#TriConf17

It all started with the Food Porn!!

#triconf17

Yes, we are at Tri Association 2017 in Costa Rica.  While it first appears that all we did is eat at this annual Teacher Conference, that was just the beginning.  The fun started at the very beginning when every country was given little challenges to score points using the app GooseChase.  

From the beginning, Republica Dominicana accepted the challenge and led in the very beginning:

The challenge was on!  We went to bed on Thursday in the lead and then woke up to this:

Panama must have stayed up all night to surpass all of us!

This conference is about so much more than a game and food.  We are all here to learn, network, change our mindsets, and grown as humans and as individuals.  We step out of our comfort zones to submit proposals so we can present to our colleagues.  We are also attending sessions to discover new information and develop new practices.

working on our Flocabulary

Jason rockin his "Everyone is a Language Teacher" session!

Working on our Flocabulary with Mike!

New knowledge

So much is going on ~ and sometimes you just need to take a nap.

But in the end ~ it is about networking and just having fun!

Reni, Whitney, Allison, & Jason

Eygpt ~ here we come!  +500 points

Thursday night tropical party

We are saying good-bye to #triconf17 but looking forward to seeing everyone in Republica Dominicana #triconf18.

Building Drones ~ Materials

 As I previously mentioned, the reason for starting a drone program at Carol Morgan School was to bring new and exciting projects to the Engineering program in the high school.   




We have a very successful Team DRIFT #4091 FRC Robotics program as an after school activity and regular robotics classes, but something else was needed to enhance the design process and utilize the equipment in the Innovation Lab.   


Since this inception, the program is starting to expand to other disciplines in the school, one flyer at a time, including the business office, admissions, and maintenance departments. 


For this post, I will focus on the materials list that I researched and purchased for building drones.  These items are not in any particular order, however, each piece was needed in the tool kit to construct the drone.  (I had groups of two working on one drone. Each group had a tool kit.)

I used this video ~ "How to Build a Mini Quadcopter" for instructional purposes.  He does a really nice job of showing how to tin wires and how to weave all the cabling into the frame for a very clean look.  Each class period we took a chunk of the video and completed that work for the day.  By doing so, this kept the students on task and the job did not feel so overwhelming.  Not all the parts in the kit are the same as in the video.  For the most part, all the wiring is the same.  

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Materials ~ everything on this list were items that I used to build the drones.  It wasn't written anywhere what items were needed but little by little it was discovered that a cable was needed or a zip tie would have worked better than double sided tape.  If you find something that is better than what I have listed, please don't hesitate to share the information.  






YKS Drone Kit ~ lots of research went into this selection.  The main reason I bought this is the Amazon review that was written by a high school teacher plus all the different reviews I was able to find on YouTube.  It is an "OK" drone for the first time flyer who is interested in learning how drones work.



YKS ESC ~ Flight Controller Board

All of the wires from the different accessories are plugged into this board.  Because the pins are small, this board is easily damaged.  The mini USB cable is plugged into this board and is plugged into the computer to receive the software that will power the drone.  This connection can be easily damaged.  These come in the YKS kit but have a few extras of these on hand just in case.





YKS CC3D Power Distribution Board ~ this is the little piece that powers the motors.  Students will be using the soldering iron to connect the different motor wires and the male battery cable to the PDB board.  If not done correctly, students can ruin the PDB.  I lied to the students and told them I didn't have extras.  I raised their anxiety levels, but only had to replace 1 board during the last year.  These also come in the YKS kits, however, it is good t have a few extras on hand just in case.

**Note ~ spend some time on "how to solder".  It is best to tin the tips of the cables first and then place a little tin on the positive and negative pads on the PDB.   This helps because you'll heat the tin on the cable and then will melt into the tin on the PDB.  The video above shows a really nice way to solder.  



Rechargeable Battery Charger ~ I bought the 16 bay/slot that was capable of charging both AAA and AA.  It is needed if you are operating multiple drones at once.  The one that I have linked here works great and has an automatic shutoff. 

AmazonBasics AAA & AA Rechargable Batteries Multipacks  ~ have a few batteries on hand.  I bought 3 packages of AA and 4 packages of AAA.  You will use the triple A's with the Cheersons and the AA with the controllers for the YKS.

FlySky FS -i6 AFHDS 2.4 GHZ 6 Channel Radio System Transmitter ~ This uses 4 AA batteries.  I had 6 groups so I bought 6 controllers.  Most groups finish making the drone about the same time so therefore it is almost impossible to share controllers.

SKYRC iMax B6 Mini Professional Balance Charger/Discharger for Nimh/Li-po Batteries with Adapter ~ after much research, this was the best charger at the time of purchase.  It allows you to charger two lipo batteries at once, but also let's you discharge the batteries for storage.  Read the directions thoroughly.  I bought 3.

3S 11.1 V 1500 mAh Lipo Battery   ~ these are the backup lipo batteries.  The kit comes with one.  The flying time for this battery is between 6-8 minutes.  Charging time is about 45 minutes.

Zip Ties ~ buy the small 4 inch.  These work really well when securing the motor cables to the drone arms instead of using double sided tape.

Soldering Iron ~ you'll need one per group.  The tin that comes with this particular set was the best tin to work with.  It is hard to find so make a note of the weight and diameter so you can re-order.  It comes with a cooling stand and extra tips.

Helping Hand with Magnifying Glass ~  this is an inexpensive add-on purchase.  This means you can't purchase this without buying something else.  It would be a nice piece to add to the work station.  It has clips on both ends so students can hold the wire and look to see the cable tips that are being soldered.  I did not buy these.  The students used the needle nose pliers and worked together ~ one held the wire, while the other did the soldering and then switched roles.  It was a team approach to getting the task done.  

YKS Carbon Fiber Propellers ~ what can I say ~ there will be accidents and crashes.  Have plenty of extras on hand.  The kit comes with 2 sets.  Still....just saying.

Wire Crimping, Cutting, Stripping Tool  ~ this is a great tool for stripping the wire to prep for tinning.  It is used seldomly, so it can be shared amongst the groups.  

Long Nose Needle Nose Pliers ~ these worked great for holding the wires for tinning.  

5 inch Needle Nose Pliers ~ To get a clean look in the drone design, students need to weave the motor cables through the body of the drone frame.  Their fingers are usually too big to push and pull so this small size pliers helped get the job done.

Diagonal Cutting Plier ~ I started with these but ended with the red pair above.  Eventually, this was a nice donation to the robotics team.

LHI 2 Piece Male w/14awg Silicon Wire 10cm ~ this wire is connected via the soldering process to the PDB, power distribution board.  Encourage students to measure the length that is needed and then use the wire cutters and stripper to cut to the desired length.  I had several groups that didn't do this and it was not a clean construction and the extra cable flopped behind the drone.   I only had two groups that destroyed their cabling.  This particular set comes with the male and female parts already soldered together.  The kits may have the wire and the connectors separated, therefore, the students will need to solder the parts together.

24 Gauge Silicone Wire Red & Black ~ nice to have extra wire hanging around.  It comes in handy when mistakes are made.

StarTech 1-foot Mini USB 2.0 Cable A to Mini B ~ it pays to work ahead of your students.  Luckily, I discovered that this cable did not come with the kit and the robotics program had the cables.  You will need one cable per group.  It is needed to transfer the flying program to the drone.  We used LibrePilot.  It is a great, free program to download for multiple computer operating systems.  It shows step by step how to set up the quadcopter.  It is during this phase that students will need to return to the building phase if they discover something is not constructed properly.  

Lots of time and money was invested into this part of our drone program.  I have been through 2 semesters of students in building drones and will start my third group in mid October 2017 (allowing more time to get the work done).  We almost had one drone flying and we definitely had two drones smoking (they crossed the motor wires).  We have a new class schedule this year that incorporates FLEX time.  I will encourage last year's students to come during flex time and work to get their drone flying.  

For the next implementation, we have moved to RTF (ready to fly) drones and have lined up our first customer ~ the maintenance engineer would like aerial video and photos of the school grounds so he can compare it to existing school maps for accuracy.   The Business Office manager wants to tap into his inner child and learn to fly.  

The possibilities will be endless.

