Cemetery Mapping

Our City Hall reached out, asking for  a map of our local cemetery. We met with with Ronnie Leavell, the community volunteer overseeing the cemetery. He said that all important information regarding the cemetery was only on paper, and he wanted to have all documents digital in the event of an emergency and to make it easier when a new volunteer takes over. He also wanted a map created that would be available to the public showing available plots. After researching we found Survey123 to be the best software for the job, and we contacted Josh Worthy at Sonora to set up a Zoom call to ask questions as we got started. We have been meeting with Mr. Leavell at the cemetery to collect data & have been compiling the data to create the maps along the way.  Through this project we’ve grown in our ability to communicate with our client & become advanced in a software that we had not previously used.

ESP Basketball App

This year we were approached by ESP Basketball to create an app. They reached out with the concern that it was difficult to communicate with teams before & during tournaments. We suggested an app that would allow them to make updates in real time and post all necessary information in one place. We used Adobe XD to design the app, but after the design phase ended we realized we could not publish the app from that software. Since this was something we had no experience with, we reached out to a local business called the Red Point group, a full-service custom software company that builds both mobile and desktop application and are now in the process of coding. Throughout this project we’ve grown in our ability to communicate effectively with our client and make proper adjustments after receiving constructive criticism. We also had to learn how to use new apps & spent a significant amount of time on YouTube & Google to teach ourselves along the way. 

Little Rock Zoo 

We partnered with the Little Rock Zoo, as well as Parson Hills Elementary & Buffalo Island Central High School, to expand the zoo’s reach and accessibility by creating a virtual field trip experience. We will be using our DSLR cameras and our camcorder to document the animals and the educational signage around the zoo. These photos will then be used on the hot spots of the virtual tour. This virtual interactive tour allows people who cannot visit the zoo to be immersed in the amazing animal experience. The virtual tour will serve as an educational outreach program that educators can use in the classroom as well. We have grown significantly through the application & interview process, as well as utilizing a new software for photo editing.

Garden project/4H Junior Master Gardener

 We were recently approved for the Junior Master Gardener program we are collaborating with the Garden Club at our elementary school. Currently we are reaching out to the local 4H group to partner with them and restore the community garden. The Junior Master Gardener program is designed to incorporate science, math, language arts, geography, and other subject areas in order to create a hands-on learning experience for students. 

Livestream and Commentating

This year we were approached by our athletic director to livestream our sporting events due to the fact that the company that we previously used was no longer able to do it. We partnered with Lamar High School as we were beginning, and they came for a visit to help us set up equipment & offer advice for getting started. What began as a simple livestream has now turned into student commentating, designing the graphics for thumbnails, halftime & sponsorship commercials, and expanding our videography. The livestream has allowed many members of our community to watch the games in real time, as well as act as film footage for our sports teams. We have had to learn how to use OBS and struggle through many technical difficulties at each game, as well as effectively communicate with community members & have well though out plans for each event. This project is a collaboration of several EAST students who split all tasks and games and is completely student-led from the calendar planning to communicating with visiting schools.

Artist and Crafters

We are collaborating with Sharla Hartzell, owner of the Hartzell Homestead, to create an informational brochure and interactive website that showcases Artists and Craftsmen of the Tri Peaks Region. Mrs. Hartzell recognized that there was not enough exposure for artists & crafters in our area. After our initial meeting Logan began researching these local small businesses & creating the brochure. Once this is finalized she will be partnering with the Professional Artists & Craftsmen of Arkansas, a non profit organization to create an interactive website with a map. Throughout the development of this project I’ve grown in my ability to communicate effectively with my client and utilize new software such as Canva & Wordpress. 

Redoing the pond at River Valley Arts Center

The River Valley Arts Center was recommended to us as a great community partner by one of our guest speakers so we reached out to them to ask about a potential partnership. They asked us to redesign their pond to feature local art to celebrate our local artists, as well as serve as a memorial for a former president. Jennifer Lewter, the director of the arts center, sent us a few inspiration pictures, and we set up a Zoom call to further discuss ideas before beginning. We are using Sketchup to create the design, and our goal is to have it complete by March. Through this project, we have grown in our ability to communicate & make adjustments to fit our clients’ needs & timeline, as well as use software we had not previously used.

Sidewalk Project

Last year we contacted the mayor about renovating our sidewalks in our city. Many of the sidewalks were broken causing trip hazards, and they were also not handicap accessible. We were able to present our proposed solutions to the city council and work with the contractors on the job. This is a project we began last year, and luckily have broken ground on construction this past fall. We have grown in this project through our experience with speaking to larger groups of people & pitching solutions to our government officials. Our mayor expressed that he had been focusing on expansion of our sidewalks, rather than repairing the ones we already have so we were happy to recognize that our viewpoints are bringing about change when we speak up about them.

