SpatialNews Press Release

A joint ERDAS®, ESRI and EOS Education Project Puts Sophisticated GIS Software into Every Montana Public School

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Atlanta, Georgia, USA - For the first time ever, professional geographic imaging software is being made available to every public school child and teacher in grades K-12 in the entire state of Montana, thanks to a joint venture between ESRI, ERDAS®, Inc., and NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) Education Project at the University of Montana. And the best part of the comprehensive statewide project is that it is being offered at no cost to the schools.

The project, GIS-4-Montana Education Initiative, is the first of its kind in the United States.

Headed by the EOS Education Project, GIS-4-Montana has the potential to reach about 155,000 children statewide - this year alone. To help make the project possible, EOS reached out to Redlands, California-based ESRI and Atlanta, Georgia-based ERDAS, and solicited volunteers from Montana’s GIS (geographic information system) professionals.

EOS approached ESRI with the idea of acquiring an ArcView GIS state-license for all K- 12 public schools in Montana and they met the challenge. ArcView is a popular desktop GIS and mapping software that provides data visualization, query, analysis, and integration capabilities along with the ability to create and edit geographic data software.

ERDAS was asked and agreed to add the vast capabilities of ArcView Image Analysis extension, an image processing software that allows users to generate more information from satellite imagery and aerial photography, but does not demand that the user have an extensive knowledge of remote sensing or image processing. ArcView Image Analysis extension extends the image display capabilities of ESRI’s ArcView GIS and is the result of a collaborative effort between ERDAS and ESRI.

For its part in the project, ERDAS waived its licensing royalty fees, donating its popular ArcView Image Analysis extension software.

To enhance the project, EOS obtained professional development support from Montana’s GIS professional community, and donated the statewide ArcView license purchased from ESRI to Montana’s public school system. As a core objective, EOS amassed satellite imagery from a variety of sources. In addition to NASA imagery, Space Imaging Inc. donated Ikonos imagery, and Land Info Inc., in collaboration with EarthWatch Inc., supplied a Landsat 7 ETM+ 15 meter, pan-sharpened color mosaic of the entire State of Montana. This massive image (8.2 gigabytes) was compressed and encoded by EOS using LizardTech’s MrSID software and will be delivered to every school as a 280 megabyte file on a single CD-ROM.

Alex Philp, Assistant Director of NASA's EOS Education Project, said ESRI's ArcView software solution was chosen for the Montana GIS initiative for three main reasons. First, EOS has a positive, long-standing relationship with ESRI's Schools and Libraries program in Montana. Second, ArcView is an ideal solution for integrating remote sensing imagery into the classroom through desktop applications and, increasingly, ArcIMS solutions. Third, ESRI has the conceptual flexibility to work with EOS to achieve the unprecedented objective of helping teachers acquire the software necessary to embrace NASA's objectives in Earth science education.

“In order to promote the Earth system science education efforts of NASA, the EOS Education Project felt it was necessary to start eliminating the barriers to GIS integration in the classroom,” said Philp. “One of these barriers has been the acquisition of powerful software that empowers teachers and students to study ecosystem components across various scales. Moreover, EOS wanted to create a national model for large-scale GIS integration as a means for enhancing geographical education.”

Charlie Fitzpatrick, ESRI K-12 Education Solutions Manager, said the solution formulated by the EOS Education Project - bringing high-powered tools for geographic analysis into the reach of every public school in Montana - combines powerful tools from ESRI and ERDAS in a common interface.

“With ArcView on their school computers, students and teachers can analyze information from global to local scales. Adding ERDAS' Image Analysis extension means they can integrate the explosion of image data to the vast collections of geographic data that exist as points, lines, and areas. ESRI is very proud to team with ERDAS and the efforts of EOS Center - to help Montana's students and teachers,” said Fitzpatrick.

Philp added that ERDAS' Image Analysis contribution to the Montana statewide ArcView site license agreement places a critical remote sensing tool-kit in Montana's classrooms. “Image Analysis will also greatly expand EOS' ability to assist teachers in the use and understanding of NASA's imagery. ERDAS should be commended for its willingness to partner with ESRI in this unprecedented national effort."

Bruce Q. Rado, ERDAS Vice President, said ERDAS was compelled to participate in GIS-4-Montana - a project that will transform the way students view geographical information - because EOS had the insight to create a program that gave students and teachers the freedom to focus more time on analyzing the data, rather than learning another software program.

“ERDAS is pleased to partner with ESRI in this ground-breaking initiative created by the EOS Education Project,” said Rado. “Through this venture, both ERDAS and ESRI have made a commitment to provide the same revolutionary technology used by professionals in the image processing industry to future generations of GIS and remote sensing professionals.”

Montana’s GIS professional community, staunch advocates of the initiative, has committed volunteers to assist K-12 educators and technology coordinators in their successful use of these tools for "hands on" GIS projects in classrooms across the state. “Considering the long history of K-12 GIS education in Big Sky Country, it's no surprise a real spirit of cooperation is taking hold between GIS educators and professionals as a result of this effort,” said Bryant Ralston, ESRI Account Manager (Clinton, Montana) who is encouraging other GIS professionals to get involved in the project.

The GIS-4-Montana cooperative effort is being examined by other states to emulate the initiative. EOS is committed to a long-term GIS education program as a mechanism for workforce development and, ultimately, economic progress for Montana.

For more information about NASA’s EOS Education Project at the University of Montana, contact Jeff Crews at +1 406-243-2644 or visit www.eoscenter.com.

For more information about ERDAS’ geographic imaging products and services, contact ERDAS at: tel.: +1 404-248-9000, toll free: +1 877-GO ERDAS (463-7327), or visit www.erdas.com.

For more information about ESRI’s GIS and mapping software, contact ESRI at: +1 800- 447-9778 (1-800-GIS-XPRT), or visit www.esri.com.

About ERDAS: ERDAS pioneered the first PC-based geographic image processing system and more than 23 years has set the standard for multi-functional geographic imaging systems. Today, more than 55,000 installations of ERDAS software are helping organizations around the world to visualize, manipulate, analyze, measure, and integrate any type of geographic imagery and geospatial information into a two-dimensional and three-dimensional environment.

ERDAS and ERDAS IMAGINE are registered trademarks of ERDAS, Inc. All other trademarks and brand names are the properties of their respective owners.

About ESRI: For more than 30 years, ESRI has been the leading developer of GIS software with more than 300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services. In addition to its headquarters in California, ESRI has regional offices throughout the United States, international distributors in more than 90 countries, and more than 1,200 business partners. ESRI’s goal is to provide users with comprehensive tools to help them quickly and efficiently manage and use geographic information to make a real difference in the world around them. ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com.

About EOS: The Earth Observing System (EOS) Education Project disseminates Earth imagery, develops interdisciplinary programs, and deploys advanced technologies to the global K-16 education community. The EOS Education Project combines Web-based technologies and educator workshops for the interpretation, utilization and relevancy of geospatial information. We investigate how geoinformation enhances our exploration and understanding of the diverse and changing landscapes of the world.

www.erdas.com ERDAS, Inc • 2801 Buford Highway. • Atlanta, Georgia 30329 USA Phone: +1 404-248-9000 • Fax: +1 404-248-9909

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