Digital Quest, Inc.

Home > Press Releases

3rd Annual Geospatial Competition to Showcase Best Geospatial Students in the Nation"
Ridgeland, MS – Digital Quest, Inc. and SkillsUSA are pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Geospatial Technology Competition. This contest was created to provide post secondary students an opportunity to showcase their skills on a national level and compete for the SkillsUSA title of best in the U.S. for geospatial technology. The competition is being held in Kansas City, Missouri, June 23-June 27, 2008.

Registrations for the contest are currently being accepted at www.digitalquest.com/SkillsUSA08. The first 50 students that are verified as post secondary students registered in programs that teach GIS will receive invitations to participate in the contest. The qualified student contestants will receive the STARS certification kits, worth $500 including a 60-day evaluation license of ESRI ArcView 9.2 software. They will receive a formal invitation to the contest and a password to a protected ftp site. Students will then download the 2008 STARS Geospatial Project and will need to prepare and complete this project in advance of the competition in Kansas City in June.

In Kansas City, the contestants will orally defend their GIS project, as well as take a written technical knowledge test and a hands-on test of geospatial technology skills. Those college contestants at the Kansas City competition whose aggregate score reaches at least 75 percentile will be awarded STARS Certification. STARS (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing) is a fully developed “turn-key” certification program for high schools, colleges and universities as well as career professionals looking to integrate geospatial tools into their on-the-job skill set.

The top prize includes a complete software package of ArcGIS ArcView and four extensions student software package worth $10,000 from ESRI, and a $1,000 cash scholarship to reimburse travel expenses to Kansas City. Other prizes include the ArcGIS ArcView student software package, and $500 and $250 scholarships for 2nd & 3rd place winners.

###

Digital Quest, Inc. is a Mississippi-based development and training oriented company with a primary focus of enabling educational institutions to provide skill training in the new and ever-more vital field of Geospatial Technology. Digital Quest, an active member of the EIGS geospatial technology cluster, is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi and operates the SPACESTARS Geospatial Training Laboratory at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. For more information about Digital Quest, visit www.digitalquest.com or contact Eddie Hanebuth at 1-877-573-6683, eddieh@digitalquest.com.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. . The national organization helps all students excel in their training programs and future technical, skilled and service careers. SkillsUSA serves more than 285,000 students and instructors annually. The organization has 13,000 school chapters in 54 state and territorial associations. More than 14,500 instructors and administrators are professional members of SkillsUSA. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.

More Press for Joppatown High School's Homeland Security:
"How to Stop Terrorism? Begin in School"
by Sibile Morency, ABC News
January 11, 2008

January 2008 -- Homeland security is one of the hottest issues in this year's presidential election, the candidates sparring daily over who is best qualified to protect the nation against terrorist threats.

Meanwhile, Leah Beaulieu is busy educating the next generation of security experts. Beaulieu teaches the nation's first homeland security high school program at Joppatowne High School in Joppa, Md.

Sixty-one Joppatowne 10th-graders enrolled this year to spend three years learning about protecting the country against terrorism.
The sophomores choose specific areas of homeland security that they would like to explore during their junior years. And as seniors, they complete internships or shadow homeland-security professionals on the job.

"We introduce our students to all major areas of homeland security. We start off with a historical perspective, learning where terrorism comes from, the political motivations, even going back to the Crusades and talking about change over time," said Beaulieu.

The program, which has been lauded by some in law enforcement, educates them on cutting-edge security technology, law enforcement and criminal justice, and teaches them to identify potential chemical and biological threats. Its creators say it will prepare the young students to enter a growing industry that could one day employ thousands of new workers.

But the program has also raised concerns about the appropriateness of teaching such a serious, politically charged subject matter to high school students.

Education or Indoctrination?

David Volrath, director of secondary education for Maryland's Hartford County public schools, insists that the school's main motivation is to help students find future jobs. There are high-tech companies in the area, and the Defense Department's Aberdeen Proving Ground is nearby.

"When we recognized that these industries were coming to support research at Aberdeen, we realized the opportunity for our students," he said.

And Jack Cloonan, a former FBI agent and president of Clayton Consultants Inc., a global risk crisis management firm, praises the high school for being the first in the nation to take this initiative.

"Those of us in this type of business often get criticized for running around, screaming the sky is falling, [but] we do have to keep the public vigilant," he said. "This is a very important educational message. If it's first introduced at the high school level, along the line it will increase people's professionalism."

But other observers warn that the the educational message must remain distinct from any political implications.

Jonathan Zimmerman, director of New York University's History of Education Program, encourages the inclusion of homeland security issues in the school's curriculum, but he urges the school to make sure it focuses on teaching national security.

"The devil is in the details. Is the school educating or indoctrinating? The job of public schools is not to get people to vote for or against Bush. [Rather] it's to teach kids the tools to evaluate Bush," he says.

Read Full text of Article here

Educational Product Review: AGIS (A Geospatial Industry Series)
by Adena Schutzberg, Directions Magazine
December 4, 2007

December 2007 -- Ever since the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that there will not be enough trained geospatial technologists in the coming years, there's been a "land rush" to grow new practitioners. There are efforts aimed at the youngest students (visit the kids section of the NGA website, linked off the main one), at those a bit more mature (for example, the KidzOnline DOL funded, but not yet online training program) and at those specifically looking to jump start a geo-career (new online GIS certificate programs abound). Some of these are government funded; others are from entrepreneurial businesses reacting to demand. No matter the backing, we in the industry need to keep an eye on these efforts to ensure they are teaching the skills we need now and into the future.

