Flying a drone at a school requires special attention to regulations and safety. It is important to familiarise yourself with the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority (CASA) regulations, obtain permission from the school, identify a safe flying area, choose the right drone for the job and use or develop resources that educate and encourage students to become responsible drone pilots. Take a look at the following 6 tips to help get you sorted.
CASA has recognised that when teachers and students fly drones as part of their curriculum, it is defined as “flying for fun”. This means that there is no need for a licence or operator accreditation. Take a look at Remote Pilot License (RePL) – Do I need this certification to fly drones? Here you will find reasons why and why not teachers need a RePL and what they need to do in order to teach with drones.
If you or the school are making money from flying drones, then the drone must be operated by a pilot with a Remote Pilots Licence (RePL). This includes promoting or advertising your school using a drone.
It can be overwhelming to work out which drone works in a classroom. Luckily, we’ve done the hardwork for you. Take a look at Drones for Classrooms: 3 types that teachers should consider. You need to consider your students, your curriculum and your own professional teaching skills. A microdrone is usually the best place to start and then you can consider the bigger, and more expensive drones later down the track.
There are certain drone rules that must be followed. You CAN fly your drones indoors just take a look at Can I Fly My Drones Indoors?. This will help you to understand the legal requirements of flying a drones inside your gyms, halls and classrooms. The following graphic gives you an overview of what you must consider when flying drones as part of your curriculum.
Not all schools or students are allowed to fly. We encourage you to check with your education department as to whether your students have the approval to fly.
Once you have identified that you can fly in your school environment, it’s about identifying what kind of program you need. Are you looking to run a drone club as an extracurricular activity? Or do you need PL to give you the best start to a new STEM program? The Drone Roadshow is visiting 14 locations around Australia! It gives teachers working with students in Years 5 -10 the know-how to use drones and GIS technology to address real-world issues while developing skills for future STEM jobs.
You can teach your students to fly, but have you considered how you can use drones in science or geography inquiry? What about studying digital systems in forestry? While developing flight skills, drones can also support students to understand data collection across a range of industries, including Agriculture. Even discovering the different careers that are a part of the drone industry provides inquiry opportunities.
She Maps is Australia’s leading expert in drone and geospatial education.
She Maps assist schools with the purchasing of drones, school-industry created drone and geospatial teaching resources and highly supportive teacher professional development.
Ready to buy drones for your school? We are an authorised DJI reseller in Australia
Subscribe by email and never miss a blog post or announcement.
She Maps aims to bring much needed diversity and support to STEM. We do this by providing drone and geospatial programs to teachers and schools across the globe.
At She Maps we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site may contain names, voices, or images of people who have passed away.
Take our resources for a spin and join the thousands of teachers who love our ready-to-teach classroom materials. Try one of our complete units of work for free.
