Flying high: (From left) Codi Bowden, Year 9, Jake Holt, Year 10 and Alex Krause, Year 9, navigate their drone.
Photo by
Gabriel Garcia
Cobram Secondary College’s high achieving students got their hands on some drones on Wednesday November 23 as part of an interactive experience run by Swinburne University's Knox Innovation, Opportunity and Sustainability Centre.
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KIOSC is a joint initiative between Swinburne University and secondary schools with the goal of equipping students with knowledge and skills to help them in their future careers.
Much of the skills and knowledge is related to science, technology, engineering and maths subjects otherwise known as STEM.
The students got the chance to participate in a five hour interactive course in which they used TELLO EDU drones in a simulated emergency situation.
Other activities included gathering data to determine how best to create a thermally efficient house and conducting testing in order to optimise the use of solar panels for electric vehicles.
The interactive experience is all part of the college’s push to give students the best exposure to STEM and the college has a range of programs on offer for all the students.
KIOSC educator Christopher Palframan, who took the course, said all of the activities had real world application and were designed to show students how they could use future technology to help fix the problems of today.
Each of the activities were designed to test the students in their use of technology and critical thinking.
Programming: Year 10 students Taylar Knight (left) and Kail Turner program their drones.
Photo by
Gabriel Garcia
However, they were also purposely designed to be fun.
“If you can't have a positive experience in education, then you are less likely to remember it and less likely to want to repeat it,” Mr Palframan said.
Mr Palframan pointed out that studying STEM subjects can eventually lead to a never ending choice of careers in the future.
George Allen who is the college’s high abilities co-ordinator as well as a science teacher said he hoped the fun, hands-on approach would give the students a different perspective on STEM subjects.
“I’m really hoping that they see the value of science and technology in the careers of the future, and also develop their passion in areas of science and technology,” Mr Allen said.
“You can see looking around at the kids, how engaged they are and how much fun they're having (and) just how much they're getting out of this experience.”
Cobram Secondary College Year 10 student Taylar Knight was one of the students who participated.
With a passion for chemistry and biology, the course strengthened her desire to continue down a STEM pathway.
“I want to go down the science path, but I'm not sure what type,” Taylar said.
For Taylar, it was also the first time she had ever flown a drone and the enjoyment on her face was palpable.
Cobram Secondary College principal Kimberley Tempest said the interactive experience was all about making the students “job ready” and gave them exposure to life outside of secondary education.
“It’s something for high ability learners to see that real world STEM practice. That these are the sorts of job opportunities that you can have if you were to pursue a career in STEM,” Ms Tempest said.
Drones: Students were taught how drones could be used in emergencies.
Photo by
Gabriel Garcia
In real life drones are being harnessed during national emergencies such as floods and fire, but also to spot hazards at popular beaches. They are also being trialled for use in the commercial sector.