Got to Start Somewhere ~ Cheerson Drone Materials ~ Drones

Flying drones.  Racing drones.  Videography with drones.  Being irresponsible with drones.  Building drones.  Drones have been around for a few years, but are increasing in popularity. It doesn't matter if it is recreational usage or finding innovative ways to make a buck flying a drone, the race is on to becoming the best of the best when it has to do with a drone.

There is really no easy way to start.  You might as well just dive in.  So that is what I did.

There are lots of things to consider when starting a drone program at your school.  As previously discussed, ask yourself what the main purpose of your drone will be when beginning your own program.

For Carol Morgan School, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, I wanted students to learn how to fly and build their own drones to fly.  For engineering students, this was a great way to show them how to use various tools and teach about motors, soldering, gears, and electronics ~ more on this topic in the next blog.

In an earlier blog, I mentioned Cheerson CX-10 drones.  These are great to use (and inexpensive) to learn about flying.  There are also lots of YouTube videos online that will assist with flying instructions.  Once you get the hang of flying, you will learn how to do all the fun tricks.  I particularly like this video:

Learn to Fly a Quadcopter ~ TheBeatTheBush. “Learn to Fly a Quadcopter for Cheap | BeatTheBush.” YouTube, YouTube, Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNEYBK2qhM&t=305s.

I purchased the following:

• 30 Cheerson CX-10 quadcopters
• 2 ~ Rechargeable 16 Bay Charger
• 4 ~ 12 pack AAA rechargeable batteries
• Needle Nose pliers

Before flying, we discussed the FAA flying rules and drone vocabulary.

FAA Rules ~ know before flying
Drone Vocabulary

Using these two documents of information we moved on to Getting Started with UAVs.  I used this HyperDoc to have students watch videos for understanding and this lead to great discussions about the FAA rules and are these rules really enforced in the Dominican Republic. Yes, my lovely students, the FAA rules are enforced here!


Because the flying time of these drones is approximately 6 minutes, I was able to have 2 flight times.  I would have enough drones for each child ~ (class size was less than 20 and I could always count on someone being absent).  I would give the students a checklist of skills that I would like them to learn. 

**Note ~ because the flying time is so short, the most you will spend on flying is about 30 minutes of a class session.  

Learning to Fly Drones ~ includes FAA and classroom rules for flying.

In closing, this is a really fun exciting activity.  However, always stress safety first and follow the FAA and classroom rules.

Buying Guide ~ Drones

Do Your Research

Before investing money in a drone, first ask yourself what is the main thing you would like your drone to do:

1. racing
2. videography or photography
3. learning to fly
4. or building

Asking yourself this question and doing your research about different types, warranties, customer service, and spare parts could save you time and money.

Below is the list of drones that were purchased for the Drone Program at Carol Morgan School.

Cheerson CX-10A

Cheerson CX-10 in Silver

The Cheerson drone is a simple little (and I mean little) that is great if you have never flown a drone before.  This little drone fits in the palm of your hand and comes with a 4 Channel controller.    A person is able to practice ascending, descending, moving forward, backward, left, right and final some 3D tumbling.  You can even throw this in the air to begin flying.  CONS:  These break easily so have spare props on hand, needle nose pliers to pull of the props to replace.  Also a good idea is to buy the cages that fit around the propellers to protect in case of crash landings.  PROS:  Cheap investment of about $18 with free shipping on Amazon.  Comes in lots of colors ~ pink, purple, blue, white, black, silver, and gold.

Total flying time is 6 minutes and about 45 minutes to fully recharge.  The controller needs 2AA batteries.

If you are successful and learn how to fly without crashing, but still don't want to spend the money, try the Cheerson CX-10WD.   This will do everything the CX-10 will do, but it comes with a First Person View controller so you can see where you are flying through the mounted camera.  This little WiFi HD camera can take real-time FPV by connecting it to a smart phone.  It will also take pictures and videos. 



GoPro Karma Hero5 Black

Features include folding arms, GoPro Hero 5, FPV, easy takeoff and landing.  This model comes with the battery, extra props and a backpack carrying case.

This drone will be used for our aerial shots of the school and incorporated into the regular curriculum.  As teachers and students become more comfortable with flying, we will use this drone in our curriculum.