Glow forge Projects

We are also very fortunate to have unique technology in our room, such as the Glowforge. This year we have partnered with the Junior Class sponsors to design & engrave the trophies for their annual car show. We’ve also designed & engraved new passes for substitutes in our building because the plastic ones they currently use were often breaking

Bike Project

We recognized that outdoor activities were limited for students in our area, so Owen decided to partner with Jackalope Cycling to begin a bike club in our city. He has spoken with trail builders & contractors, as well as the NICA in order to create a team & plan races. Currently, he is researching grants for materials and with the help of community members, he is building the features for the course. His goal is to encourage more bike riders to come to Dover and create an organization that members of our school & city can be a part of. Our goal is to have the track built by the summer, and we have our first race approved & scheduled for March 9th here at our school. We’ve used Canva to design promotional materials, and we are partnering with Jeff Gannon from Affordable Trail Solutions to design the layout of our trails. 

AGFC Research

Last year we recognized that the fisheries of Lake Dardanelle had significantly declined in the last three years so we partnered with Fisheries Biologist Frank Leone from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission to address and fix the issues. we began by taking samples of yearling bass to take back to the lab to dissect and find out what kind of food they had been feeding on. we used the seining method & electrofishing in order to collect. Throughout the sampling process we were able to find out the water temperature, pH levels and depending on whether the sample was taken up or down river we determined the size & quantity of the bass collected. During the diet analysis we dissected the fish to extract the stomach & otoliths in order to show the age of the fish. we found that there were no fish or not near as many as there should be in their stomachs, which led them to conclude that it was the small shad and other baitfish population causing the drought. all data has been organized in in Google Sheets, and now we are working with Frank to find a solution for the small baitfish population. We have also concluded that we need to limit the number of tournaments fished on Lake Dardanelle. 

Bus Route Mapping

Our transportation director approached us this year to create maps for our bus routes. Adriane used ArcGIS to map the routes, including the current drop off and pick up sites. These maps will be housed in the bus garage for drivers to use as reference and also in our high school office to ensure new students know exactly what bus they will be riding & what route it takes. These will also be a great resource incase of emergency for communicating with our high school office. This was Adriane’s first EAST project, and she has grown in her software skills, as well as understanding the critical thinking and communication skills that go into an EAST project.

Pope County Small Businesses

We felt that small businesses in our area needed an advertisement space designated specifically for local businesses. Rather than relying on various social media pages, separate websites & word of mouth, we decided to create a website that promotes each business in their categories so that it’s easy to navigate. We have partnered with Ronda Hawkins, the director of Arkansas Small Business & Technology Development Center, to get our website posted on the Arkansas Tech University webpage.

Russellville Country Club

We are partnering with the Russellville Country Club to improve their marketing & branding. They came & met with us at school to discuss their ideas. They wanted us to begin with their business cards, and we recently completed those. We have now begun work on their pamphlet outlining the course and all of their offerings, and in the spring we will be using a drone to create footage of the course. Future project plans also include running their website with all of the new promotional material that we’ve created. We have grown as EAST students by working with new community members & stepping outside of our comfort zones with new software & hardware.

Long Pool Mapping

We reached out to Long Pool Recreation Area to discuss redesigning their maps. Our client, Tina Rotenbury met with us a few times at school to share various resources and discuss her vision. Due to the lack of data and documentation for this area, we had to use Procreate to trace the roads and parking lots. Our goal is to provide our local campground with more user-friendly materials & improve the booking process to encourage more visitors to our area. For example, the new maps would go on booking sites to show amenities & details about each campsite. We have grown in our communication skills with our client & critical thinking as we’ve had to be very creative in collecting the data for our design due to the lack of available resources. Future project plans include designing the large entrance maps as well.

Ella B. Flicks

Hi, I’m Ella Beene and I found my interest in photography through EAST, branded as Ella B. Flicks, I take images for the community such as sports events, schooling events, portraits, small business marketing, and partnering with Danielle Housenick executive director of Russellville Downtown. How does Ella B. Flicks fill the cart? Beginning with school/sports events our High School lacks a student media team, outside of yearbook, for pictures other than professional photography, costing money. Using these images for graphic designs relating to our school sports, and schooling events. Next, small business marketing, in the Dover and Russellville area we have so many small businesses. These small businesses don't necessarily know how to market or can really afford it. So by reaching out to the small businesses, gives a boost in their work, as well as student growth in marketing. Following that, I've done many senior portraits, family pictures, for students here at Dover High School. Partnering with people in the community for images that they may not be able to afford with professional photographers. Concluding, doing collaborations with the school, small businesses, and the community, I've also collabed Ella B. Flicks with Russellville Downtown events, my client being Danielle Housenick, taking pictures for their events, for images for their social media, websites, and etc. One of the main events I have collaborated with her for, is Fall Fest. A very big event that takes place in Russellville, gathering our community together. 

Sycamore Grove

We worked with Jo Lynn Taverner on a project called sycamore grove rebranding. We remade her logo, banner, and labels for her products. we did this project to help her produce more appealing products to customers for her little farm. Students who worked on this project grew by learning new software and collaborating with other students when help was needed. Not only that but they also had to learn constructive criticism while getting feedback from Mrs. Taverner. It took us a while but we finally got her branding finished and she now uses it at events and on her products.