About Me
My name is Kyle Knox. I teach at Thornton Elementary School in Temple, Texas.
In early 2017 I had a vision of using drones to help teach students how to code. I turned to Donor's Choose for the first time, and received a grant for 3 Parrot drones and a controller. For the 2017-2018 school year I taught coding once a week through A.C.E., an after school academic and enrichment program at my campus. I taught the 4th and 5th graders coding with the drones, the 2nd and 3rd graders with Sphero robots, and the Kindergarteners and 1st graders with a life-sized boardgame.
During that time the program used its funds to purchase a Phantom 3 Standard, and I used it to teach the students piloting and photography skills. Soon I was already looking ahead to the next school year, and I wrote a grant for six Tello drones and accessories through our district's education foundation.
I received that grant and began a stand-alone drone club for my campus for the 2018-2019 school year for 4th and 5th grades. I then received another Donors' Choose grant for a DJI Spark drone. We currently meet once a week.
My hope is that all campuses in my district will have some form of a drone club to help students explore the many possibilities that drones can provide. These clubs could then come together in competitions involving coding, piloting, drone design, and more!
If you have any questions regarding the resources, or drones, please do not hesitate to contact me at: