Kal Koch shows one of the PRPS drones to trustees on Tuesday afternoon in Dunmore.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Prairie Rose Public School trustees were given an update Tuesday on the division’s drone program as it soars into a fourth year.
The program began during the initial steps of the Dave Rozdeba South Alberta Flight Academy, with a call from Medicine Hat College asking if PRPS would consider a partnership. Since the however, the offering has undergone a transformation, says Kal Koch, who manages the program.
“Year one, we’re in partnership with the college, and the college was providing all the instruction, from basic certification to advanced certification,” said Koch. “For a guy that didn’t do any of this before, it was like a rapid, steep curve.”
The program has formed additional partnerships and increased in scope, including applications for videography and photography, agricultural automation and a racing drone module, which steadily increased the interest of students as the various ways drones could be used became apparent.
“Oftentimes, kids think of these things as toys. They don’t understand what they are. They don’t understand how to operate them, what it takes to operate them, and how it is becoming one of the leading technological industries in Alberta and also nationwide,” said Koch. “So what I did was I said, ‘Alright, we’re going to give these kids more options.'”
The program is now available in both high school and junior high levels, said Koch, and he noted that within Foremost and Senator Gershaw schools, they have doubled enrolment in the courses.
Within the program, students can learn what they need to get both their basic pilot’s certification, and their advanced pilot’s certification, which allows for them to operate larger and heavier drones. There is also a module for learning about spraying fertilizer and the like, though Koch noted that may not be for all students.
“I’m offering the agricultural program with land-view drones in this module here, but only to the serious kids. We want a Grade 12 child who really wants to learn about these applications, and then we’d send them to this workshop.”
Putting the program together has been a rewarding challenge, says Koch, due to how technically demanding each of the different models of drone in the fleet can be, and finding creative solutions to sourcing what would otherwise be expensive equipment, such as building their own obstacles for the students to practise their flying indoors.
A lot has changed since the inception of the program, says Koch, but as the world of drones continues to update and evolve, so will he and the offerings from PRPS.
“Trying to keep up, it turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks. It’s just a little slower,” said Koch.
