As drone technology becomes more widely adopted across industries, educators continue to explore ways to best integrate drones into STEM and technician education. From collecting geospatial data to teaching programming, drones offer hands-on learning opportunities that engage students while building technical skills. These applications are not limited to one industry—they span manufacturing, environmental monitoring, agriculture, and more—making drones a relevant, cross-cutting tool in today’s classrooms.

In this From the Archive blog post, we’re highlighting three drone-focused resources that showcase how this technology is being used to enhance teaching and learning. Our first resource is a peer-reviewed journal article that explores the impact of drone-based Smart Manufacturing workshops on educator training. Next, a foundational course introduces students to UAS systems. Our final resource showcases an educator workshop that includes sample lesson plans and activities to help teachers bring drone technologies into their classrooms.

Drones in Smart Manufacturing Education

Published by the Micro Nano Technology Education Center at Pasadena City College, the Journal of Advanced Technological Education (J ATE) is a peer-reviewed publication for educators engaged in technician training. This cross-disciplinary journal highlights innovations in fields such as micro- and nanotechnologies, cybersecurity, biotechnology, and more. In the featured article, “Assessment of the Effectiveness of Using Drones for Smart Manufacturing Education” (Volume 1, Issue 2), authors Khalid H. Tantawi et al. explore the use of drones as instructional tools in Smart Manufacturing education. Through a series of train-the-trainer workshops held between 2019 and 2021, educators from 20 states were exposed to research, industry speakers, and hands-on activities assembling and coding drones. Read this article to learn more about how these workshops enhanced educator knowledge and encouraged classroom adoption.

For more archived resources by J ATE, visit the ATE Central resource portal.

Fundamentals of UAS

Developed by the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technology Education Consortium (UASTEC) at Del Mar College, this introductory course on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is designed for students at two-year institutions. The course “appl[ies] fundamental Geographic Information Science (GISC) theories, principles and applications in the use of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/sUAS) technology…” Course materials include a syllabus, 12 instructional modules, and a full Canvas course export (.imscc file) as well as other supplementary files. Students completing the course gain foundational knowledge of UAS and sUAS systems, including their components, certification and registration requirements, navigation tools, and remote sensing applications.

For more archived resources by UASTEC, visit the ATE Central resource portal.

DroneTech 2020 - Drones and Geospatial Applications

This collection features materials from the DroneTech Educator Workshop, Drones and Geospatial Applications, hosted by the National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT). The workshop focused on integrating drone and geospatial technologies into STEM curricula, particularly for grades 6–12. Materials are organized into seven folders: PreWork, Intro to Workshop, Types of UAS Analysis, UAS Imagery and GIS, Lesson Plan Examples, Group Discussion & Lesson Plan Designs, and Video Recording & Chat Narrative.

For more archived resources by the Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Geospatial Information Technology Integration into Technician Education project, visit the ATE Central resource portal.