Coding for Kids
How Tynker Brings Exciting Drone Technology to Kids
Super Bowl spectators last week were in for a treat at halftime as hundreds of perfectly synchronized lights danced in the night sky. Many of us were surprised to discover that these lights were actually drones — 300 of them, pre-programmed and controlled by just a single computer. They were choreographed and powered by Intel, the same company behind the drone light show in Disneyland during last year’s Christmas season.
Drones are now quickly becoming a feature of everyday life. Last year in the U.K., Amazon launched Amazon Prime Air, its much-hyped delivery service that uses drones to deliver packages within a mere 30 minutes of placing an order. For everyday consumers, drone sales have tripled in the U.S. in the past year, and they’ve proven useful for a variety of tasks. They can help farmers plant seeds in large fields, monitor the health of their crops, and water crops more efficiently. They can also be sent to places too dangerous for humans, such as into the middle of hurricanes, and into different parts of the atmosphere to gather data crucial for making accurate weather predictions. Recently, protesters in Standing Rock, North Dakota used surveillance drones to monitor police activity from a distance.
Now drones are kid-friendly, too. Tynker has two drone programming courses aimed specifically at kids, whether they want to learn how to program drones at school or at home. With Tynker, kids use coding skills to write programs for controlling and maneuvering Parrot minidrones — and can perhaps contribute new, exciting ideas about what drones can do.
What do you think is the future of drone technology? Share your thoughts with us and you could win a free Tynker t-shirt!
Get Started at Home
You can bring the excitement of coding drones into your home with a drone and a subscription to Tynker courses.
Step 1. Download the free Tynker app on any iPad.
Step 2. Get ready to fly! Create a wide variety of programs for your drone and sync them with the mobile app. With Tynker’s easy-to-learn visual programming language, you can teach your drone to fly, do tricks, and more!
Step 3. To do more with Tynker, parents can purchase a subscription, which includes 18 programming courses. One of these is Stunt Pilot, a beginner course that engages kids with fun activities and DIY projects that enable them to fly their very own Parrot mini-drones any way they like.
Finished with some coding on our drones @iteach_uk @gotynker pic.twitter.com/lqXPSQLMOY
— CarrsGlenPS (@carrsglenps) February 6, 2017
Get Started at School
It’s easy for teachers to bring drone programming into their classrooms with Tynker. Here’s how:
Step 1. Download the free Tynker app on any iPad. For classrooms sharing one or two tablets, students can take turns using the app to fly their drones.
Step 2. If you already have Parrot drones, you can use Tynker’s free drone programming resources or purchase Drones 101, a full course with nine lessons that teach kids to code drones with a variety of fun modules.
Step 3. Parrot Education has partnered with Tynker to offer educational packages for classrooms that include either 6 or 12 Parrot mini-drones. Drones 101 is free for any school that purchases a Classroom Bundle.
Step 4. Get ready to fly! Drones 101 provides interactive lessons and fun activities that help students learn fundamental coding skills in order to write programs for their drones. Students can program their drones to fly any way they want them to, and teachers can monitor individual students’ progress. Each drone can be switched to Classroom Mode to make sure the drones are safe and fun for everyone.
https://twitter.com/MrsJosieMcKay/status/829310088238264323
For additional setup instructions, take a look at our quick-start guide for drone programming.
Have great ideas for the future of drones? What do your students or kids want to do with a drone? What problems do you think drones will solve? Let us know! (Plus, the person with the best idea will win a free t-shirt from the Tynker store!)