With these ideas in mind, I contacted Digital Quest to ask for a review copy of the first book in that company's new series (press release): AGIS (A Geospatial Industry Series). "This product," says the website, "examines an entire industry/career cluster to show students how much GIS impacts and improves those industries. These courses feature detailed narratives about the relationship between the particular industry and GIS. In addition, guided lessons and scenarios give students hands on experience with a variety of applications of GIS using ESRI's ArcGIS Software. The career clusters are based on the "16 Career Clusters" developed by the NCTEF/NASDCTEc (National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium)."

The first book is, appropriately, an introduction. The first "thematic" book, expected soon, will focus on the "Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources" cluster. The vision here is to tie geospatial technology to careers, not to introduce it as "just" technology. The series is targeted at high schools and colleges to serve young adult and adult learners. The course may be used as part of IT or career curricula. There's a clear focus on the marketplace and jobs, and an expectation of a solid familiarity with computer hardware and software.

I received the Teacher's Edition ($129) which includes the student materials and the teacher's PowerPoints, notes, data, exercises and answers to exercises. The student book ($29) includes teacher PowerPoints, exercises and data. Educational institutions or individuals must gain access to the software on their own. The first two lessons of the ten provided define geospatial technologies and introduce not only GIS, but GPS, remote sensing and surveying. The latter three disciplines are not discussed again in the lessons in this version, but they are to be more integrated in a future version. This will help the series live up to its title of "A Geospatial Industry Series," and not be 100% GIS-centric.

The first "hands-on" chapter introduces ArcMap, the software used throughout. I found the stretched "six degrees of separation" scenario confusing and disconnected from the rest of the chapters which offer neatly designed problems for GIS.

The "meat" of the program includes the seven lessons which illustrate the use of GIS in a variety of fields or, as they are termed here, "Career Clusters":

Business Management and Administration
Transportation, Distribution and Logistics
Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
Law, Public Safety and Security
Health Science
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Hospitality and Tourism

Each lesson presents a recipe for exploring data (all real data) or solving a spatial problem (only one, involving mosquitoes, is a real scenario). The first lesson explores census data, but only in the very last short paragraph nudges the student to consider how those data and their analysis would be helpful to businesses. Another lesson involves geocoding addresses to locate students and then assigning them to schools via a "spatial join." There's a site selection lesson, finding prime agricultural land. Again, a short paragraph at the end of the exercise notes these techniques could be used in other areas.

I fear the underlying focus on teaching the technology overshadows the use of GIS and its way of thinking in jobs in the different career clusters. This is brought home in the teacher's overview of each lesson, presented in a blue box titled: "What will you teach?" The bullet points are not about, say public health and safety, in lesson 7 (pdf), but rather: "editing layer properties, querying data layers, creating a map layout, exporting and printing a map layout" The very last note in lesson 10, on Tourism and Hospitality, doesn't focus on GIS use in that arena, but on a software feature: hyper-linking. "Hyper-linking can be used to enhance several different applications of geospatial technology. It is a fast and easy way to make a map come alive."

I'm the first to admit that my expectations are high. First off, it is possible that desktop GIS technology is still too complex to use casually. In reality, actually pushing the buttons may have to be the focus of such a course, despite other intentions.

Second, I know the complexity of nailing down data sets and checking procedures for such lessons. I know, too, that at least some instructors of these lessons will be shaky on technology and even shakier on how students can take it to real world jobs. Keeping these challenges in mind, this introduction, and the series as a whole, is quite an accomplishment.

The good news is there's room for instructors at all levels to take this core material and enhance it with other exercises. Off the top of my head, I'd take the "ag lesson" about site location and attach it to the "demographics lesson": find a county/municipality that might be appropriate for a new car dealership or the like. And, I'd try to link students up with local users who do what they've done in the lessons.

There are some errors in the text. The idea that there is more than one GPS system, for example, is in error. The U.S. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is called the Global Positioning System. Russia's GNSS is called GLONASS. Europe is, perhaps, building Galileo. I was a bit disappointed to read that remote sensing "usually refers to viewing something from a distance." Sensors of all types are exploding on the scene and perhaps the most interesting are not capturing visual information but other key data: traffic, air quality, noise pollution, etc.

On the whole, this is a great first step away from "teaching GIS" and toward "exploring careers in geospatial technologies." I look forward to the rest of the series.

Read Full text of Article here

"[Joppatown High School's] homeland security studies get noticed"
by Mimi Hall, USA Today
December 10, 2007

December 2007 -- The nation's first comprehensive high school homeland security program, a three-year course to help kids land jobs in the growing anti-terrorism industry, is in its infancy in Maryland. But it's recently been attracting the attention of educators and school districts from as far away as California and Florida.

The program, started at Maryland's Joppatowne High School with 61 sophomores, provides "an opportunity for kids to see relevance to being in school," says Frank Mezzanotte of the Harford (Md.) County Public Schools. "It gives kids additional options."

Students have toured a Coast Guard command center, visited a county detection center, practiced emergency response in a fictional town called "Joppaville" and heard an Iraqi-born speaker explain cultural differences between Americans and Middle Easterners.

"We're trying to set high expectations," says student Megan Bell, 15. "We don't want to be known as just the school with the good football team. Now we have homeland security." Other school districts are taking notice. Mezzanotte says he's been contacted by individual schools and education departments in more than a half-dozen states.

"Joppatowne broke the ground for all of us," says Lise Foran of Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland. Next fall, Meade High School will begin a Homeland Security program. "We're following in Joppatowne's footsteps."

And on Wednesday, Mezzanotte will be in Las Vegas, where he has been asked to give a presentation on the program to the Association for Career and Technical Education annual conference.

Some question whether the program will teach students to be open-minded about the government's national security policies, given its goal of getting kids jobs with defense and homeland security contractors and the military. The liberal magazine Mother Jones dubbed Joppatowne "the academy of military-industrial-complex studies."

Jonathan Zimmerman, a New York University history of education professor, says "the devil lies in whether this is going to be a school for education or indoctrination."

Other educators applaud the school for taking steps to prepare kids for one of the nation's expanding job markets and for connecting what they learn in school to what's happening in the real world.

"This sounds to me like it has all the earmarks of what keeps young people in school," says former West Virginia governor Bob Wise, now head of the Alliance for Excellent Education. "It gives them the skills necessary for the modern workplace."

Read Full text of Article here

Digital Quest Develops Geospatial Industry Book Series

October 2007 -- Ridgeland, MS, -- Digital Quest is pleased to announce the development of a new series of course books that examine 16 industry/career clusters to demonstrate how GIS technology impacts and improves those industries. A Geospatial Industry Series (AGIS) will examine the relationship between the particular industry and GIS. In addition, guided lessons and scenarios will give students hands-on experience with a variety of applications of GIS using ESRI’s ArcGIS Software.

The career clusters are based on the 16 Career Clusters developed by the NCTEF/NASDCTEC (National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium) as a means to provide a link between "what students learn in school with the knowledge and skills they need for success in college and careers." (Career Clusters Institute, www.careerclusters.org) The link between education and careers makes this program ideal for students and professionals alike. Since the career clusters encompass all industries that are pertinent to a specific cluster, students can learn what they need to know to begin a career in a variety of industries. Professionals will also find this book useful in defining the best ways GIS can be used in their organization.

The first release in the new series, AGIS Introduction to Geospatial Technology, includes ten lessons designed to demonstrate key concepts, software capabilities, and future opportunities in the geospatial industry. The lessons contain overviews of career profiles including examples of industries and individuals that use this technology. Students will gain hands-on experience using industry-leading ESRI's ArcGIS software in eight lessons that explore agriculture, business, information technology, logistics, public safety, health science, tourism, and technology engineering.

Educators will find the modular design of the course easy to implement in their classroom. Colleges will be able to use this book to supplement existing courses such as: "Introduction to Computers"; "Integrating Science and Technology"; Environmental Education"; "Tools in Business"; and many others. High Schools can integrate this course into classes including: "Project Lead the Way"; "Career Exploration"; "CAD"; and "Technology Education". They series is a perfect fit for any STEM based indicatives with the total time to team this class from 6 to 18 hours. For more information on ordering the Book Series, please visit www.digitalquest.com or call 877-573-6683 x. 225.

"Look for our second book in the series AGIS in Agriculture to be released later this year," stated Eddie Hanebuth, President of Digital Quest Inc. “This book will focus on the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources industry cluster area and will examine the industries involved from animal and plant systems to power infrastructure to resource and agribusiness management.”

Digital Quest, Inc. is a Mississippi-based development and training oriented company with a primary focus of enabling educational institutions to provide skill training in the new and ever-more vital field of Geospatial Technology. Through our partnerships and associations with organizations such as SPACESTARS, Environmental Systems Research Institute, (ESRI), Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions (EIGS), Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MsET), NASA, SkillsUSA and others, Digital Quest is able to deliver complete turn-key courses which can be taught by instructors with little or no previous GIS knowledge, and which can provide entry-level GIS technician certification to its students. Digital Quest runs the STARS Geo Apprenticeship Program through the U.S. Department of Labor, the SkillsUSA National Geospatial competition, and the SPACESTARS teacher training Laboratory at the Center of Geospatial Center of Excellence in NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center.

Digital Quest's STARS Approved by Maryland for Homeland Security Ed. Program

September 2007 -- Ridgeland, MS, -- Digital Quest, Inc. is pleased to announce the adoption of its GIS in Homeland Security Course and its flagship product, the STARS Certification, by Harford County Public Schools for their Career and Technology Education Pathway Program for Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. This program, housed at Joppatowne High School, is the first of its kind in the nation. It is dedicated to providing students with career skills and technological expertise in the areas of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (HSEP).

The HSEP program provides a foundation-level course followed by advance options that include courses designed to advance student knowledge and skills and lead to industry certification and/or college credit. The Information/Communications Technology option prepares students for certification in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as it is used in relation to Homeland Security. Students will generate geospatial maps and emergency response plans specific to their community.

"One of the reasons the Maryland State Department of Education fast tracked this program for distribution throughout the state was our partnership with Digital Quest," said Eric Cromwell, Coordinator of Accelerated Learning Programs for Harford County Public Schools. "We are eager to implement the GIS in Homeland Security curriculum and the Geospatial Technologies Certification Program."

STARS (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing) is a fully developed "turn-key" certification program for high schools, colleges and university as well as career professionals looking to integrate geospatial tools into their on-on-the job skill set. STARS is the first industry-recognized geospatial certification recognized by NASA, the U.S. Department of Labor, and by industry leaders.

"Working with the Digital Quest team was an extraordinary experience, said Cromwell. "For example, when we returned from training at the National SPACETARS training Lab at NASA's John C Stennis Space Center, we requested a few changes be made to better fit with our specific curriculum. Digital Quest quickly modified their GIS in Homeland Security course to fit our curriculum needs. It is wonderful to work with a group willing to go the extra mile to help our schools be successful!"

The STARS courses for the HSEP program will introduce students to GIS and Remote Sensing technology through academic study and applied instruction and will offer a series of half-credit courses including:

* Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing

* Skill-Based Training for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing

* Advanced Skill-Based Training for Geographic Information Systems, GPS, and Remote Sensing

* Geospatial Application Project with a Final Certification Exam

"We are excited to have the combination of our GIS in Homeland Security course and the STARS Entry-Level GIS Technician Certification provide the foundation for the Information/Communications Technology option for this innovative program," said Eddie Hanebuth of Digital Quest.

Digital Quest and SkillsUSA Announce 2007 Geospatial Technology Champion
August 2007 -- Ridgeland, MS, -- Digital Quest, Inc. and SkillsUSA are pleased to announce the gold medalist in the Postsecondary Geospatial Technology Challenge at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference and Competition that was held in Kansas City, Missouri on June 26, 2007

June Garneau of Berlin, New Hampshire won first place and is the recipient of thousands of dollars in ArcGIS software and a cash award both donated by ESRI of Redland, California. Garneau's gold medal was based upon an extensive pre-challenge project, STARS testing, and completion of challenge events at the conference. Garneau is a 2007 graduate of the one-year Spatial Information Technology/Geographic Information Systems (GIS) certificate program at New Hampshire Community Technical College in Berlin.

"My interest began one year prior to the competition, when I enrolled in a GIS course for kindergarten through 12th grade teachers," said Garneau. "I was so interested after the course that I decided to pursue the field of GIS. I am so pleased to end my year of study with this competition and the gold medal."

This is the second year Skills USA has offered national college competitions which were designed to provide colleges with an effective way to validate their technical programs and measure them against national standards. The Geospatial Technology Challenge was initiated in February 2007 with an on-line, 150 question qualification exam that tested academic knowledge, technical knowledge within the subject area, and general employability skills. Qualifying contestants were required to complete a STARS certification project.

Garneau's project involved Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data collection, surface model development, and site analysis based upon pre-set competition criteria. June chose White Mountain Regional High School as her project, which focused on the best location for a garden. According to Garneau, she put at least 80 hours into her project, which included choosing a location in which to use digitizing techniques and GPS data collecting to create a campus based model including building, water sources, sport facilities, and other campus features. From her base model, she created 3-dimensional models and a preferred garden location based upon six preset criteria. As part of the competition, she had to prepare a PowerPoint presentation, maps, and a written report.

"The experience gave me a unique opportunity to expand my knowledge, build my confidence and abilities in GIS, and to successfully meet challenges that took me through a whole range of skill sets," says Garneau.

As part of the prize package, Garneau earned the STARS Certification from Digital Quest, Inc. STARS (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing) is a fully developed "turn-key" certification program for high schools, colleges and university as well as career professionals looking to integrate geospatial tools into their on-on-the job skill set. STARS is the first industry-recognized geospatial certification recognized by NASA, the U.S. Department of Labor, and by industry leaders.

More than 5,000 students from high school and colleges throughout the U.S. competed in the 43rd Annual SkillsUSA Championships in 87 different contests. High school and college students may download the free 2007 SkillsUSA Competition hands-on examination in preparation for the 2008 examination from www.esri.com/arclessons.

### Digital Quest, Inc. is a Mississippi-based development and training oriented company with a primary focus of enabling educational institutions to provide skill training in the new and ever-more vital field of Geospatial Technology. Digital Quest, an active member of the EIGS geospatial technology cluster, is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi and operates the SPACESTARS Geospatial Training Laboratory at NASA's Stennis Space Center. For more information about Digital Quest, visit www.digitalquest.com or contact Eddie Hanebuth at 1-877-573-6683, eddieh@digitalquest.com.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. . The national organization helps all students excel in their training programs and future technical, skilled and service careers. SkillsUSA serves more than 285,000 students and instructors annually. The organization has 13,000 school chapters in 54 state and territorial associations. More than 14,500 instructors and administrators are professional members of SkillsUSA. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org .

Digital Quest's STARS Certification Selected for Department of Labor's National Standards of Apprenticeship for Geospatial Technician

Digital Quest's STARS Certification Selected for DoL National Standards of Apprenticeship
July 2007 --Ridgeland, MS -- Digital Quest, Inc. is pleased to announce that the national Spatial Technology And Remote Sensing Geospatial Apprenticeship Program (STARS Geo AP) has adopted the STARS certification curriculum materials as part of the National Standards of Apprenticeship developed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship for the occupation of Geospatial Technician.

The Spatial Technology And Remote Sensing Geospatial Apprenticeship Program (STARS Geo AP) was established to increase the level of skilled workers in the Geospatial Industry based on national industry-backed standards. The program provides a standardized way for schools, individuals, and employers to train skilled workers for geospatial jobs. The combination of on-the-job learning (OJL) and the successful completion of the STARS certification materials will result in well-rounded, competent Geospatial Technicians for the geospatial field, one of the fastest growing career fields in the U.S.

"We recognized that the responsibility for training rests with those in industry who are the benefactors of a skilled workforce," stated Eddie Hanebuth of Digital Quest, Inc. "In order to maintain the high level of competence demanded by the geospatial industry, the STARS Geo AP Executive Board was made up of industry leaders and employers who were critical in formulating and adopting the National Apprenticeship Standards for the training of apprentices in this industry."

STARS (Spatial technology and remote sensing) is a fully developed "turn-key" Certification program for high schools, colleges, and universities as well as career professionals looking to integrate geospatial tools into their on-on-the job skill set. STARS certification, offered by DigitalQuest, Inc., is supported by the companies in the Center of Geospatial Excellence located at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center. STARS is an output driven, competency-based program in which students master the use of geospatial problem solving, software, data, and tools standard in the geospatial industry.

The suggested work activities and the correlating STARS coursework are designed to allow for individualized training and work assignments. The company and customer needs determine the key deliverables required of the apprentice. The core requirements include a term of twelve to twenty-four months with a minimum of 1,000 documented OJL hours as well as the STARS certification coursework. This combination of on-the-job learning and geospatial studies allows for multiple exit and entry points based on the individual apprentice and the organizations' needs.

