We are pleased to share in the excitement that the fourth GLOBE Learning Expedition (GLE) and 12th Annual Conference generated for the GLOBE Community. From 22-27 July 2008, more than 225 students from 28 countries gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, to share the results of their research projects with their peers and work alongside GLOBE scientists in field studies. With chaperones, international Country Coordinators and U.S. Partners, dignitaries, and teachers, the number of total participants present reached over 500 participants from 51 countries.
The theme of the 2008 GLE/AC event was GLOBE Research for Sustainable Communities. Research for Sustainable Communities is a concept that embraces studying the environment in the context of developing an understanding of the interconnectedness between the environment, the social structures and economic needs of a student's community, and the balance needed for healthy living. Students presented their research projects in one of the following strands: environment and human health; water quality and availability; local and regional impacts of climate change and initial GLOBE Earth System Science Project (ESSP) research.
This newsletter contains four sections: Announcements — regarding important dates and GLOBE Program Office activities; Regional News — containing information about important milestones celebrated by GLOBE Partners around the world, strengthening GLOBE Learning Communities and tools to facilitate the use of the Administration Pages of the GLOBE Web site; Science — providing information about GLOBE's new Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs) and other scientific news; and Education — describing updates about GLOBE professional development activities and new educational products.
On behalf of the entire GPO team, we thank you for collaborating with us and we all look forward to working with you all in the remaining months of 2008. Thank you for your dedicated efforts to promote GLOBE in your regions.
Sincerely,
| Teresa J. Kennedy, Ph.D. Deputy Director International Programs and Partnerships, & U.S. Country Coordinator |
Emmett L. Wright, Ph.D. |
The GIAC strives to:
· Provide community input to the GLOBE Program Office and representatives from sponsoring agencies (e.g. NASA and NSF) on programmatic activities, opportunities and priorities;
· Provide community input and assistance relating to the enhancement and sustainability of the GLOBE Program; and
· Report on and share information on GLOBE Program activities, opportunities and priorities of regional relevance, and disseminate information in the regions that they represent.
Two GLOBE regions have GIAC representatives who have completed their terms on the committee. We would like to thank Dr. Michael Odell of the University of Texas-Tyler, and Mr. Karl Torstein Hetland of Norway, for their service on the GLOBE International Advisory Committee in 2006 – 2008! The new elected representative for the North American Region is Dr. Paul Ruscher of Florida State University, with Ms. Marsha Willis of the University of Texas-Austin as the alternate representative for the region. Dr. Andy Tasker of the UK was elected as representative of the European Consortium, with Ms. Dana Votapkova of the Czech Republic as alternate. Continuing representatives are Mrs. Zakeya Ahmed Ali of Bahrain (Near East and North Africa Consortium, serving as GIAC Chair), Mrs. Margaret Besong of Cameroon (Africa Regional Consortium), Professor Maria del Carmen Galloni of Argentina (Latin America/Caribbean), and Mr. Rajinder Mehta of India (Asia/Pacific). The GPO would like to thank all of our GIAC representatives for their time and effort in supporting GLOBE and the regions.
As we all know, international travel and meetings can be a significant burden on our budgets, as well as increasing our carbon footprint. In an effort to reduce both impacts, the GPO has been working toward a more sustainable future for the GIAC by conducting a significant amount of committee business in a virtual environment. The GLOBE International Advisory Committee has conducted several discussions in an online forum in early 2008 on relevant issues. As technology improves, we hope to conduct virtual meetings of this group in real time, reducing the need for in-person meetings to a maximum of one per year, to be held in conjunction with the GLOBE Annual Conference or other international event.
This year’s GIAC meeting was held in Cape Town, South Africa, on 21 June, to coincide with the start of the fourth GLOBE Learning Expedition and 12th Annual Conference.
Please contact your GIAC Regional Representative to provide input into future discussions to assist us to continue to improve GLOBE Program Office activities that facilitate your work. For more information see the GIAC Web page.
Visit the conference Web pages for information about all events that took place. Agendas are posted as well as a photo gallery and presentations.
