iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Ten years ago, seeing a drone zoom over a college campus would have been unusual, to say the least. Today, however, several institutions are using the technology to support learning, research and even administrative work, such as capturing footage for a marketing video.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have been in use since the 1990s, primarily to support military, border security and other public operations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Consumer adoption began to accelerate a few years ago as hobby drones became more advanced and less expensive. From 2014 to 2017, consumer drone shipments jumped worldwide by 7 million units, according to a Business Insider Intelligence analysis.

That’s about when higher education institutions began to realize UAVs could play a role on campus, according to Venkata Krishnan Seshadri, industry lead at market research provider Technavio.

“Drones facilitate application-based, practical learning, which helps students understand and remember key theoretical concepts,” Seshadri says. “Using drones significantly reduces risks and costs. For instance, in archeological-related courses, drones are used to capture aerial imagery, which increases the quality of learning without safety issues.”

Incoming planes were forced to divert to airports up and down the country as the drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), repeatedly appeared over the airfield at London's Gatwick Airport.

The situation was so serious the Army was called in to support the local police in tackling the issue, with the runway finally re-opening on Friday morning.

For some time now, governments around the world have been looking at different ways of addressing the dangers of drone use in areas where they pose safety risks.

Here we look at some of the solutions - ranging from bazookas to eagles.

The Age of the Drone, an eyebrow-raising new documentary, reveals a game-changing revolution that’s happening overhead. The drones are here — pilotless flying bots, usually equipped with cutting-edge cameras and GPS navigation. Whether you know it or not, they’re up there  and soon there will be many, many more of them.

To create the first TIME cover shot by a drone, we worked with Intel’s Drone Light Show team, Astraeus Aerial Cinema Systems and L.A. Drones—plus 958 drones set to display a precise shade of red, and another one to hold a camera in the air at just the right angle.

The result was one of the biggest drone shows ever produced in the U.S., so of course it drew some attention. One Folsom, Calif., resident interviewed by a local news reporter recounted, “Up in the sky, I saw the future.”

TIME Special Report: The Drone Era

Adoption of drones and robotics will more than double in the next three years. Drones will outpace the larger and more mature robotics category, but both will grow by solid double digits year-over-year for the next three years.

According to the new report from IDC, combined worldwide spending on drones and robotics totaled $84.44 billion in 2017. That figure will jump to $103.1 billion in 2018. By 2021, spending will reach $218.4 billion — a three-year compound annual growth rate of 25.4 percent.

Interested in buying a drone but feeling overwhelmed by the avalanche of available options? We've got your back with our list of best drones for beginners, which includes product descriptions and an FAQ!

This is it. The kid friendly drones list you’ve been looking for! Gearing up for the holiday season, these are the hottest new drones for teens and kids alike.

Drones have turned into one of the most sought-after toys on the market, becoming one of those unique gifts for kids that will go down a storm.

While younger kids may love the idea of flying a drone high in the sky, many drones are not for beginners. These little machines will get thrashed about so finding a durable drone is important.
The best drones for kids are those that engage play, inspire creativity and don’t break after being bounced into walls!

If you thought those drones buzzing around on the beach were annoying, just wait and see what happens when they become cheaper than iPhones.

Whether you like it or not, drones — miniature remotely controlled aircraft — may be on the cusp of going mainstream as they plummet in price. DJI, the world’s largest consumer drone maker, which is based in Shenzhen, China, will soon release Spark, its first $499 drone. That’s roughly half the price of the most popular drones on the market, or three-quarters the cost of an iPhone, which starts at about $650.

I tested Spark over several days this week and found it surprisingly capable for a low-cost drone. Unlike most expensive drones, which operate with a physical remote control, this machine was designed to work primarily with a smartphone app; you can also make hand gestures to move Spark or make it take your selfie. It shoots superb high-definition video, weighs about a quarter of a pound and is so compact you could stuff it in a tote bag.

I was able to confidently fly Spark, the first drone I have ever used, after several sessions, a testament to its overall ease of use.

