What is DIG?

DIG is an activity born in the John Horn High School Library's MakerSpace. DIG stands for Drone Interest Group and is open to all students at JHHS who are interested in flying drones and/or drone photography and videography. Meetings are Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 pm in the Jag Library. There is no cost to participate, and newcomers or walk-ins are welcome. Anyone interested in joining the group or learning more about DIG can contact Brenda Allen ballen@mesquiteisd.org, Jerry Calverley jcalverley@mesquiteisd.org, or Amy Burriss at aburriss@mesquiteisd.org.

Welcome to the Dr. John Horn High School Library's DIG site. My name is Brenda Allen, and I am one of the librarians at JHHS. In February of 2017, at the TCEA Conference in Austin, I attended a fantastic session on drones. It highlighted an elementary school in South Texas that was writing code for and flying drones as well as 3D printing their own drone frames. The group was started by a librarian and a parent interested in RC cars and drones. Together they built a program that flourished. I knew there would be some interest on our campus.

My first step was to contact the drone expert in our district. He recommended a few good starter drones. Then I applied for innovation grants to help pay for some drones. I earned two grants, totaling $900, but I was denied permission to spend the funds because drones weren't permitted at the campus level. Having recently completed a district workshop over George Couros' Innovator's Mindset book, I decided to knock down the barriers toward innovation. Knowing absolutely nothing about drones, I bought my own Syma quadcopter and was determined to get a small group together in which we would teach each other about drones.

In August of 2017, I spoke with the superintendent of MISD, and he was supportive of DIG as long as we followed legal guidelines. I publicized a meeting for a Drone Interest Group (DIG) on our school announcements and at a Clubs & Organizations Open House for parents and students. The interest in drones by students was exciting, but when a faculty member approached me about helping with the group, DIG really began to take off!

Jerry Calverly, a science teacher at JHHS, took an immediate interest in the group. He flew drones as a hobby and knew he could generate interest with some of his students. We held our first meeting on Oct. 16, 2017, to find out what students wanted to get out of the group. Here are our findings:

As a side note, we had 13 students attend our meeting. Four of those students were girls!!

The next step in the formation of DIG was to create an agreement for students and parents to sign so there was no question as to the nature of DIG and the times of our meetings. Using other examples from the Internet, we created an operating agreement which each student has completed and their parents have signed.

Students were anxious to get their hands on the drones but before that occurred, we discussed FAA guidelines and safety rules. Our campus is located within 5 miles of the Mesquite Metro Airport, so it was vital that we make sure our students understood the importance of following all rules and regulations. We used the following sites plus more resources to provide good information to our students:

• http://www.amaflightschool.org/
• https://www.faa.gov/uas/
• http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/

Mr. Calverley's excitement over the students' interest quickly became a near-obsession. He has spent his personal funds on drones and parts in order to feed both his and the students' interests. He reached out to numerous drone enthusiasts through social media and has made some wonderfully supportive contacts. We have received both moral support and drone support due to his earnest efforts to spread the word about DIG. We are grateful to these individuals and groups for their affirmation of our efforts:

• Heath Hollenshead - Drone Videos Dallas - Dallas, TX
• Kelly Shore - Ready Set Drone - Austin, TX
• Ken Heron - Ken Heron Aerial Photography & YouTuber Extraordinaire - Huntingdon, TN
• Ian Cocke - Drone Life - Benton, IL
• Benedikt Haak - Micro Motor Warehouse - Avoca Beach, NSW, Australia
• Max Suen - NewBeeDrone - San Diego, CA
• James Wills - Facebook Contact
• Johnny Wee - Teacher & drone club sponsor in Singapore

One of our early valuable contacts, Heath Hollenshead of Drone Videos Dallas, has dedicated many hours of his time to come to our meetings. As a member of the business community, Heath's expertise and firm emphasis of appropriateness in following FAA guidelines has instilled a healthy respect in our students for flying responsibly. Heath brings his own drones to demonstrate flying techniques and practices. He has shared his personal and business video footage with our students to let them see what they can aspire to create after much experience. He has encouraged them to obtain their Part 107 certificates when they become proficient at both flight and photography. Heath's casual demeanor and helpful nature makes it easy for the students to ask him for help. We are grateful for Heath's participation with DIG.

You guessed it! In the beginning, Mr. Calverley did most of the flying and the kids watched. This was partly due to Mr. C's enthusiasm and desire to show our students what THEY could eventually do. Another big reason was because we didn't have enough drones for each of our kids to get their hands on! Then Mr. C followed some important people in the drone community. He quickly made many valuable contacts who saw his excitement about the club and they supported DIG in many ways:

Ken Heron of Heron Aerial Photography and the Thursday Night Live YouTube show Skyped with our students on February 15, 2017. Afterwards, Ken gifted our students with a drone. The kids sent him a thank you poster for his generosity.

Then Mr. Calverley got the idea to start a Facebook page for DIG to reach out to the droning community. He communicated with many of these enthusiasts, and their response to our club was overwhelming. He asked for any donations at all, including broken drones we could take apart and rebuild. We began to get support and drone donations from many people eager to see our students get experience with drones in a hands-on way. Kelly Shore at Ready Set Drone sent us a fantastic box full of t-shirts, stickers, and a Force 1 F100 Ghost drone on December 18, 2017! Our kids thought Santa came early!