The Treasure Hills Elementary TV Club is letting their creativity take flight. They were recently awarded Harlingen Area Educational Foundation’s Innovative Teaching Grant towards the purchase of a new tablet to control their video drone.
Until now, students have been borrowing mobile devices to help maneuver the drone, but thanks to the $500 grant they will have a dedicated device that will stay within THE TV.
“We love it when schools are consistently thinking of innovative ideas to bring relevance into the classroom,” said HAEF President Janine Marie Campbell. “We are always looking for things that are going to give students an edge as they move into the next chapter of their educational lives, whether that is elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or high school to college.”
The Innovative Teaching Grant program offers teachers $250-$1,500 for innovation and special projects in their classroom based on an annual application process.
Students in THE TV have been learning how to fly the drone, how to operate the camera, and the types of situations in which a drone could be utilized.
“We’re learning about how the camera operates and how the camera sends its signal to the phone,” said teacher Chad Bender. “We’ve discussed several applications for the drone, and what kind of stories we could use it for here on campus. We’ve also talked about real-world applications. Windmill technicians use them to inspect wind turbines, and we were just learning that people in the insurance industry use them when surveying property for damage.”
Hannah Elizondo, a fifth-grade student, says the new tablet will facilitate their use of the drone when they need to get aerial shots for their videos.
“Sometimes our students will create words on the blacktop in back of the school, and we’ll have to take aerial video footage,” said Hannah. “The tablet we are getting will help us frame our shots better.”
Treasure Hills Elementary TV Club teaches students valuable videography skills while giving them a sense of pride in their campus. Follow them on Facebook @treasurehillselementarytv.