Drones have become so popular that lately it seems everyone has one. Why wouldn’t they? Today’s models are practically flying on their own, creating breathtaking images and videos, and offering a fun way to get away from your daily tasks and problems.

However, since you are reading this, I guess you are not here to talk about the ready-to-fly (RTF) drones, right? You are more of a DIY kind of a person who would rather spend your hard earned free time messing with the parts and tools, and customizing your bird to be a unique reflection of your personality.

This hobby, as you probably already know, tends to go hard on your budget, and demands a certain level of understanding of the subject. This is exactly why I decided to help out and talk about the affordable quadcopter kits that will not make you rob a bank in order to afford them.

Before I get to the actual kits, you need to know how to find the one most suitable for your needs

The best drones for kids are those that engage play, inspire creativity and don’t break after being bounced into walls! While younger kids may love the idea of flying a drone high in the sky, many drones are not for beginners. These little machines will get thrashed about so finding a durable drone is important. There is such a variety of features to consider, that picking the perfect drone might seem like an impossible task. Finding drones for teens is an easier job as the majority of drones are suitable for over 14’s. Some drones feature very high resolution HD cameras, some only take still pictures, and others are just great fun for gaming. Gearing up for the holiday season, many new drones will be available later in the year. Here is a list of 16 popular and soon to be released drones for kids and teens in 2017.

The FAA's first sanctioned, revenue-generating drone delivery service involves speeding up the movement of blood and tissue samples.

Canadians flying drones of a certain size will have to pass an online exam and get a pilot’s certificate under new rules announced Wednesday by federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau.

The new regulations, which come into effect June 1, apply to all drone operators, whether they fly for fun, work or research.

Predicting the future is notoriously difficult. The New Media Consortium, which publishes its annual “Horizon Report for K-12” previewing the technologies likely to impact education in the coming five years, forecast back in 2015 that by 2019, we would see drones playing a role in education. 

The future has swooped in early: We’re already seeing drones being added to the mix of teaching tools that educators are using to help bring STEM to life in their classrooms. And while schools are coming to drones from a variety of directions, they are all finding that this technology offers learning opportunities for students that touch on every part of their curriculums.

Gather ‘round! Let me tell you the story of Droney Appleseed.

You see, in the 21st century, bee populations were dying off because everyone was using too many toxic pesticides. Farmers were starting to notice that the fuzzy little workers were starting to vanish because their crops weren’t getting pollinated. Boy, was everyone in a real pickle then! Thankfully, Droney Appleseed came to the rescue, flying over the farmland and spraying pollen wherever it went.

OK, so, we’re probably not ready to make children’s books about this stuff quite yet. But! An apple orchard was just pollinated by a drone for the first time.

"If you’re a six-foot human standing on a paddleboard, it’s just as well you don’t know that a 60-foot, 40-ton humpback whale with 16-foot flippers is surfacing directly beneath you. The only thing more unsettling would be if there were four 60-ft., 40-ton humpback whales with 16-foot flippers doing the same.

Just such a don’t-look-down moment played out off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai in 2016. Ordinarily, it would have been the kind of experience that the paddleboarder—who came through unharmed—would have described to his friends with a helpless “You should’ve seen it.” As it happens though, his friends did see it, as did more than 200 million people so far on Facebook, YouTube and uncounted other websites around the world."

We have several programmable devices in our space: Sphero, Dot and Dash, and even BB-8. Our students love programming these tools to navigate obstacle courses and perform missions. However, nothing has made more of an impact than our Parrot Minidrones for coding with fourth grade students.

Drones do lots of good in the world, and the ways they can be used for good seem to be growing every day. (There’s even a “UA Drones for Good” competition held in Dubai every year.)

Here is our list of some of the ways that drones are being used for good right now. Know of others? Reach out and let us know on Twitter using the hashtag #dronesforgood.

We’d love to see this list grow!

Contrary to the belief that technology can be distracting for students, using drones in the classroom can be used as a tool for enriching students' imagination and awaking their natural curiosity.