The Celebration Continues (Part 3 Sonora EAST heads West)

After all the excitement in July with EAST, it was time to get back home and get ready for school to start - TOMORROW!  Yet, I didn't want school to begin without bringing some closer to the EAST presentation at the ESRI Conference.  

What an experience it was!  Our Sonora EAST representatives, Rikki, Kylie, and Mr Worthy represented Sonora wonderfully at the Esri User Conference.  Yes, they spoke to an international audience of over 15, 000.  I believe that they created a generation of Esri Users, parents, businessmen, or both, who are going to go back to their schools and create opportunities in their schools.  You could feel the excitement and synergy.  It will be exciting to talk to these young ladies years from now to see if they realize the impact they had on the lives of children all over the world by spreading the word of "let kids"!  Teachers have to become more of the facilitator of knowledge, and let students build upon their interests and talents.  
Here is the presentation!  Hoot, hoot!

While at the conference the girls were able to  . . . 

• spend time with Mr. Jack Dangermond, founder and president of Esri.

• see will.i.am Skype in from Australia.  Yes, he is a GIS dude!

To view, click here.

• to meet the United States Secretary of Commerce, Ms. Penny Pritzker (to view her presentation, please click here.

• to meet Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, NOAA Administrator, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.  

To view, click here. 

After their presentation we spent some time in the Map Room.  This is a time where conference attendees can come visit with the team.  It was amazing the impact that the team's presentation and Josh's challenge caused.   We were approached my multiple people who were so inspired they planned to immediately go back and discuss how they can facilitate the use of GIS in schools where they live.  Amazing!

The day after the presentation, we did find some time to take these ladies to Disneyland!

Currently, the team is now on the K12GIS front door:

To view, click here.

This was a phenomenal experience for these young ladies, our teacher, and myself.  I could probably blog about this for the entire year.  What does it all mean?  Well, we are now looking at how we do our work differently:  teachers as facilitators, tools that adults use in their jobs in the classroom, business mentors in the school.   

Because of this notoriety, our EAST students have been asked to present at the Arkansas School Board Association in September.  In February, our students will be the keynote speakers at the Missouri GIS Conference.  

Important to note:  Kylie and Rikki are representing the work of many students.  Even though you see them standing and presenting, they are the speakers for so many other students.  We look forward to having them mentor other students who will also begin to share the story.  

We will keep you updated throughout the year about how this extends into our classrooms, too.  Sincere thanks to Charlie Fitzpatrick, our cheerleader, travel planner, and support!

We LOVE you, Charlie!

Next blog:  Mobile Library Experience!