"We believe that the most practical, well established, and sound method of preparing geospatial employees is through registered apprenticeship programs," said Craig Harvey, CIO of NVision Solutions and a member of the STARS Geo AP Executive Board. "An apprenticeship program allows for training under actual job conditions supervised by experienced geospatial workers. Using the STARS certification along with this on-the-job training will create both a knowledgeable and experienced geospatial worker. This is a strategy that will greatly benefit both the employee and the employer."

Digital Quest featured in "Pointe Innovation" magazine's article: "No Boundaries: Geospatial Training Moving Full Throttle in Mississippi"
by Lynne Jeter, Pointe Innovation Magazine

March 2007 -- Digital Quest, a Ridgeland-based private development and training-oriented company, and the Institute for Advanced Education in Geospatial Sciences (IAEGS) at The University of Mississippi also offer innovative GIS training opportunities in the state.

“The Mississippi geospatial community is playing a direct leadership role in the advancement of geospatial technology throughout the U.S.,” noted Eddie Hanebuth, president of Digital Quest.

Growing the geospatial industry dovetails nicely with the state’s goal to grow more higher-paying, high technology jobs. According to the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, the average annual salary for geospatial jobs in Mississippi is $55,000. In the last decade, Mississippi’s geospatial industry has grown from a dozen to nearly 700 jobs. Geospatial revenues have jumped from $15.8 million in 2001 to $75 million in 2006. Last year, state income tax generated from the geospatial industry was $1.4 million; more than $50 million has been invested in Mississippi geospatial companies. Cash investment in Mississippi’s geospatial cluster activity from 1998 to 2006: $208 million.
Pointe Innovation Magazine, Lynne Jeter, Spring 2007. Read Full text of Article here

Digital Quest and SkillsUSA award Gold Medal in Inaugural National Geospatial Student Competition
February 2007 -- Ridgeland, MS -- Digital Quest, Inc. and SkillsUSA are pleased to announce the winners from the inaugural National Geospatial Student Competition that was held in Kansas City, Missouri on June 20, 2006, during the SkillsUSA national convention.

The winner of the gold medal was graduate Student Sue Roussie from the University of New York at Buffalo. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in environmental science. The silver medal was awarded to Kevin Williams, a STARS-certified freshman student currently attending the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. He is working on his GIS Associates Degree.

The competition, which is for post-secondary, college, or university students, was initiated in February 2006 with an on-line, 150 question qualification exam. Qualifying contestants were required to complete a STARS certification project which tasked them to create a campus fire safety plan.

“Each contestant had two months to research the problem, collect the data, write a plan, and create a minimum of ten map layouts,” said Eddie Hanebuth, president of Digital Quest and chair of the technical committee for the geospatial competition. “It was quite a rigorous process.”

In Kansas City at the SkillsUSA competition, the contestants orally defended their projects and took a written technical knowledge test and a hands-on test of geospatial technology skills. The winners received the STARS certification, (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing), a fully-developed "turn-key" certification program for high schools, colleges and universities as well as career professionals looking to integrate geospatial tools into their on-the-job skill set. The winners also received ESRI software valued over $11,000 and cash scholarships of $1,000 for first place and $500 for second place.

“Both the SkillsUSA organization and the competitors were impressive,” said Ann Johnson of ESRI and a member of the technical committee. Other members included: Eddie Hanebuth, Digital Quest; Susan Radke, Berkeley GeoResearch Group; Kirk Maser, Learning Concepts; Ester Worker and Charlie Fitzpatrick, ESRI; Greg Hinkebein, MS Enterprise for Technology; Robert Samborsky, Geospatial Industries Technologies Association (GITA); Pam Lawhead, Institute of Advanced Education in Geospatial Sciences; and Matt Faulter of Leica GeoSystems.

SkillsUSA continues to seek additional representatives for their geospatial technology national technical committee. For more information, be sure to visit http://www.skillsusa.org/compete/college.shtml or contact Eddie Hanebuth, chair of the geospatial technical committee, at 1-877-573-6683.

Digital Quest, Inc. is a Mississippi-based development and training oriented company with a primary focus of enabling educational institutions to provide skill training in the new and ever-more vital field of Geospatial Technology. Digital Quest, an active member of the EIGS geospatial technology cluster, is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi and operates the SPACESTARS Geospatial Training Laboratory at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. For more information about Digital Quest, visit www.digitalquest.com or contact Eddie Hanebuth at 1-877-573-6683, Email Contact.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. SkillsUSA serves more than 280,000 students and instructors annually. The organization has 13,000 school chapters in 54 state and territorial associations. More than 14,500 instructors and administrators

Digital Quest’s SPACESTARS Listed in Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge
November 2006 -- Ridgeland, MS, -- Digital Quest, Inc. is pleased to announce that it’s flagship product -- SPACESTARS, a fully-developed series of "turn-key" geospatial curriculum for workforce development, technical schools, colleges, and universities -- is listed in the newly published Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge. SPACESTARS is a partnership between Digital Quest Inc., and Berkley Geo-Research Group.

The publication suggests Digital Quest’s SPACESTARS as a commercially available solution for schools and colleges that prefer not to develop curricular materials on their own. Through the SPACESTARS curriculum students utilize a locally-customized GIS to learn detailed information about their local community and master the use software and tools standard in the geospatial industry. SPACESTARS is divided into three areas of need: 1.) general geospatial knowledge (GEODESY); 2.) adding geospatial skills to existing career paths (SPACE); and 3.) standardized, entry-level certification (STARS).

