ASHLAND — For Parrish Lanzer, flying models has long been a hobby.
He works in IT, but Lanzer has flown model airplanes, helicopters and drones since the 1970s.
Lanzer attends St. Edward Catholic Church. About four years ago, the principal of St. Edward School, Suellen Valentine, approached him with an idea.
Valentine asked Lanzer if he would be interested in helping teach St. Edward School students about drones. He helped the school choose the right types of drones to bring in, prioritizing student safety.
Since then, Lanzer has returned to St. Edward School to offer seventh and eighth graders a semester of instruction about drones.
Valentine said the curriculum comes as part of the students’ technology class. His work with the school is all completed on a volunteer basis.
“It’s just a great experience, and especially to see the school is learning top-notch technology and I’m part of that — it’s really rewarding for me,” Lanzer said.
Getting hands-on experience
Lanzer has helped develop a semester-long experience for students that begins with what types of drones there are, and culminates in students building and flying their own drones as a team.
He stresses the ethical and practical implications that come along with the technology.
A class of seventh and eighth grade girls building the drones rattled off a slew of real-world uses for drones. Those uses include search-and-rescue missions, weather reports and military operations.
The drone lessons also consist of working with a simulator, teaching the students how to fly the machinery, and a “human drone” activity.
That activity, Lanzer said, helps the students understand the components of a drone and how they work together to operate the technology. Each of the students had to act out parts of the drone.
Madeline Tunnell, one of the eighth graders at St. Edward School, said the human drone activity showed her how important it is that all the parts of a drone work together.
“I learned to listen to what people say,” Tunnell said. It’s a skill she’s applied as she works with classmates to build their own machine.
Just a hobby
Lanzer said one of his favorite parts of teaching the drone lessons is when students come back and visit with him about the technology after they move onto high school.
Not every high school student understands drones, he said. He thinks it’s cool that St. Edward students get to claim that knowledge.
But for Lanzer, at the end of the day, drones are only a hobby.
He says he’s not a professional, and thinks it’s important to be aware of the Federal Aviation Administration’s rules when learning and using the technology.
In fact, he hopes to gain an FAA license in the coming years.
The seventh and eighth grade girls said the drone building is a challenge. But they don’t view it as one that’s insurmountable.
“It’s drone science, not rocket science,” Tunnell said.
