Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a . . . drone? Surely you’ve had the opportunity to see a drone in flight if not fly one yourself. And if you haven’t seen drones in action, you’ve at least seen their work: movies, TV shows, and even advertisements use them.

Drones have already permeated our lives, and people are figuring out the best way to use them. You’re probably familiar with the most-talked-about commercial use for drones at the moment – package delivery. Companies that deliver packages from Point A to Point B are rushing to figure out how to use drones to get the job done efficiently and safely, and governments around the world are trying to make sure that the laws, rules, and regulations reflect this reality and keep the public safe.

The Future of Flight

Did you know that one of the major users of drones and piloting skills is the construction industry? This industry uses drones in many ways such as:

• Surveying potential construction sites before beginning a project.
• Inspecting the project as it progresses to ensure safety and determine schedules.
• Helping create 3-D renders of the finished project.

The list goes on and on for the ways that just this one industry can use drones.

But, let’s consider for a moment all the ways that drones are used today in various industries:

• Insurance companies use them for damage assessment and inspection.
• Local, state, and federal governments use them for emergency response.
• Nonprofit organizations use them to deliver humanitarian aid and provide disaster relief.
• Conservations use them to study wildlife.
• The agriculture industry has started using them to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and reduce its environmental impact.
• Meteorologists use them to help with weather forecasting.
• The energy industry uses them to complete inspections of critical infrastructure.
• Realtors use them to photograph and video record properties to help increase sales.
• Urban planners use them to receive real-time data to help better understand patterns of population.
• Telecommunications companies use them for tower inspections.
• Internet companies use them to deliver Internet access to remote locations.
• Manufacturing companies use them to track inventories and monitor logistics.

These are just a few of the ways drones are being utilized by industry today. The potential for them in all areas of industry in the future is even more significant.

Watch Learning Take Flight

As educators begin to look for ways to integrate drones into their school curriculum, they will naturally gravitate toward ways to better prepare their students for careers that interest them. A student interested in firefighting could complete some drone education, and then he or she would have a more diverse skill set to market to potential employers. Meanwhile, a student interested in working in the energy industry could achieve that same marketable skill in a drone classroom. Even students whose drive is to have a career with a humanitarian nonprofit would still bring something to the table with a drone skill set that could benefit them in such a career.

With this in mind, Pitsco created their Drone Flight Guide Curriculum and Field Elements Kit for middle school classrooms, which highlights different career opportunities that utilize drones in each activity and competition.

With this curriculum, students can get a glimpse of various careers such as:

• Drone Pilot
• Software Developer
• Construction Inspector
• Air Traffic Controller
• Photographer/Videographer
• Electrical Power Line Installer and Repairer
• Urban Planner
• Power Plant Operator
• Surveying and Mapping Technician
• Wildlife Biologist
• Sports Competitor
• Firefighter

And – even more fun – Pitsco has released NEW Tello EDU Drones to bring the thrilling experience of flying a drone to your classroom! Students can perform flips, do aerial acrobatic moves, capture photos, and record short videos all while learning beginner to advanced programming languages! There are so many learning possibilities with the Tello drone; just let your imagination come to life!

Pitsco has also developed a partnership with CrossFlight Sky Solutions to enable high school students to prepare for and attain FAA certification as a drone pilot. These together enable students to explore career opportunities that interest them and attain critical training and certification that will give them a leg up in the job markets of the future.

We can’t wait to see all that you and your students do. The sky is no longer the limit!