We are proud to highlight our March Educator of the Month, Abby Collins, a technology teacher at Willard City Schools whose work centers on hands-on learning, engineering exploration, and creating opportunities for students to experience STEM through building, experimentation, and real-world problem solving.
Abby’s journey into education began with two interests that naturally fit together.
“Growing up, I was not only a fan of math but anything hands-on and building that I could do.”
At first, she imagined a traditional path.
“I thought that I would end up being a math teacher when I grew up.”
But during high school, a new direction emerged.
“In high school, I found a passion for engineering.”
That discovery shaped the path forward.
“I realized that I could combine both of them and majored in Engineering Education at Ohio Northern University.”
What excited Abby most about teaching was the subject matter, as well as the learning process itself.
“I enjoyed being able to learn more, but more importantly, work with students through project-based learning and see the ah-ha moments, creativity, and problem-solving.”
This year marks Abby’s first year teaching at Willard City Schools, where she works with students from 7-12th grade. Her classroom spans multiple disciplines.
“From a Stats class, Design and Modeling classes, and drones, my goal is to make the STEM Lab as accessible to students as possible and expose them to a variety of different disciplines, careers, and machines.”
Meeting Challenges Head-On
Launching a new STEM program always comes with challenges, and this year brought several major milestones at once.
“This was the first year of the STEM Lab for the school so from starting new classes, organizing a new space, and encouraging students to try something new, it was a lot to begin all at once.”
Building a program from the ground up meant introducing both a new environment and new opportunities to students who had never experienced a dedicated STEM lab before.
Why LocoRobo
Drones quickly became a powerful entry point for students stepping into the new STEM Lab.
“The drones were a great introduction for many of the students to the STEM Lab. They are a really dynamic way for students to engage in STEM from basic flight dynamics.”
For many students, the drones became the moment that sparked curiosity.
“It was the ‘hook’ for many of the students.”
Implementation and Support
LocoRobo drones were integrated into a full-semester course focused on both theory and hands-on experimentation.
“We use LocoRobo Drones for a semester-long class. It is well structured to allow students to learn a bit about the theory, see a video, some built in knowledge-check questions, and then power up their drone to actually try it out.”
Support during implementation made launching the class easier.
“LocoRobo was great about setting up a meeting to go over the curriculum structure with me as a teacher beforehand.”
For a first-year program, that guidance made a difference.
“It has been a great resource for starting a drones class from scratch.”
Impact on Students
Student engagement quickly became one of the most noticeable outcomes of the program.
“Students have been highly engaged in the class and I get asked all the time from students wanting to fly drones and use them outside of the class as well.”
The class also helped bring together students who might not normally collaborate.
“It has also been a great benefit of reaching out to students to a wide variety of ability levels and allowing students to work with classmates they might not interact with otherwise.”
Hands-on STEM experiences created opportunities for students to participate in new ways.
Outside the classroom, students continue asking for more opportunities to work with the drones, demonstrating curiosity that extends beyond the scheduled class time.
Aha Moments That Matter
Some of the most memorable classroom moments come from the first time students see their code come to life.
“Looks of amazement the first time they made the drone do a flip.”
Moments like these turn abstract concepts into visible results.
Students also found creative ways to explore the technology beyond the initial lessons.
“Students using the hallway as a long runway to ‘race’ the drones.”
Those moments of excitement and experimentation often lead to problem-solving, deeper engagement, and collaboration among students.
And for Abby, those reactions capture exactly why hands-on STEM learning matters.
