Roll-out of free GIS software for schools

Eagle Technology Media Release

AUCKLAND – 29th March 2017 –

Students in both primary and secondary education in New Zealand now have free access to Esri’s ArcGIS Online software through the roll-out of a multimillion dollar enablement program to schools across America, Europe and now Australia and New Zealand. ArcGIS Online lets students and teachers explore and analyse data using maps. Eagle Technology, distributor for Esri in New Zealand and the South Pacific launched the Esri Program for Schools with an announcement at the Auckland Regional Esri User Conference today.

Mark Allan, CEO, Eagle Technology, says the free software brings the same technology widely used in both government and the private sector to the classroom.

“In 2014 Esri’s founder and President, Jack Dangermond, joined then-president Barack Obama’s ConnectED program. The 2013 initiative sought to make American schools more technologically savvy, and encouraged private technology companies to make in-kind contributions to the programme. Esri’s offer to donate ArcGIS Online to every school in the United States has resulted in the uptake by more than 4000 schools, and has encouraged Dangermond to take it to other parts of the world as the Esri Program for Schools.”

Students can access instructional materials for using ArcGIS online, and explore data related to topics including World Population, Tropical Storms and Interpreting the Landscape (using topographic maps of NZ National Parks). At launch, there will be twelve exercises, or ‘geoinquiries’, adapted by Eagle for the New Zealand education curriculum, in addition to global content.

Says Allan, “Whereas GIS is strongly associated with geography, it has a much wider application as a system of record, engagement and insight in real world environments – for business but also for how we live in our communities. It is being used to manage the environment, but also right down to tackling human problems such as poverty and crime. Esri refers to its GIS as “The Science of Where”. Students may be introduced to GIS through geography or history in a school, but may find it embedded in their future careers through many different channels.”

More about Esri Program for Schools

ENDS

About Eagle Technology Group
Eagle Technology Group Ltd is a privately held New Zealand-owned systems integration and information management company established since 1969.  It has approximately 90 employees with offices in Auckland and Wellington.
Eagle Technology has a has a long-established and successful geospatial technology practice in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related technologies, as well as a unique understanding of on premise ICT infrastructure, communications and Field Force Management, managed services expertise and Cloud applications.
Eagle Technology is the distributor for global software leader Esri’s ArcGIS platform in New Zealand and the South Pacific. Its traditional client base is in government, local government and enterprise class commercial organisations.

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