World-class GIS Software to Be Used for Classroom Teaching and Administration Across All School Levels in the Province

ST. JOHN'S, NL- December 1, 2009 - ESRI Canada today announced that all K-12 district school boards under the Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Education, the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) have secured separate five-year education site licenses to access ESRI Canada's geographic information system (GIS) solutions for use in education, research and administration.  In effect, more than 37,000 students in the college and university level, and more than 72,000 students from kindergarten to grade 12 in the province's publicly-funded schools can leverage GIS to improve critical thinking, problem solving, spatial awareness and analytical skills.

"These agreements are significant because they mark the first time in Canada that ESRI software will be used province-wide at all school levels," said James Wickson, Vice President of Sales and Professional Services, ESRI Canada.  "The momentum in our educational site license program reinforces ESRI Canada's leadership in the education sector and validates the significant benefits our programs and products provide to customers."

ESRI Canada offers several licensing options to meet the requirements of educational institutions of any size including K-12 schools, institutions for higher education and libraries and museums.  The licenses provide a cost-effective means to obtain GIS software, maintenance, support and training, which institutions can extend to individual faculty, administrators and students, departments or across campuses.  Through the site licenses, educators can use ESRI software to enhance spatial awareness in various subject areas by helping students discover patterns, issues and connections about the world around them.  

"Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be a leader in the field of e-Learning," said the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education. "From our award-winning Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation, to being the first jurisdiction in North America to have one learning management system at the K-12 and post-secondary levels, we are improving accessibility for all. We are now building on that reputation by ensuring all public education institutions have access to GIS technology which will enhance teaching and learning at all levels."

The site licenses provide unlimited access to GIS courses delivered through the ESRI Canada Virtual Campus, helping students and educators to learn how to use the software and improve their GIS knowledge and skills.  The institutions will also receive a specific number of complimentary passes to international ESRI user conferences.

"Geographic skills are becoming more important in the global economy," said Dr. Rodolphe Devillers, Associate Professor in the department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  "We see GIS increasingly being used in a number of fields ranging from business, science, engineering and medicine, to social sciences and humanities. ESRI Canada's education site license program will allow our students to use cutting-edge technology and contribute to GIS expansion in the province and in Canada through research initiatives and developing their own GIS-based applications."

ESRI technology is used extensively in the College of the North Atlantic's research and development activities. Researchers use new software developers' tools available through the agreement in activities such as spatial analysis, modeling and GIS-based prototype development to support new business processes in the forest sector.

"The site license is critically important to ensuring our students, faculty and research staff stay up-to-date with the latest technologies in the rapidly developing field of GIS technologies," said Glenn Payne, research coordinator at CNA's Geospatial Research Facility. "It is important that our graduates be prepared to work with current technology as they transition to the workforce, so we are delighted to unite our academic and research activities under this one agreement."

The site licenses also allow the institutions to use the software for administrative purposes to improve planning, decision making and reporting in areas such as school enrolment, school safety, student transportation, facilities management and community information access.  The province's K-12 Eastern School District has already achieved significant savings from increased efficiencies in school bus routing using ESRI software.

In conjunction with Newfoundland and Labrador's education site licenses, the province has signed an enterprise license agreement with ESRI Canada, which provides government departments and GIS-related businesses with access to ESRI software. (See also: "Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Signs Enterprise License Agreement with ESRI Canada to Promote GIS Development")

For more information about ESRI Canada solutions for educational institutions, contact your nearest ESRI Canada Regional Office.

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About ESRI Canada
Founded in 1984, ESRI Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography.   The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from ESRI, Telvent Miner & Miner, Azteca Systems and other technology partners. Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Information about ESRI Canada can be found at http://www.esricanada.com/.   

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Joy Chan
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ESRI Canada
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