrate traditional knowledge while simultaneously creating educational material. This self reflection was very exciting to see. I feel like one of the most impactful aspects of the experience was not the video or the technology or even the use of traditional knowledge. It was the pride and confidence that the students experienced when they got to demo the video to the administration, the Elders, and their peers. This confidence is crucial to student success and tends to be an aspect I work hard to cultivate in my classroom. The students I have worked with have regularly shown low self confidence and self worth, especially when it comes to their perceived learning and career potentials. This project not only got the cool and fun stamp of approval from my students but we also saw the confidence grow. I don’t believe that certain concepts are too complicated for students to learn. Over the years I have taught very complicated processes to high school students with great success, uptake and understanding. The biggest thing that comes from it time and time again, is not the application of knowledge and skills but the perception of what they are capable of learning. The skill here is how to learn and how to ask questions. The outcome is hope, leadership, and confidence that allow the students to face unique challenges like the one that first nation students face. This perception of capacity and skills to self direct their learning is what changes outcomes.
In a following article I will talk about what two eyed seeing it and how it is used in the classroom (Link to Follow)