Attend the GLE virtually by visiting the GLOBE Web site! The GLOBE Program Office posted daily reports, daily photo albums, and other news from Cape Town. A number of student delegations posted blogs. On Monday, 23 June, at approximately 12 noon U.S. Mountain Time, a link appeared the GLOBE Web site. Please visit the GLE online at www.globe.gov/gle2008. It’s the next best thing to being there!
The GLOBE Program Office and GLOBE Canada are pleased to announce that the 13th Annual Conference will take place in Calgary, Canada, from 2-7 August 2009. More information will be available on the GLOBE Web site soon. We hope to see you next year in Canada!
At the end of each calendar year, GLOBE seeks valuable input to the Program from our key leaders and implementers — our GLOBE Country Coordinators and U.S. Partners! GLOBE leaders from around the world provided input into the creation of the survey tool.
WHAT is the purpose of the GLOBE Online Annual Partner Survey?
WHY should you submit information into the GLOBE Online Annual Partner Survey?
HOW does GLOBE utilize data from the survey to benefit GLOBE partnership activities?
The Online Annual Survey allows GLOBE Partners to capture the history of their efforts throughout the year. In past years, Partners were asked to complete a detailed, hardcopy survey, and mail the heavy packet back to the GLOBE Program Office. Partners were left with no record or report of their implementation efforts. Using the online system, Partners need only update the information previously submitted to the system, making completion of the survey much faster as well as providing an electronic record that stays with the partnership for their personal use!
The Online Annual Survey provides flexibility in completing survey sections as time allows. Information submitted to each section can be saved at any point, allowing Partners to return and review or complete the survey at a later time. Remember, information submitted from prior years that still accurately describes your implementation activities will not need to be resubmitted since it remains in the system!
The GLOBE Online Annual Partner Survey is an important tool assisting the GLOBE Program Office to better serve our Partners, while at the same time facilitating the development of sustainable models for program implementation. Please help us by completing your survey by the end of February each year! Thank you!
Remember to visit the GLOBE Impact Around the World Web page, developed to provide you with a quick view of GLOBE activities occurring in your region as well as estimated impact on student participation around the world. We hope that you find this information of interest and that it assists you to monitor growth and student research activities on a national, regional and global scale.
On 22 April 2008, GLOBE students, teachers and community members around the world celebrated Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated on 22 April 1970. Now, almost thirty years later, more than 500 million people living in 175 countries observe this day dedicated to galvanizing efforts to mobilize people, governments, and corporations to take responsibility for a clean and healthy environment. Many GLOBE students and teachers celebrated Earth Day by responding to the request of the GLOBE Program Office (GPO) to submit video clips and PowerPoint presentations about their local environments. Mini-documentaries from GLOBE students in Cameroon, Croatia, Germany, Uganda and the United States can be viewed on the GLOBE Earth Day Web page.
Please send your Regional Desk Officer your ideas for GLOBE implementation and activities for Earth Day 2009!
 Burkina Faso |
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 Cameroon |
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 Chile |
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 Ghana |
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 Guinea |
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 Lebanon |
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 Micronesia |
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 Pakistan |
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 Spain |
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 Switzerland |
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 Uganda |
 Costa Rica |
Mrs. Ana Virginia Mata Ferreto |
 Estonia |
Mr. Kaido Reivelt |
 Hungary |
Ms. Toth Piroska |
 Netherlands |
Mr. Matthijs begheyn |
 Niger |
Mr. Ma’azou Garba |
 Malta |
Dr. Paul Pace |
 Mongolia |
Mrs. Chimedlkham |
 Morocco |
Mr. Lahlou Mouhssen |
 Paraguay |
Ms. Ana Claudia Meza (Contact for Public Schools) |
 Saudi Arabia |
Dr. Hadi Ali Bahari |
Thank you for helping us highlight your region and provide the exposure you deserve for all the hard work you, your teachers and your students do! We would like to continue to highlight special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community. Many times these stories provide ideas and inspiration to other schools, teachers and partners around the world. Please help us acknowledge these events by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. We do not have the manpower to create the entire article of your special event from your notes and comments. You can help us by creating a draft article and submitting it with a few photographs. Please remember that all pictures must have a completed release form in order to be posted on the GLOBE Web site. Download the picture release forms.