“The certification program (STARS) is the area of need that fits the Body of Knowledge,” said Eddie Hanebuth, President of Digital Quest. “The first three levels of the STARS curriculum cover a series of important and diverse topics including, geospatial problem solving, remote sensing, basics of map making, visualization methods, and ArcGIS extensions (including Network Analyst, Spatial Analyst, and 3D Analyst). The first three courses are formatted as a classroom-delivered program or as a self-study program. The forth and final course is a capstone project. The students complete a self-paced, campus-based GIS/RS project. At the end of the curriculum, an internet delivered exam is administered. The exam results, completed project, and a portfolio are submitted to a committee located at the Center of Geospatial Excellence at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center for certification approval.”

Published in 2006 by the American Association of Geographers, Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge addresses how higher education should prepare students for success in the variety of professions that rely upon geospatial technologies. Since 1998, scholars from many of the more than 80 institutions represented by the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) have contributed to the publication. It is expected that this book and its subsequent editions will become an important reference work and classroom resource for teachers, students, and GIS&T professionals alike. More information about this publication can be found at www.ucgis.com or www.aag.org/bok/.

Appeared in: Geocomm, Geoplace, and GISUser

Digital Quest and IAEGS Partner to Develop and Distribute On-line GIS/RS Courses
March 28, 2006 -- Jackson, MS - Digital Quest, Inc. and the Institute for Advanced Education in Geospatial Sciences (IAEGS) announce that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development, marketing and distribution of online GIS and Remote Sensing courses. This strategic partnership will result in a wider distribution of already existing courses as well as the creation of new courses to better address needs in academia, industry, and government.

The IAEGS at The University of Mississippi has created the Knowledge Delivery EngineT and all of the tools necessary to effectively facilitate the creation and delivery of geospatial courses online. A current repository of more than 28 courses cover such topics as: introduction to remote sensing; decision support systems; orbital mechanics; digital image processing; business geographics; and aerial photographic interpretation. IAEGS, established in 2001 under the auspices of a NASA Challenge grant, is now offering these online courses worldwide.

"Considering the need for an increased professional pool in the field of GeoSpatial Information Technology, our ultimate goal is to develop a highly skilled workforce, well educated and equipped to lead the development of GeoSpatial Information Technology in the next century," said Dr. Pamela Lawhead, Director of IAEGS. "This partnership with Digital Quest will help us meet this goal more broadly and more quickly."

Digital Quest, a private business member of the geospatial industry cluster in Mississippi, focuses on designing, developing, distributing and supporting geospatial/remote sensing educational, classroom-based products. Their STARS certification is a product created by SPACESTARS, LLC, a partnership with the Berkley Geo-Research Group. The STARS certification is designed to provide skill training in the field of geospatial technology which is among the top three fastest growing career fields in the U.S. with a 15 percent growth in new jobs projected over the next decade.

"This is quite a dynamic partnership," said Eddie Hanebuth of Digital Quest, Inc. "Digital Quest is in a strong position to increase the appeal of the IAEGS courses nationally and help reach beyond customers in academia to potential users in industry and government."

The partnership also includes the enhancement of Digital Quest's products and courses by the addition an internet-based option provided through IAEGS

Contact: Eddie Hanebuth, 601-856-2237, eddieh@digitalquest.com Dr. Pamela Lawhead, 662-915-5356, Lawhead@cs.olemiss.edu

DVD Documenting the STARS Geospatial Forum Released
July 2005 -- Ridgeland, MS -- Industry leaders recognize the need for Geospatial certification and endorse STARS Stennis Space Center, MS – Recognizing the need for a standardized, industry-accepted, entry-level certification for the geospatial industry, Digital Quest, Inc. recently held the first annual STARS Geospatial Forum at the NASA Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Representatives of the geospatial industry, government and educational community came together to discuss the need and support for the STARS Geospatial Certification.

STARS (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing) is a fully-developed "turn-key" certification program for high schools, colleges and universities as well as career professionals looking to integrate GIS tools into their on-the-job skill set. Through STARS, students master the use of geospatial problem solving, software, data, and tools standard in the geospatial industry. The industry is among the top three fastest growing career fields in the U.S., with a 15 percent growth in new jobs projected over the next decade.

Major participants included NASA, the Department of Labor, private geospatial businesses, and the Geospatial Technology Apprenticeship Program. One of the keys to the success of the Forum was participation by leaders in the geospatial industry including DigitalGlobe, ESRI, 3001, Inc., Radiance Technologies, and NVision Solutions.

“Our biggest challenge in this industry is finding qualified individuals to fill our jobs,” stated Craig Harvey, Executive Vice President and CIO of NVision Solutions, Inc. “We have an expected level of competence which is exceptionally important to our success. NVision and this industry need a baseline standard from which competency is measured. Unfortunately, right now there is no uniform or controlled set of standards. For this reason, the STARS certification is important to us – we are on the path to STARS certify all of our employees in the next 2 years.”

Another key component was the participation by the Geospatial Technology Apprenticeship Program (GTAP) of the University of Southern Mississippi, which works closely with NASA and the Department of Labor. The STARS certification has been mapped to the Geospatial Technology Competency Model which has identified the required knowledge, skills and abilities for geospatial practitioners.

“The SPACESTARS curriculum works really well with our competency model and is being used in the classroom component which is an integral part of the apprenticeship program,” said Dr. Cyndi Gaudet, Director of the Jack and Patti Phillips Workforce Learning and Performance Institute Center at The University of Southern Mississippi.

To demonstrate how well the STARS certification translates from the classroom to the real world, the forum featured presentations from current STARS students (now STARS-certified) and a STARS-certified Police Chief. Presentations were given by three students from the William F. Goodling Advanced Skills Center in York, Pennsylvania, which is in the process of implementing a Department of Labor grant that will use the STARS certification to train over 100 geospatial workers over the next two years. Police Chief Edwin Wood of the Medford, New Jersey Police Department recently completed his STARS Certification and discussed how he has integrated GIS into crime and disaster management strategies.

