GDT provided funds for travel costs while ESRI provided complimentary admission to the conference in San Diego, California, August 7-10, 2004. Educators selected to attend the conference are:

-- Vicki Conover, Computer/Business Teacher for Islesboro Central School in Islesboro, Maine: Conover, who took her first GIS class 10 years ago and has incorporated GIS in her classes for three years, works to help her students see practical GIS solutions. Last year, she helped seventh and eighth graders create a town map identifying historic homes, incorporating photos of the homes and narratives derived from interviews with the homeowners. She is working with a group of high school students to create a map for the town's E911, fire, and ambulance personnel in an ongoing project slated for completion during the upcoming school year. She also worked with a high school student to create a map of boat moorings for his father who manages a boat yard on an island near Islesboro. Conover hopes her attendance at the Education User Conference will help her learn more ways to use GIS in her curriculum, especially for projects that involve students in community outreach. "It's a long way from a little island off the coast of Maine to a conference in San Diego, but I'm excited about making the trip and learning all I can about GIS in education," she said.

-- Andrew Grenier, Social Studies Teacher at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in North Vancouver, British Columbia: Grenier has been actively involved in the K-12 GIS educational community in British Columbia and has been instrumental in promoting GIS integration into school curriculum. He uses GIS in Geography, History, and Earth & Environmental Sciences classes, developing many original high school lessons for ArcView 3.2. His lessons have ranged from residential crime analysis to integrated resource management. During the past five years, Grenier has helped organize and present workshops on GIS at professional conferences throughout British Columbia. Last year, he taught at a four-day GIS Institute at St. Michaels University School. He says he hopes his attendance at this year's conference will allow him "to bring back new ideas and insight and share them with other British Columbia teachers."

-- Cheryl Murtland, Geography Teacher at St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia: Murtland, who has been teaching GIS for eight years, considers herself a "geotechnologies evangelist" with a primary goal of encouraging teachers to integrate GIS into their curriculum. She began by offering ArcView training for Ontario teachers with the help of the OAGEE Geokit, a CD of GIS lessons for teachers. When she moved to British Columbia, she continued her efforts, helping to develop the British Columbia Geokit to give teachers a starting point. Murtland currently offers Geotechnology Institutes through her own school as well as at other school sites and she has helped establish a geomatics course in an under-funded public secondary school. She hopes the conference will help her network with other educators to aid in the development of programs to help teachers integrate GIS into their courses. "As educators, we have a responsibility to our students to prepare them for the future, and as geographers, GIS must be part of that preparation," she said.

The travel scholarships are one of the many ways GDT supports GIS education at all levels. The company is actively involved in projects to bring mapping solutions and GIS technology to educators. GDT educational projects include a wide range of activities from tours, school presentations, and job shadowing to developing and teaching courses at local middle schools and colleges.

More than 700 K-12 teachers, college and university instructors, school administrators, librarians, and museum professionals from more than 20 countries are expected to attend the Fourth Annual EdUC. The conference brings together the ideas and experiences of a dynamic group of people with very similar goals, leading to a forum for sharing. The scholarships provided by GDT and ESRI enable more educators to participate in this important event.

About GDT

Geographic Data Technology, Inc., recently acquired by Tele Atlas, is a premier www.geographic.com.

About ESRI

For more than 30 years, ESRI has been the leading www.esri.com.

GDT and the GDT logo are registered trademarks of Geographic Data Technology, Inc. ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, GIS by ESRI, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
 
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 GDT
Ken Clay, 800-331-7881, ext. 1337
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