The University of South Florida (USF) students can go to the school library and check out drones because the library is trying to promote digital learning.
Self-study activity:
Watch the short video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 Students will be allowed to use the drones in autumn.
2 Architecture students will not need to use drawings any more.
3 Some people fear they might cause accidents.
4 Some people fear they might be used for illegal activities.
5 Only trained students will be allowed to use the drones.
6 The drones cost around $1,500.
You can see these little guys flying over places like parks and beaches, but soon you’ll see them flying around USF. The university's letting students checked drones out from the library starting this fall. Over to McLaughlin. He’s in the newsroom tonight with more details on that. Hi, Brendan.
Hi, Linda. Clearly libraries are not just for books anymore. At USF they’ve been trying to make all kinds of technology available to students, now including the remote-controlled drones that have caused so much excitement and controversy.
One of the USF Library’s first drone flights recorded this jazz performance from about 30 feet in the air. Today the staff showed off the device, now available for check out by students studying anything from engineering to environment science.
For example in architecture, they could also go over a structure and understand the various dimensions of it without having to look at drawings and kind of estimate.
Engineering student Rache Navite is intrigued.
I think that might be cool.
But one student in the actual library where they still keep books is skeptical.
I’m pretty sure it’ll just crash it somewhere, cause some sort of accident.
Amazement at what these lightweight camera toting quadcopters can do, that’s been tampered by safety and privacy concerns. They do crash frequently and people and are often more annoyed than amazed at the eyes in the sky.
There’s a drone here.
Hockey fans recently managed to knock a drone out of the air with a T-shirt in front of the Staples Center in LA. And at least one USF student even has concerns about inappropriate uses of drones on campus.
I don’t know, just creeping on other people or just like you know, lurking.
But Academic Services’ Director, Nancy Cunningham says anyone checking out a drone will be thoroughly trained and supervised.
You can’t just take a drone, check it out and do whatever you want. They’re going to be heavily controlled by our library staff.
The two camera drones purchased by the USF Library cost about $1,000 each, they’re high-end, and, yes like all checked out video equipment, you break it, you bought it.
Key:
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