Source: DAKOTA COLLEGE AT BOTTINEAU submitted to NRP
DRONES IN AGRICULTURE: FARMING TAKES FLIGHT
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028902
Grant No.
2022-38414-37919
Cumulative Award Amt.
$150,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-04322
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2022
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[SPECA]- Secondary Challenge Program
Recipient Organization
DAKOTA COLLEGE AT BOTTINEAU
105 SIMRALL BLVD
BOTTINEAU,ND 58318
Performing Department
Dakota College at Bottineau
Non Technical Summary
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, are becoming a powerful tool in agriculture and food production. In a state like North Dakota, where farms are large and the workforce is small, UAS technology has great potential to make agricultural operations more efficient and productive. However, there's a lack of accredited UAS training programs, especially in rural areas. To meet this need, Dakota College at Bottineau has developed the Drones in Agriculture: Farming Takes Flight project. The project will: (1) produce hybrid online and in-person curricula in ag-related UAS technology - three online courses and a lab-based flight-training course; (2) equip three high schools and one community college with UAS hardware and software to provide students with hands-on experience; (3) increase the quality of online technology instruction by creating a hybrid of online and in-person labs; and (4) produce three high school instructors qualified to teach UAS labs. Drones in Agriculture: Farming Takes Flight curricula will be shared and could be replicated in other high schools and colleges, expanding technical education opportunities to North Dakota students across the state. Flying drones is exciting. Students who complete the UAS program, and choose to take the FFA Part 107 commercial drone license exam, will literally be prepared to apply their knowledge of UAS to North Dakota's fields.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90372103020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
7210 - Remote sensing equipment and technology;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
Curricula developed through the Drones in Agriculture: Farming Takes Flight project will increase the quality and relevance of agricultural science education in North Dakota high schools by introducing students to UAS technology and its many applications in agriculture and food production. Students everywhere, and especially in rural states like North Dakota, are seeking quality educational opportunities that are flexible and accessible. Objectives of the Drones in Agriculture: Farming Takes Flight project are to: (1) deliver high-quality courses on UAS technology in agriculture to North Dakota secondary and two-year college students; (2) help meet training needs of regional agribusinesses by delivering an online certificate program as well as offering dual credit courses in UAS technology; (3) prepare students to pursue higher degrees in food and agricultural science; (4) develop new ways to make distance education interactive and effective; and (5) expand DCB's agricultural course offerings and thereby increase enrollment on and off campus. The project will improve the quality of food and agricultural sciences education by exposing students to the many ways UAS technology can effectively and efficiently raise food on limited arable lands.
Project Methods
Online Drones in Agriculture: Farming Takes Flight courses will be ready for delivery by the end of the first year of the project. Project Leader Dr. Linda Burbidge, agriculture and UAS instructor and a commercially licensed UAS pilot, and Keith Knudson, DCB Horticulture Department Head and Farm Business Management Instructor, to develop curricula for four core courses: (1) An online introductory course to UAS experience; (2) an online course that will prepare students to take the Part 107 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commercial drone license exam; (3) an online course in agricultural applications that will focus on uses of drones in agricultures and software applications; and (4) a lab-based flight-training course. A UAS program advisory committee - including project faculty, the project's external evaluator and an industry representative - will be formed in year one. They will review the proposed curricula and evaluation plan.Online courses will be presented via the online Learning Management System (LMS) Blackboard Learn. Online teaching tools will include a flight simulator and other online modules to practice flight skills, flight planning and software applications. Recorded lectures and other materials will be presented in ways shown to contribute to more effective online teaching and learning, including: (1) Hands-on team assignments in which students will gather their own UAS-generated data to create maps, portfolios and projects; (2) frequent quizzes and other assessments to gauge student understanding; (3) videos showing real-world examples of UAS technology in action; and (4) weekly live virtual meetings to prep students for the Part 107 FAA commercial drone license exam (Means et al. 2020). To keep students engaged, several Blackboard Learn tools will be used in online classes including: interactive whiteboarding, chronological hand-raise notifications, chat features, on-demand polls, moderated breakout groups, and