Instruction Guide: READ ME: Aerial Robotics 101

Submitted by Randy Steele on 20 August, 2018 - 15:31

This Aerial Robotics 101 master curriculum uses various Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, or drones) to teach a STEM Robotics and/or Video Production course.  The goal of this site is to be both a turn-key curriculum for new robotics teachers, as well as a collaboration site for veteran teachers.

The first Unit to be developed, Unit 1: Recreational UAVs, introduces UAVs for Aerial Robotics and covers operations under the Recreational/Hobbyist rules of FAA Section 336. It focuses mostly on indoor UAV operations and small/light aircraft, neither of which are regulated by the FAA. The limited use of outdoor UAVs above the FAA weight limit is also included, with the understanding that these will be used only over school property and operated under Section 336 regulations (non-commercial Recreation/Hobbyist use). After a introductory review of UAVs, UAV Equipment, Piloting, Flight Operations and Aerodynamics are covered using a resource from the Patuxent Partnership (TPP) as the Primary Instructional Material for these topics (with supporting Differentiated Instructional Material to add depth on desired topics). Coding and UAV Cinematography/Video Production are also covered with Primary Instructional Material from other sources. Unit 1 targets upper elementary through early high school with inexpensive pre-built drones and does not require a teacher to have a Part 107 Drone Pilot License (provided they follow the guidance in this FAA Memorandum).

Future Units include a STEM UAV Engineering class and a Part 107 Pilot Certification class - these are currently not under development.

Use the Navigation Pane on the left of each page to rapidly browse the site contents by clicking the "+/-" boxes to expand/collapse the tree.  Clicking on any node on the Navigation Tree will open that page in the right pane and highlight the node name in red on the Navigation Tree.

Most of the resources on the site are available to the public, however, assessments/answer keys and teacher collaboration features are accessible only to registered users.  Educators are encouraged to select the "Register" button (upper left on any page) to register for access to assessment/answer keys, enable commenting, tagging, rating, and contribute related content they have created/found through the "Add a Resource" wizards on each lesson.

Classroom  Resources

The Classroom Resources section contains various resources for running a STEM Robotics 101 EV3 class.  Topics include First Days of School, Classroom Procedures, Hardware and Software Tip & Tricks, as well as Course Level Resources such as CTE Frameworks and links to curriculum resources.

Course Layout

The Aerial Robotics 101 Course is broken down into Units, with each Unit containing several Lessons.  Each Lesson typically contains the following components:

Lesson Page

  • Overview of the lesson content.
  • Objectives which outline the learning students are expected to be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson.
  • Links to lesson components (described below)

Instruction Guide

  • Step-by-Step instructions on the lesson provided by the original author of the lesson
  • Links to Instructional Material (videos, photos, PowerPoint presentations, demonstration materials, other teaching collateral)
  • Links to Assessment (task assignment, worksheets, labs)

Primary Instructional Material

  • This is the Instructional Material provided by the original author of the lesson.

Differentiated Instructional Material

  • These resources may be provided by the original author of the lesson or submitted by other teacher/users of this site through the "Add Additional Instructional Material" Wizard located at the top of the right-hand navigation pane for that lesson.  They are divided into 3 categories:
    • Alternative - resources for teaching the lesson Objectives by another means (other than the Primary Instructional Material)
    • Extended - resources that go deeper into the lesson Objectives
    • Supplemental - resources that touch on or expand some aspects of the lesson Objectives

Formative Assessments

  • This material, provided by the original author of the lesson, may be used to gage student understanding of the lesson Objectives, usually as daily starters, mid-lesson feedback, or post-lesson reviews.

Summative Assessments

  • This material, provided by the original author of the lesson, is intended to assess student mastery of the lesson Objectives typically  through challenges, task assignments, quizzes and projects.

Additional Assessments

  • These resources are additional formative or summative assessments submitted by teachers/users of this site through the "Add Additional Assessment" Wizard located at the top of the right-hand navigation pane for that lesson.  They are divided into 3 categories:
    • Alternative - resources for assessing all the lesson Objectives by another means (other than the original Formative or Summative Assessment)
    • Extended - resources that go deeper into assessing the lesson Objectives.
    • Supplemental - resources that assess some aspects of the lesson Objectives

Get Involved!!

This Aerial Robotics 101 master curriculum is a comprehensive curriculum which includes a wide array of STEM lessons. Registered Teacher_Users are encouraged to:

  • Rate and leave comments on existing lessons, reflecting your experience with the content
  • Tag lessons with meaningful key words, for yourself or others to use in searching content
  • Quickly Add Differentiated Instructional Material (Alternative, Supplemental or Extended) that you found/created to enhance an existing lesson (see "Add Additional Instructional Material" Wizard located at the top of the left-hand navigation pane for each lesson).
  • Quickly Add an Additional Assessment (Alternative, Supplemental or Extended) that you created/found for an existing lesson (see "Add Additional Assessment" Wizard located at the top of the left-hand navigation pane for each lesson).
  • Quickly Add a Classroom Resource you created/found to  the Classroom Resources section (see "Add Classroom Resource" Wizard located at the top of the left-hand navigation pane of the Classroom Resources page)
  • Contribute an entirely new lesson (incl. Guide, Primary, Assessment, etc.) that can be added to this Aerial Robotics 101 master curriculum, and other can select for their customized course. (see  this Tutorial)