Education to take flight with drones this upcoming year at Broward schools

By Joe Gorchow

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    DAVIE, Florida (WFOR) — In an effort to expand STEM educational opportunities for kids, starting this year, Broward schools will introduce drones and competitive gaming to elementary schools.

STEM is an interdisciplinary approach to learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

CBS News Miami visited Nova Eisenhower Elementary in Davie on Tuesday. While there, we watched education take flight, including seeing students fly drones in the classroom.

CBS News Miami reporter Joe Gorchow asked one of the students, “Was that fun for you?”

“Yes,” said Demi, an eight-year-old student at the school.

Demi enjoys learning to fly a drone and excels in problem-solving by building in the world of Minecraft.

“It could be really for anything,” shared Demi, demonstrating how she engages in the game.

“You certainly have your whole creative playbook at your disposal,” Gorchow said.

Demi smiled, agreeing that she did. Her smile lit up the room as she showed us her house design alongside other students.

“I’m going to put down my wood,” explained Demi as she built her house.

For the first time, Broward Schools is offering drones and future Esports competition opportunities with Minecraft for elementary students.

“Problems today might be in the Minecraft world, but they might be solving the problems of climate change tomorrow,” said Dr. Lisa V. Milenkovic, Broward Schools Supervisor, STEM + Computer Science Applied Learning.

Milenkovic said the competition events will help boost team building and leadership skills while supporting STEM learning to channel their ingenuity.

“Express my creativity with or how I present myself,” shared Delani, a 10-year-old student at the school.

Delani happens to be Demi’s older sister. We observed her designing what she described as her future home while their mom proudly watched in the background.

“Express their creativity, but also those critical thinking skills,” said Carla Hibbert, the girls’ mother.

And accomplishing targeted goals of “Critical Thinking, Engagement, Problem-Solving, Collaboration, Social Skills, and Elevating Standards.”

“The world around us is so controlled by science, technology, engineering, and math,” said Milenkovic. “Doing it on something they really love and they feel ownership of.”

Making school equal fun.

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