one-on-one virtual meetings. The Blackboard Learn assessment platform will be used to accept student assignments, develop grading rubrics, and administer tests. During exams, Blackboard's Respondus LockDown browse tool will be used to deter cheating by locking students' computer browsers, thereby blocking access to the internet, and by disabling the ability to print from computer screens.Engaging by nature, for many students the most attractive piece of this project will be flying drones. In the on-site lab course students will practice the basics of flight, including take-offs, landings, hovering and making turns; practice their skills with obstacle courses; and test their capabilities and improvements at built-in skills checkpoints. To make high school students feel more comfortable interacting online, as part of the introductory class Dr. Burbidge will give flight demonstrations at the collaborating high schools using the project's shared UAS equipment.DCB's partnership with Kenmare (N.D.) High School will take off in year two. The Project Manager will meet with the designated Kenmare instructor and school administrators to discuss flight lab logistics and identify appropriate outdoor and indoor (in the event of unsuitable weather) places to demonstrate and practice UAS flight. DCB will provide the training to prepare the Kenmare instructor to become an FAA-certified remote pilot and skills required to teach the flight-training lab. UAS equipment for flight training and instructional purposes will be provided, including equipment for specialized agricultural applications and subscriptions for data collection software so students can learn how to manage and utilize post-flight production. At the same time the Kenmare High School pilot project is launched, DCB will begin offering online and lab-based UAS courses to undergraduate students. The project advisory committee, including the Kenmare lab instructor and students, will participate in the project evaluation, helping to determine if stated outcomes were met and identify areas for improvement based upon the evaluation plan. Lessons learned from the Kenmare pilot project will be employed to enhance the curriculum and quality of online delivery in year three of the project.In the third year of the project, DCB will continue Drones in Agriculture: Farming Takes Flight courses at Kenmare High School and expand the project to Mandan (N.D.) High School and at least one other high school. DCB will again prepare instructors to teach the basic UAS flight-training lab and supply the schools with equipment. The program advisory committee will review project results as part of the final evaluation.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience has been the high school students this reporting period. We had two schools that wanted to onboard in the first year. Initially, the plan was to onboard 1 in year 2 and 2 in year 3, but we had so much interest, that we onboarded two schools. In the fall semester, we had a total of 12 dual credit students (4 in Kenmare and 8 in Rugby); in the spring we had 3 (2 in Kenmare and 1 at a separate location that joined Commerial training course). We have also identified a third high school and potentially a fourth that want to join. Our Agriculture program on campus has a consortium with another 2-year college in Williston and they are also planning to offer the flight lab on their campus and receive our lecture courses dual credit in the coming year. Theyalready had a licensed instructor to be able to run a flight lab. Changes/Problems:One of the schools we hoped to onboard backed out and we needed to find a replacement school, which wasn't too difficult. We have been unable to secure a new evaluator, as no one wants to work on a project that is nearly done. I would like to shift the funds set aside to aid in some increased drone costs and also to marketing for our prgram. There are also additional trainings and conferences we could attend using this money instead. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our Co-PI was able to be trained by my using the training I've had. We also recevied training through Sentera to use our fixed-wing drone that was purchased using our funds. That training was so important and very welll done. Our Co-PI attended an online curriculum development training through Quality Matters. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We presented drone information at two separate presentations. One was a STEM day hosted on our college campus that was geared toward middle and high school aged kids. Information about drones, careers, and opportunities to take our dual credit classes was presented, along with a chance to do hands on flight indoors. In August, we presented at a professional development conference for career and technical education (NDCTE conference). The purpose was to educate them about the FAA rules and regulations, so they could be safe if they wanted to start a drone program in their career and tech ed programs or STEM programs. We also presented information about our grant and the work we've been doing in high schools already. We completed 6 outreach talks/demos to high schools. