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Students at the St. Clair College MediaPlex downtown this fall will learn a 21st-century skill: drone operation.
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The college on Tuesday announced a new drone technology and media production course will be added to the journalism program this September. At roughly $650 a piece, the college has purchased five drones so far but expects to add a few more to the fleet Public relations and media convergence students will also have access to the small flying machines.
“Drone technology is now being used in countless industries. That includes journalism, film, PR, and many other industries around the world,” said Jimmy Parsons, chair of the college’s school of media art and design. “St. Clair College continues to keep our curriculum cutting edge to make sure our graduates are well prepared when they enter the workforce.”
If the drone course is a success, the college is looking at expanding it to all three MediaPlex programs in the fall of 2023, he said. Drone education is something the students have been asking for.
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“I’ve been in my role for almost three years now. From day one, we’ve talked about drones,” Parsons said. “It’s different industries that have this technology and I think students are excited to get a drone in hand and get out there and see what they can do with it.”
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Veronique Mandal, co-ordinator of the media convergence and journalism program, said when the program was developed to teach “print and radio and television and online social media, it gave (students) an incredible skillset to take with them when they’re competing for jobs.” Not only will the drone course give students an added skill, “but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Rebecca Wright, a college instructor, said the drone course will be a “mutual beneficial addition” to the MediaPlex as a whole, as well as to public relations students.
“The foundation of journalism and PR is storytelling,” Wright said. These days, storytelling looks very different, especially with social media and digital media. With the addition of this drone technology, we’re enabling our students to elevate the stories that they tell.
