UNews - Telus

Telus gift boosts Horns hockey

trevor.kenney — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:09:05 +0000

It may be the off-season for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's and women's hockey programs but they still managed to score big on Wednesday.

Telus announced that it is contributing $350,000 in support of Horns hockey, the result of Telus donating $100 to the program on behalf of every new TV customer in the community for the last year. The gift will support the expansion of the Nicholas Sheran Leisure Centre, providing the Pronghorns women's hockey program a much-needed team room while enhancing the training facilities for both university and local minor hockey groups.

"The unique support Telus provided to the U of L has many long-term benefits, and we want to thank Telus for helping us bring those benefits for both the community and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says U of L President Dr. Mike Mahon.

Sandy Slavin, the U of L's Executive Director, Sport and Recreation Services says that Horns hockey programs play an important role in the region's rich tradition of hockey.

"Not only do our programs showcase top intervarsity hockey talent, they bring people together and build pride and spirit for Lethbridge."

Telus launched its community TV fundraising campaign in Lethbridge in March of 2010, earmarking $100 for the Pronghorns hockey program on behalf of every new customer who signed up for Telus Optik TV and Telus Satellite TV in Lethbridge.

"From the tykes hitting the ice for the first time to the big league, hockey is woven into the very fabric of our culture," says Fred Weinheimer, Telus general manager of Customer Solutions Delivery for Alberta South. "This campaign combined the community's love for hockey with their insatiable appetite for new technology, especially with Telus Optik TV, and was a wonderful way to show Telus and its customers' support and ongoing commitment to the Lethbridge community."

Since 2000, Telus and its team members have committed more than $475,000 and 27,000 volunteer hours to charitable and community organizations in Lethbridge, including Lethbridge Scientists in School and the Lethbridge and District Humane Society.

Engaging an online generation

trevor.kenney — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:02:24 +0000

Coming out of high school, Jason Suriano (BA '01) was focused on the fast track to a law degree. Now, 14 years later, he's navigating a museum gallery with a group of 10 year-old kids as they banter about video games – and he couldn't be happier.

Recently, Suriano launched Seek Your Own Proof, a new online game at Discoverykids.com. The game targets 6-12 year-olds and follows the story of three investigative siblings – Aidan, Milanie and Heiko Munro – who discover a secret underground agency known as the Central Institute for Exploration (CIE). The teens are quickly drawn into a chase through time and history against enemy agents who are plotting to rewrite the past, change the present and alter the future. Online users can play the game in traditional form but also have the option of taking field missions to real museums and landmarks.

After debuting at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York, Suriano brought his game home to the Galt Museum.

"To start with, we're trying to make the history in your backyard the most relevant," says Suriano. "It's neat if kids get a little bit enlightened about their own surroundings. We're also trying to make it available in as many cities as possible, so that if I take my kids to Calgary or Edmonton on the weekend, a place like the Edmonton Art Gallery is a part of it."

Jason Suriano addresses the crowd at the Galt Museum.

Considering Suriano laughs about being one of the last of his generation to begin using a computer, there is no lack of irony in the fact he now designs computer games for a living.

"In Grade 12 I was still submitting hand-written essays," says Suriano, a Catholic Central High School graduate. "I always had a real interest in technology, it was always one of the things that I liked, I just didn't know how to get into it."

He began his post-secondary career at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta but decided to come home to the U of L after one year. It was in Lethbridge that he laid the foundation for his future. "I'm a firm believer in the "things-happen for-a-reason" train of thought," he says of abandoning his legal aspirations.

Embracing the liberal arts philosophy at the U of L, Suriano discovered his passion. His humanities focus would then serve him well as he transitioned back to the U of A for a second degree, an MA in Humanities Computing with specialization in comparative literature.

"Before you work in the technology field, it's essential to have a grounding in the arts. Research and writing are keys, particularly with what I'm doing right now," he explains. "The work I do involves a lot of fact gathering, making sense of blocks of content from museums and distilling it all into worksheets and then online forms." Once out of school, Suriano began working in the non-profit sector. With both a writing and technical background, he was hard to pigeon hole and found himself working for the Heritage Community Foundation as head of the Educational Learning Objects division.

After a stint where he did consulting work for his company, Hotrocket Studios, he and business partners Ken Bautista and Norman Mendoza struck off on their own and the seeds for Seek Your Own Proof were born. Their big break came when they secured Telefilm Canada and Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Telus Funding, one of only two projects in Canada. It allowed them to flush out the idea and enter it in the Kidscreen PitchIt! Competition in New York, where they won the top prize.

"That was the first sign that we were on to something pretty cool," says Suriano.

"The neat thing is that seed idea we came up with in 2005 is still novel now, there's really not a lot of this going on, especially within our demographic."

Galt Museum executive director Susan Burrows-Johnson says the game is a wonderful way to connect with today's generation of technologically savvy kids.

"Almost no one who works in museums plays games, and everybody under 18 does, so there's this huge generation gap that we've been worried about," she says. "It's not that history isn't interesting to them, because it is, it's the generation gap around the technology that we need to pay attention to. Kids use different tools in their learning process and that's the gap we're trying to bridge."

To come full circle and stimulate learning in his hometown is especially gratifying for Suriano, now a father of two.