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are onboarding one more high school to complete our work promised in the grant. We may have another that wants to join this year. We are planning to do outreach with all of our high schools. We got interest on outreach from our presentation to NDCTE. We have a goal to do at least 4 additional outreach sessions to high schools. We also want to showcase our Ag and UAS program to our liberal arts and undecided students. In order to build on goal 2, our expansion to our consortium program in Williston will help us expand our reach and train more students and industry to work in the field. In addition, I'd like to invite some guest speakers into our classes(via recording or bringing them in-person to our outreach) from industry to talk about drone adoption in agriculture and natural resources. They can also discuss current opportunities.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objectives 1, 3, 4, and 5are largely complete. We are able to offer an 8 credit certificate of completion which includes 4 courses, an introductory UAS course, a basic flight training course, an FAA 107 preparation course, and a UAS agricultural applications course. Our courses have been well developed, and after some hiccups in the first semester of offering, we were able to identify and alleviate many challenges of offering online courses in a dual credit setting. The co-PI has had a great deal of experience offering online learning and has helped bring fresh ideas to our courses that have helped improve student engagement. As of this report, we have 1 high school student going on to pursue a degree in Agriculture and 2 college studentsand 2 high school students who havecompleted the certificateusing our hybrid curriculum.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:The main target during the first year has come with the training of two of the three secondary instructors. Both have been trained and prepped for a part 107 license and both went on to take the examination and received their licensing. Both instructors have worked with Dr. Burbidge on flight training and are gearing up to teach flight training this year to their students. Changes/Problems:Our plans were to onboard one high schoolfor the 2020-2024 school year and two more in the following year. We had two schools with very high interest in the program, and one didn't know if they would find an instructor, but they eventually did, so we are onboarding two schools this year and one the following year. New FAA regulations have been a challenge. We are now required to have remote ID broadcast modules on drones if they do not have manufacturer remote ID built in. This means many of the drones we budgeted for will not be able to be flown without remote ID, so we now either need to increase/reorganize budgets to afford remote ID modules or buy all new equipment (very expensive). We have applied for an FAA approved area that will exclude this distinction, however, there's no guarantee we will get it. This has increased the barriers to training and flight practice. The evaluator we identified in the grant proposal has recently "ghosted" us. We will make one more attempt, but I suspect we will look for a new evaluator to help us bring this project to completion. Several high schools have reached outbecause they are interested in the program, which is a great problem to have, but there are not enough funds for equipment for all, so that will need to be planned. Learning how the dual credit system works with colleges has been a challenge, especially when it comes to administrative issues, such as teacher's salaries and time at the high school level. A statewide teaching shortage has caused issues as well, some instructors are giving up their prep time to do this. My Co-PI recently retired and I will need to replace him on the grant. I need to find out how to do this in the system. Any guidance on that is appreciated. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional development has centered around the training made available for the high school instructors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Local news papers have picked up on the story around offering UAS dual credit to high schools. In additon, Dr. Burbidge has gone to 3 recruiting fairs in the last year. As a result, several high schools not included in the grant have reached out with interest in the drone classes. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue offering the courses on schedule and improve the delivery based on feedback from the students. I would like to look for more professional development in Online teaching certifications and drone software use. We recently hired an environmental science instructor on the Dakota College Campus that will be pursuing her PhD in evironmental science with an emphasis in drone use, so We are going to additionally expand course offerings to include a natural resource focused course as well. This will complement the agriculture course and hopefully continue to expand interest. An additional grant may be received to further expand course offerings and improve industry connections for students.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? We have just begun the process of offering courses to students on theDakota College Campus and at two high schools. We are well on our way to accomplishing and testing (1), (3), and (4). Course offerings have expanded and enrollment is now up to 16 in the courses (6 at the Kenmare High School, 8 at the Rugby High School and 2 on campus), Last year enrollment was 6 on campus only, but there was no flight training component offered.

    Publications