FAQ
We've been teaching with drones in schools for years, so trust us to answer all your questions.
If you can't find the answer below, then reach out and we can help you.
Before you get started...
A She Maps program can be personalised to the needs of your school and the learning outcomes of your students. We will work with you to develop an individualised program using a combination of our existing programs and expertise, to benefit multiple year levels, your students, with strong Australian curriculum links. This all involves a mix of face-to-face incursions and online support for teachers and students. If you are seeking a whole school STEM solution, then it is best to contact us and we’ll build a program that is tailored to meet the needs of your students and school.
No, at She Maps we have a saying “It’s not all about the drone.” Take a look at our My Map, My World. This program will introduce you and your students to a mapping project from beginning to end.
We cover Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. We also include Geography as we want to show teachers and students just how important geospatial science is. We think it's so important that we’ve even written a paper about it. The Importance of Geography in STEM Education
She Maps programs are not only designed for school lessons, but are also designed for Drone Clubs.
No, you do not need to be a certified drone pilot to run mini-drone lessons in your school or drone club. We can provide you with guidance on the regulations and what you might need to comply with, or the right questions to ask.
She Maps provides all the drones, tablets and safety equipment to run a face-to-face program. If you are interested in purchasing STEM gear after your experience then take a look at our website.
She Maps has consulted CASA on this and have done the hard work for you. In order to fly indoors we recommend clear flight lanes, safety areas to fly behind (like lines on the ground – doesn’t need to be drone cages), safety glasses and safety briefings at the start of the activity.
If you need more explanation please read Can I Fly My Drone Indoors? This will give you a comprehensive breakdown of the CASA laws and how school drone programs apply.
No you don’t need to use a cage, but drones and excited students require a reasonable amount of space! We work by the rule of thumb that we need 5m2 per student. We run our programs in an area the size of a standard basketball court.
CoDrones are not designed to be flown outdoors.They are lightweight and are easily affected by a breeze and other weather conditions that may occur during a lesson.
If you do decide to fly outside then there are regulations that you must adhere to that are different to flying indoors. These are also explained in a particular section of Can I fly my drone indoors?
Only for coding, CoDrones come with their own controller. CoDrones are coded using a laptop or desktop to access Blockly for Robolink. Please check that this website is accessible through your teacher and student online accounts.
Drones in schools...
We have run programs with Kindergarten through to Year 12. Our advice is that 10+ years is an appropriate age to run drone programs with.
The CoDrone EDU is an intuitive and programmable drone designed specifically for indoor classroom use. With radio frequency connection to a remote control and USB connection for coding with a laptop. The CoDrone EDU provides all that is needed for a student friendly drone.
Please read Can I fly my drone indoors?
This article specifies the rules and regulations schools must adhere to, aligning with the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority (CASA) drones for education information.
Each CoDrone EDU comes with 2 batteries and a multicharger.
On average we are finding 8 minutes. There are different factors that can affect a drones flight time:
- Wind - we advise not to fly minidrones outside for a number of factors, including battery life. Inside downdrafts from fans can also affect battery life.
- Full battery discharge - If you discharge a battery completely it will affect the long-term battery life. To maintain the battery health, follow the rule of not allowing the battery to go below 25%.
- Flying activities - a drone will use more power completing take offs and landings,and flips.
Blockly (visual block-based coding) and Python (text-based coding), both accessible via browser or desktop.
Absolutely. The drone’s sensors and programmable features make it ideal for hands-on exploration, engineering challenges, and coding projects.
Online teacher professional development ...
She Maps Membership contains a series of PD’s and resources all connected to running a successful drone and/or mapping program in your school. Not only do you have access to a PD that takes you through the set up of tablets and drones, but it also provides you with all the information about running lessons indoors, curriculum linked units of work and lesson plans.
Each She Maps program has a suggested time for completion. To give you an example, our online Classroom Drone Essentials has a suggested time of 2-5 hours for online learning. After this, you should be more than capable to teach these lessons.
The She Maps membership is suited to all teachers, HOD and executive that want to learn how to implement a drone program in their classroom or a whole school program, even a drone club. Find more information here!
Face-to-face STEM incursions...
We have all the information about our programs on our website. If you want to provide your principal with a number of reasons why our programs are valuable, download the brochures for the program you want. If you still have more questions please contact us directly.
Our Classroom Drone Essentials program (CDE) is usually run for 2 and a half hours, but we can tailor your program to suit your needs. If you have a question about our programs please contact us!
Our face-to-face programs run with up to 30 students at one time.
A host school needs access to a maximum of 10 laptops that can run Blockly for Robolink on student accounts. She Maps provides all of the drones, batteries, and safety equipment.
Troubleshooting .....if only we could avoid these!
If your drone is behaving strangely, try the following:
- Check that the battery is sufficiently charged.
- Check that the propellers are all in good condition, in the right position and that there is no debris underneath them.
- Is the firmware up to date on the drone and the controller?
If the propellers come off your CoDrone EDU but are undamaged, simply clip them back on (but ensure they are attached in the correct formation!) To remove a damaged propeller, you can use the special tool for the CoDrone EDU included in the box.
If you're finding that your drone is flying for a significantly shorter amount of time than you expected, try the following:
- Take care of the batteries! If they are discharged below 25% their lifetime will be rapidly reduced.
- Check for swelling or damage to the battery
- Check for overheating of motors
Make sure that the propellers are all on the right way.
Each prop has a 'leading edge' - a higher side, and it is this edge that 'leads' the rotation. For a quadcopter to fly it must have two props that rotate clockwise, and two that rotate anticlockwise. Pay attention to the position of the marked propellers.
There are a number of reasons why your CoDrone EDU might drift. Try these solutions or read through the info sheet
- Shiny floors or single colour tiles/carpet will cause this issue. Let's see your set up. We recommend using an image mat to avoid this issue, you can order an image mat of your choice through our website.
- Is there a breeze coming through from low level windows, fans, or air conditioning? Try redirecting this breeze or flying in a different spot.
- Reset the gyroscope on the drone
- Trim the drone in the opposite direction to the drift.
We advise not adding any weight to the CoDrone, as this can void the warranty if the engine is damaged. The CoDrone weighs less than 60 grams and is not designed to carry extra weight.
Yes. We recommend that every drone pilot conducts a safety check before they fly. By conducting a safety check before each class it means that it will become a part of the routine of drone flying whether its a mini drone or something bigger.
If you have access to our She Maps membership, then you get access to our recommended checklist.
Here’s what students have to say about our programs!
What other teachers say about us
We help teachers of all confidence and skill levels by making teaching with drones easy.