"I approached the Galt a couple years ago when we were starting this portion of the project and Susan was very open to it and supportive of the concept," says Suriano. "It's great we are now ready to bring it back here in this form."

Get The Facts

Suriano now lives in Edmonton with his wife Jen and their children Ethan (4) and Malcolm (1).
The debut field mission of the game involved facts around the King Tut exhibit at Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York. Officials estimate handing out more than 500 worksheets per week to visiting kids.
Seek Your Own Proof is available for play or purchase at www.seekyourownproof.com
CIE and Seek Your Own Proof have been recognized with several awards including: Grand Prize Winner at the TEC VenturePrize competition in Alberta; Best in Show at the Fusion Digital Media Venture Forum in Vancouver; PitchIt! Winner at KidScreen Summit in New York; and Most Promising Company at the Canadian New Media Awards
Favourite U of L professors of Suriano's included Dr. Paul Viminitz and Dr. Goldie Morgentaler. "Paul's Problem of Evil course was very memorable," he says.

Suriano looks to engage an online generation

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:36:02 +0000

The teens are quickly drawn into a chase through time and history against enemy agents who are plotting to rewrite the past, change the present and alter the future. Online users can play the game in traditional form but also have the option of taking field missions to real museums and landmarks.

After debuting at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York, Suriano brought his game home to the Galt Museum.

Considering Suriano laughs about being one of the last of his generation to begin using a computer, there is no lack of irony in the fact he now designs computer games for a living.

"I'm a firm believer in the "things-happen for-a-reason" train of thought," he says of abandoning his legal aspirations.

Once out of school, Suriano began working in the non-profit sector. With both a writing and technical background, he was hard to pigeon hole and found himself working for the Heritage Community Foundation as head of the Educational Learning Objects division.

"That was the first sign that we were on to something pretty cool," says Suriano.
"The neat thing is that seed idea we came up with in 2005 is still novel now, there's really not a lot of this going on, especially within our demographic."

Galt Museum executive director Susan Burrows-Johnson says the game is a wonderful way to connect with today's generation of technologically savvy kids.

To come full circle and stimulate learning in his hometown is especially gratifying for Suriano, now a father of two.

"I approached the Galt a couple years ago when we were starting this portion of the project, and Susan was very open to it and supportive of the concept," says Suriano. "It's great we are now ready to bring it back here in this form."

GET THE FACTS

• Suriano now lives in Edmonton with his wife Jen and their children Ethan (4) and Malcolm (1).

• The debut field mission of the game involved facts around the King Tut exhibit at Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York. Officials estimate handing out more than 500 worksheets per week to visiting kids.

• Seek Your Own Proof is available for play or purchase at www.seekyourownproof.com

• CIE and Seek Your Own Proof have been recognized with several awards including: Grand Prize Winner at the TEC VenturePrize competition in Alberta; Best in Show at the Fusion Digital Media Venture Forum in Vancouver; PitchIt! Winner at KidScreen Summit in New York; and Most Promising Company at the Canadian New Media Awards

• Favourite U of L professors of Suriano's included Dr. Paul Viminitz and Dr. Goldie Morgentaler. "Paul's Problem of Evil course was very memorable," he says.

Internet connectivity restored

trevor.kenney — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:56:09 +0000

The Telus Internet connection at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has been restored to full working status after not being available since early Monday morning.

All persons on campus are now able to once again gain access to the web or any other off campus network services.

Coburn to present at Telus World of Science

trevor.kenney — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:42:23 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Dr. Craig Coburn will be front and centre at the Telus World of Science - Edmonton, Wednesday.

Coburn, an assistant professor in geography who instructs courses in remote sensing, GIS, statistics and spatial modelling, is scheduled to present Environmental Remote Sensing: Tools and Challenges. He is the latest speaker from the U of L to be invited as a guest presenter as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ contiues its ongoing relationship with the Telus World of Science.

This free event is open to everyone and begins with a 5:15 p.m. check-in, followed by Coburn's 5:30 p.m. presentation. A reception will follow at 6:30 p.m. The Telus World of Science is located at 11211 142 Street, Edmonton.

Coburn's research program has been heavily governed by the desire to better understand the fundamental physical properties governing image content. As a result, he has designed and built several specialized instruments including airborne imaging systems and ground-based instruments to measure bidirectional reflectance in a quest to improve our ability to derive meaningful information from images. His research also has looked at various methods for understanding images via their spatial context and spatial dimensions.

It is hard to measure the impact that the space program has had on our understanding of our environment. Many attribute the growth and development of the environmental movement to a single image of Earth captured from the Moon by the Apollo 17 mission. The "Blue Marble" image, gave us our first view of the fragility, vulnerability, and isolation of our planet. Large scale Earth Observation programs soon followed from a growing interest in assessing our impacts on Earth. Today, more than ever before, Earth observation is providing the essential information for our continued monitoring of the environment.

Coburn explores this topic and the rapid pace of remote sensing technological developments that have often left the interpretation and quantification of the images lagging behind. Recent developments in remote sensing instrumentation at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge have made significant inroads to our understanding of the information provided by these images.

UNews - Telus

Telus gift boosts Horns hockey

Related Topics

Engaging an online generation

Get The Facts

Related Topics

Suriano looks to engage an online generation

Related Topics

Internet connectivity restored

Related Topics

Coburn to present at Telus World of Science

Related Topics