“Three and half years ago, I knew nothing about GIS,” said Chief Edwin Wood, Chief of Police and Public Safety Director for Medford Township, New Jersey. “Now, I thank the day I learned GIS through the STARS certification program. We are continuing to hire STARS students to help us address crime, disaster response, and public health concerns.”

The STARS Certification, a product created by SPACESTARS, LLC, (a partnership between Digital Quest and the Berkley Geo-Research Group), is offered through Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MsET), a geospatial cluster with over 20 geospatial companies which is the home of the Center of Excellence in Geospatial Technologies at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center.

“We feel that one of the most important things in this industry is the training of employees. The STARS certification allows us to address this need and train people who are ready to take these jobs,” said Greg Hinkebein, President and CEO of MsET. “We feel strongly that through MsET sponsorship of this certification with our industry group, it gives everyone in the geospatial world an opportunity to have trained employees filling the jobs that are coming available at a rapid rate.”

If you are interested in learning more about the geospatial industry and the industry support of the STARS certification, request a copy of the 2 DVD set by calling 1-877-573-6683 or visiting www.spacestars.org. The DVD will be made available free of charge to educational institutions. All other individuals and organizations can receive the 2 DVD set for shipping and handling costs.

Digital Quest, Inc. is a Mississippi-based development and training oriented company with a primary focus of enabling educational institutions to provide skill training in the new and ever-more vital field of Geospatial Technology. Digital Quest, an active member of the EIGS geospatial technology cluster, is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi and operates the SPACESTARS Geospatial Training Laboratory at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.

Digital Quest's STARS gets ink
July 2004 -- Ridgeland, MS -- Digital Quest Inc. was recently recognized for addressing the geospatial industry's need for a well-trained workforce through its certification program known as STARS (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing).

The STARS certification is a product created by SPACESTARS, LLC, a partnership between Digital Quest and the Berkley Geo-Research Group. The STARS certification is designed to provide skill training in the field of geospatial technology, which is among the top three fastest-growing career fields in the U.S. with a 15% growth in new jobs projected over the next decade.

"The geospatial technology industry has been lacking an industry-driven certification," said Eddie Hanebuth of Digital Quest. "STARS is filling this gap to answer the growing demand for a better trained, highly skilled geospatial workforce."

In May 2004, the independent research group Management & Training Corporation of Centerville, Utah, recommended the STARS certification to the U.S. Department of Labor for use in Job Corps in a report titled "Industry-Recognized Certificate Programs and Job Corps: Working Toward a Skilled and Qualified Workforce." The report, which states that the geospatial field is one of the high-growth industries that will be affected by critical shortages in trained personnel, lists only the STARS certification for a geographic information systems (GIS)/remote sensing technician.

STARS is a fully-developed turnkey certification program for high schools, colleges and universities. Students utilize a locally-customized GIS to learn detailed information about their local community and master the use software and tools standard in the geospatial industry. The first three semesters are formatted as a classroom-delivered program, then the students do a self-paced, campus-based GIS/remote sensing project in the final semester. At the end of the curriculum, an exam is administered and a portfolio submitted for certification approval.

Appeared in: GISuser, Mississippi Business Journal

ESRI-Based Geospatial Curricula From DigitalQuest and Berkeley Geo-Research Group
December 2004 -- Redlands, California - ESRI, the world leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology, and two of its partners, Digital Quest, Inc. (DQI), of Ridgeland, Mississippi, and Berkeley Geo-Research Group (BGRG) of Orinda, California, are combining efforts to expand the educational programs that answer the needs of the quickly growing geospatial workforce. The results of these efforts are receiving recognition in key national geospatial workforce initiatives.

DQI and BGRG have created a series of geospatial workforce curricula-SPACE, STARS, and GEODESY - all contained under a general banner of SPACESTARS. These educational packages are more than tutorials; they are composed of professional GIS and remote sensing applications, targeted data, and tailored lessons and classroom support materials. ESRI software, including ArcView, Spatial Analyst, and 3D Analyst, and key ESRI Press books provide the GIS foundation.

The course of study is central to these geospatial workforce development packages. The DQI-BGRG team crafted turnkey curricula/data combinations.

Some are tied to the educational institution's specific county, making the research and evaluation tailored to specific needs. Others employ GIS data for significant geographic locations, focusing on critical application topics including homeland security, economic development, and law enforcement.

"The DQI-BGRG team is building a unique educational blend," says George Dailey, ESRI K-12 education program manager. "The packages they are creating are a result of paying attention on two key frontsthe geospatial industry and, of equal importance, the career education community. The former is the source for defining the overall need from skill sets required to the types of jobs to be filled. The latter is critical in helping directly advance specific areas of youth and adult career development to various education stakeholders."

The quality and importance of SPACESTARS to the growing geospatial career dialog have garnered praise from two programs sponsored by the U.S.

Department of Labor-the Geospatial Technician Apprentice Program (GTAP) and the U.S. Job Corps. GTAP, an endeavor in support of the President's High-Growth Job Training Initiative, is guided by the Department of Labor and developed by the Geospatial Workforce Development Center at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM).

"GTAP is a 21st century workforce development solution for the geospatial industry," says Dr. Cyndi Gaudet, director of the Workplace Learning and Performance Center at USM. "The STARS certification has been mapped to the Geospatial Technology Competency Model requirements, the foundation for GTAP."

