This award is providing partial support to convene the Annual Conference and Partners Meeting of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program, being held July 15-20, 2012 in Minneapolis, MN. St. Catherine University and the National Center for STEM Elementary Education are hosts of the meeting. The theme of this year's GLOBE Annual Conference is: "GLOBE and STEM: Building a Global Community of Citizen Scientists". It is anticipated that approximately 150 attendees from across the 113 U.S. Partners and 111 Partner Countries will attend the 2012 meeting. Specific activities to be undertaken at the meeting include: training in the use of selected GLOBE protocols; training in the use of the new GLOBE community web site for data entry and analysis (scheduled for release in June, 2012); discussing major themes related to GLOBE activities and STEM education, both locally and globally; exploring the interface of GLOBE and American Sign Language; and GLOBE community networking and sharing of resources.
St. Catherine University, a GLOBE Partner, hosted the 16th GLOBE Annual Partner Meeting from July, 15-20, 2012. There were more than 130 participants from more than 31 countries and 26 states in attendance at the meeting. The conference was supported by funds from the National Science Foundation and 3M Corporation. The theme of the meeting, GLOBE & STEM: Building a Global Community of Citizen Scientists, considered the inter-relationship of GLOB E and STEM, and demonstrated how GLOBE already fits into the STEM landscape. The meeting was structured to accomplish many objectives. In addition to the theme of GLOBE-STEM integration, educational sessions offered an opportunity for participants to learn about the latest scientific research, keep abreast of developments in the GLOBE program, interact with GLOBE community members and scientists using GLOBE data in their research, and engage in dialogue with leading educators to enhance the GLOBE educational process in the classroom. GLOBE (www.globe.gov) is an international science and education program that connects a worldwide community of students, teachers, scientists, and citizens working together to better understand, sustain, and improve Earth’s environment. All of the components of the meeting –poster presentations, strand presentations, featured speakers and protocol training – emphasized and supported the mission of the GLOBE Program. The GLOBE annual meeting offered an array of learning opportunities for participants including: Student Research Symposium International panel discussion on the aligning GLOBE with educational standards Informal networking among GLOBE’s international community and formal networking opportunities among GLOBE’s U.S. partners and Country Coordinators. GLOBE protocol training (the first time since 2010 that protocol training took place) At the Crown Plaza Hotel in Bloomington, MN GLOBE business was conducted the first two days with reports from regions and committees, updates from the GLOBE Program Office (GPO) and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), introduction to the new GLOBE Portal, and a discussion around GLOBE Program management. Concurrent presentations from GLOBE Partners were also held. On both evenings, GLOBE Partners and GLOBE students and teachers presented posters of their work as well as the Student Research Symposium. The remaining two days were held at the campus of St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN for training. These included: Earth System Science Training (ESSP): an all-day of training focused on Seasons and Biomes, a worldwide educational project in which K-12 students discuss and climate change and learn about scientific inquiry through their observations of the seasons. GLOBE Carbon Cycle training: how to use cutting edge research and research techniques in the field of terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling and how to bring that information into the classroom. CloudSat: a NASA-sponsored GLOBE program, focused on scientific research to improve our understanding of clouds and global climate change. During the training, participants learned about the different kinds of clouds and how they interact with the environment. Protocol training continued on Friday morning at St. Catherine University followed by a luncheon and international panel discussion concerning the landscape of educational standards and GLOBE. All 6 regions within GLOBE were represented on the panel. They were: North America, Africa, Asia & Pacific, Europe & Eurasia, Latin America & Caribbean, and Near East & North Africa. Participants indicated making five or more contacts during the conference, thus making the GLOBE conference a truly global affair.
