Dot Foods donates drones to 13 local school districts to enhance STEAM-based learning

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — Dot Foods, Inc., based in Mount Sterling, recently donated 13 drones to 13 west-central Illinois schools and school districts. This donation is part of Dot’s Focus on STEAM initiative, which aims to provide area school districts with the tools and education necessary to establish science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) programs.

Dot employees, along with representatives from the Learning Technology Center of Illinois, demonstrated to educators how drones can enhance the learning experience for students, making it more engaging and interactive. By incorporating drones into the classroom, students acquire valuable knowledge about technology and explore potential career paths. Educators piloted the drones in Dot’s auditorium during the instructional training.

“Our goal is to support education and help enhance students’ knowledge and passion for STEAM-based learning. There are so many opportunities in these areas, and the hope is that we can equip them with the necessary skills for their future careers, whether after high school, college, or even graduate studies,” Suzy Parn, director of Dot’s corporate charitable oversight committee, said in a press release. “Every one of our STEAM workshops this school year has been really enjoyable, but this one was particularly fun.”

Aaron Llewellyn, a Brown County Middle School STEM teacher, said using drones in the classroom enhances students’ coding skills and provides a deeper comprehension of geometric relations.

“By maneuvering the drone in three dimensions along three separate linear axis points, students can easily grasp mathematical abstract concepts and understand the physical relationship between coordinates,” he said.

Llewellyn also mentioned that because of the donations from Dot, his students will now benefit from increased access to engaging, relevant tools that promote active problem-solving. He highlighted how these training programs have provided opportunities to collaborate and learn from colleagues in different schools.

Dot launched its Focus on STEAM program in May 2023 with the LTC, a statewide program that supports all public K-12 districts, schools, and educators through technology initiatives, services and professional learning opportunities. Dot developed this program to provide those essentials for schools to build their own STEAM programs, including an initial investment of approximately $50,000 in grants as the program launched in May 2023, with an additional $100,000 in grants for the 2023-24 school year alone.

Throughout the 2023-24 school year, Dot worked with LTC to facilitate five teacher training sessions and provide grants to participating school districts to help them develop their STEM programs. Along with donating 13 drones to the 13 west-central Illinois school districts, Dot also donated LEGO educational kits, 3D printers, robots, and micro:bits to each participating district. The school districts also could apply for additional drones, 3D printers, robots and/or micro:bits – programmable devices that allow students to get hands-on with coding and digital creation.

The participating schools and school districts are:

• Brown County Middle School (Mount Sterling)
• St. Mary School (Mount Sterling)
• St. Peter School (Quincy)
• Quincy Junior High School (Quincy)
• Pikeland CUSD 10 (Pittsfield)
• Central CUSD 3 (Camp Point)
• Beardstown High School (Beardstown)
• Payson Seymour High School (Payson)
• Griggsville-Perry Elementary and High School (Griggsville)
• Meredosia-Chambersburg High School (Meredosia)
• Southeastern (Augusta)
• Franklin (Franklin)
• Dallas City (Dallas City)

Examples of STEAM occupations are computer programming, architecture and engineering, life and physical science occupations and related managerial, sales and postsecondary teaching careers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said nearly 10 million workers were in STEAM occupations in the U.S. in 2021. That demand is expected to grow two times faster than the total for all other occupations by 2031.