The Geospatial Technology Competency Model identifies key areas of geospatial knowledge and skills. SPACESTARS content has been designed around this model from inception. Earlier this year, the MTC Institute of Centerville, Utah, which manages 25 of the 120 Job Corps centers across the country for the U.S. Department of Labor, released a report focused on training programs tied to High-Growth Job Training Initiative industry sectors. The document entitled Industry-Recognized Certificate Programs and Job Corps identified the geospatial industry as one of these sectors. SPACESTARS was the lone program MTC endorsed in this category.

"SPACESTARS is the type of workforce development program that Job Corps should offer," says Carl Nink, executive director of the MTC Institute. "Our students are capable of tackling this rigorous course of geospatial study that leads to a certificate and employment in various public and private sector areas."

To find out more about SPACESTARS and supporting programs, visit www.GIS.com/careers. This new Page 1 of 2 GeoCommunity SpatialNews section of GIS.com brings together links to information on a variety of geospatial career pathways, job listings, video stories, and the reach of GIS and geospatial technology in everyday life.

About ESRI
Founded in 1969, ESRI is the leading developer of GIS software with more than 300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI software is used in all 200 of the largest cities in the United States and in more than 60 percent of counties and municipalities nationwide. Headquartered in California, ESRI has regional offices throughout the United States, international distributors in more than 90 countries, and more than 1,600 business partners. ESRI's goal is to develop comprehensive tools that enable users to efficiently manage, use, and serve geographic information to make a difference in the world around them. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services. ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com.

ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, GIS by ESRI, ArcView, 3D Analyst, 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.

About Berkeley Geo-Research Group
Berkeley Geo-Research Group, based in Orinda, California, is a collaboration of professional and academic GIS, remote sensing, and computer programming specialists. BGRG recognizes K-12 spatial information technology as an essential component in the education of 21st century students. BGRG's goal is to develop ways to integrate this technology into every student's problem solving toolkit. For more information, visit www.bgrg.com.

About Digital Quest, Inc.
Digital Quest, Inc. is a Mississippi-based development and training company with a primary focus of enabling educational institutions to provide skill training in the new and evermore vital field of geospatial technology. DQI, an active member of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi and operates the SPACESTARS Geospatial Training Laboratory at NASA's Stennis Space Center. For more information about Digital Quest, visit www.digitalquest.com.

Appeared in: Geocomm

Geography from Anaother Dimension
NASA Spinoff Magazine 2002 -- It used to be that teachers would begin a lesson by asking students to open their textbooks. However, in this day and age, textbooks are starting to take a back seat to computer technology at numerous school systems throughout the United States.

With young students becoming more acclimated to personal computers, teachers now have the luxury of utilizing various software programs and applications to provide real-time learning. This alternative approach to education has made the classroom a more enjoyable atmosphere for students of all ages.

To further emphasize the important balance between computer literacy and education, Berkeley Geo-Research Group (BGRG) created a state-of-the-art program called GEODESY that helps students in middle and high schools develop proactive problem-solving skills to answer questions about where they are, why they are there, and how they can improve the quality of life in their community, and ultimately, in their world. Back in 1994, Orinda, California-based BGRG began developing GEODESY with technical assistance and financial support from Stennis Space Center’s Commercial Remote Sensing Program Office, now known as the Earth Science Applications Directorate. In addition, BGRG received an award from NASA’s Earth Observations Commercial Applications Program, which co-funded the project in its early development stages.

GEODESY is intended to promote geographical awareness among students with its remote sensing capabilities to observe the Earth’s surface from distant vantage points. Students and teachers using the program learn to interpret and analyze geographical data pertaining to the physical attributes of their community. For example, the program provides a digital environment of physical features, such as mountains and bodies of water, as well as man-made features, such as roads and parks, using aerial photography, satellite imagery, and geographic information systems (GIS) data in accordance with National Geography Standards.
The GEODESY technology is divided into four “core tracks,” each building upon the other and introducing the student to a critical component of digital GIS use and analysis. The first core track acquaints students with the tools that are being used to study the environment. Students start off by studying a plan view of their local school area as seen in an aerial photograph. They are then introduced to the concepts of vector-based mapping using point, line, and polygon with respect to landscape features, including their school, roads, forested areas, and other local items that are identified in the aerial photograph.

The next step for the students is to evaluate satellite images for recognizable features, using GEODESY’s raster-based image viewing and processing technology. This functionality allows both students and teachers to interact with an image beyond its basic visual interpretation.
Students and teachers are now ready to use all of the tools they have learned thus far to study physical and human elements in their local community. The physical elements include atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere, while the human elements are movement and settlement (the interaction between people and places), cultural mosaic (age, ethnicity, education), economic activities (housing values, employment statistics, per capita and median income levels), and political divisions (county and city boundaries, voting districts). Once students and teachers become more familiarized with the digital geography of their local surroundings, they can manipulate and overlay combinations of physical and human features to identify if a spatial relationship exists between them, and to evaluate whether such a relationship is direct or inverse. The main goal is to have the students, as well as the teachers, gain a better understanding of the unique forces that drive their coexistence.
BGRG has teamed up with Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Digital Quest, Inc., to implement GEODESY at 120 middle and high schools across Mississippi. Digital Quest is a member of the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative, a consortium whose goal is to develop a remote sensing industry in the state by commercializing the technologies developed by NASA at the Stennis Space Center. BGRG and Digital Quest are expanding beyond the core of GEODESY by assembling a 3-year spatial science curriculum called SPACESTARS. This application, which is already in place at three high schools in Arkansas and Mississippi, will continue to help students answer challenging questions about the factors that contributed to the location of their school, including whether the local community will need more classrooms/schools in 10 years, and if the current bus routes are the most efficient and direct. Both GEODESY and SPACESTARS will be introduced to schools in Texas and Ohio in the 2002-2003 school year.