DJI Mavric

Very similiar to the Karma, but this one folds up and fits in your pocket.  This one will be easier to carry around but still very functional when using with our classes.

YKS Drone Kits

I'll talk more about this one in a future blog post, but this is one of the better drone kits.  

Traveling Made Easy with Google, CCs, GSuite, & Apps

Summer is over, but it is never too early to start planning the next adventure.  As an international teacher, I am always looking for ways to make my life easier when traveling.   Selecting the best credit cards, getting the upgrades, and making itineraries are just a few things that can be accomplished digitally.



Credit Cards
Having some spending power when traveling, makes life that much more enjoyable.  We always are on the hunt for the card that will provide the best services and benefits. This is an on-going hot topic among international teachers.  In a recent, informal survey of international teachers (very informal), most agree that the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the best card for traveling.

At the time of this writing, Chase is offering 50K in bonus points if you spend at least $4000 USD in the first three months.  The key here is to apply for the card when you have big purchases to make in order to benefit from this offer.  The $450 USD annual fee pays for itself with the $300 annual travel credit, $100 credit towards TSA or Global Entry fees, and a Priority Pass membership.  This membership allows you entry into over 1000 airport lounges which means free food and drinks (including alcohol) ~ (lounges vary in service).

Most credit cards match one point for every dollar spent.  CSR gives 3 times the points for travel and dining charges and usually offers points specials throughout the year.  Currently, CSR is offering 3x the points for AirBnB bookings.  Follow the link to Chase Sapphire Reserve and see if it is the credit card for you.  



Google Trips
This is the bomb of all apps when traveling to new places, and is available as an app for your phone (IOS & Android).  

You need to log in with your Google account, and the app will draw from your Google Calendar and Google Email to show you a list of your recent and upcoming trips.  

Google Trips will provide you with your "Need to Know" information such as currency, emergency services, and airport transportation.  The power of the app is in the Things to Do section.  The app can build custom itineraries based your interests, or you can select a general itinerary based on the amount of time you will have in that area.  If you have wifi or cellular connection, Google Trips will display real-time information and give you opening and closing times. It also displays the average time more tourists spend at different attractions.

If the weather impedes on your travel plans ~ no worries ~ Google Trips will recommend alternative activites to get you out of the rain or snow.  

Google Translate
Can't speak the language?  No worries with Google Translate.  Download the app and have it ready.  After selecting your languages, for example English --> Chinese, you can write or speak in English and it will automatically translate the text to 
Chinese.  You can also do this in reverse by using the arrows in the center.

Translation of English to Chinese

Don't want to type or speak?  Use the camera feature.  Open the camera on your phone and then hold the phone over the text.  Through the camera, you will see the translated text.


Google Maps

Never get lost again with Google Maps.  There is so much in this one app that planning your trip and navigating unfamiliar streets will be a breeze.  When you have wi-fi you can look for your directions and plan your course to use off-line.

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Using this hand guide, you can navigate through all the features that GMaps has to offer.

Recently added as a feature, GMaps will now show you parking difficulties in major cities.  You can then decide if you are driving, walking, or taking an Uber.  Look for the red P symbol in the bottom of the map for indications of how difficult it will be to park.

After you have become a pro at using GMaps, check out all the other tips and tricks that GMaps has to offer.   Click Here!




Google Flights
Have you ever visited an airline website to search for flights?  You have signed into your account and began your search.  You were not ready to purchase, so you closed the site and returned less than 24 hours later to find the price of the flight jumped $100 in price.  How can this be?  Simple answer is "cookies".  Little programming scripts that airlines force you to accept and enable before using their websites.  Annoying!

Cookies are the reason Google Flights is probably my favorite website to use ~ flights.google.com.  Using an Incognito Window Tab, this website allows you to search and compare prices for most flights around the globe ~ without the cookies.   It does not track your search history.  Once you find a good flight, you can track the price.  Google flights will send you an email every time the flight price changes.  You can also look at the flight price history to determine the best time to purchase the ticket.

You can also search the same flights on different days and find out which day has the best prices.

GF also lets you click on the airline icon and it will direct you to the airline's website to purchase your ticket!  Super convenient to have all of this at your fingertips.

Click here to see all Google Flights has to offer.

What's your favorite travel tool?