Send your finished article to your GLOBE Regional Desk Officer. Hard copies of completed release forms can be faxed to the GLOBE Program Office or sent to:
GLOBE Stars Photo Release
The GLOBE Program
P.O. Box 3000
Boulder, CO 80307-3000
USA
Fax: 303-497-2638
| Africa | Asia and the Pacific | Europe and Eurasia |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | Near East and North Africa |
Africa
The 2008 Africa GLOBE meeting was held 20-21 June 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa. Representatives from Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda presented country status reports, discussed challenges, and developed strategies to improve and expand national and regional implementation. Dr. Diola Bagayoko (USA) gave a presentation examining the role of GLOBE and Science Sustainability in Africa. Numerous other presentations showcased student research and international education initiatives taking place within the GLOBE Africa Consortium. As part of the meeting, the GLOBE Africa Country Coordinators participated in a workshop led by Mr. George Ndifon, Cameroon, which facilitated the identification of several potential student projects that could be undertaken as a collaborative research initiative for the region. The role of the GLOBE Alumni in a GLOBE Africa student research collaboration was also discussed.To learn more about additional recent GLOBE activities in Africa, please visit the stars below.
GLOBE at Night 2008 Observed Around the World
GLOBE Students and Teachers from Seven Countries Attend SciFest 2008 Finland
GLOBE School in Niger Plants 1,000 Trees on Global Youth Service Day
Nigeria's Ondo State Hosts Third GLOBE Workshop
Cameroon Students Research Effects of Climate on Local Agriculture
Please help us acknowledge special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. Visit the GLOBE Stars page for more information.
GLOBE Thailand hosted the first Asia Pacific Regional GLOBE Learning Expedition (GLE). The regionally-funded GLE took place from 13–18 November 2007 at the Navy Phirom Hotel in Hua Hin. The event was organized to allow students to share their research projects with their peers, GLOBE scientists, and the greater GLOBE community. The GLE also promoted Earth system science research through a student-teacher-scientist-community collaboration model. To learn more about the first Regional GLE, please see the star below.
Representatives from the region are currently working to organize the next Asia and Pacific Regional Consortium meeting and Master Trainer Workshop to be scheduled in the near future. The meeting and workshop will be announced as soon as it is confirmed.
The regional representatives for GLOBE Alumni in Asia and the Pacific, Ms. Watcharee Ruairuen and Ms. Phatcharaida Boonkort, both from Thailand, have done exemplary work on behalf of all the GLOBE Alumni throughout the region. The Asia and the Pacific GLOBE Alumni Regional Report is available at the Alumni Reports page. For more information on GLOBE Alumni activities in Asia and the Pacific, or to link your GLOBE Alumni to these efforts, contact Ms. Ruairuen and Ms. Boonkort via email at: asiapacific-alumni-regionalrep@globe.gov.
Partners, please identify Alumni within your country or region that are interested in continued involvement with GLOBE and link these Alumni to their Regional Alumni Representatives.
Sri Lankan GLOBE Club Develops Tools for Outreach and Collaboration
Nepali Students Help Ensure Quality of Life in the Kathmandu Valley
First GLOBE Regional GLE in Asia Held in Thailand
Please help us acknowledge special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. Visit the GLOBE Stars page for more information.
The Fourth GLOBE Europe Regional Consortium meeting took place in Warsaw, Poland, from 17–20 April 2008. Over 60 participants from 16 countries as well as representatives from the GLOBE Program Office attended the meeting to discuss past and future activities of GLOBE Europe. Conference attendees exchanged useful information on new research fields, methods of environmental education and strengthening ties between their GLOBE programs. A professional development workshop for Global POP was held during the conference as well.
Organizers and sponsors of the conference included the United Nations Environmental Program Global Resource Information Database (UNEP/GRID-Warsaw), the GLOBE Program Office, GLOBE Europe, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, and GLOBE Poland's expert team of staff and assistants.
Conference documents, pictures and presentations are available on this Web page.
For more information on GLOBE in Europe please see the GLOBE Europe Web site at http://www.globe-europe.org.
The GLOBE Alumni welcomes Ms. Martina Pulic from Croatia. This former GLOBE student is now a GLOBE Teacher. Read more about Ms. Pulic in the GLOBE Star highlighting her story.. The regional representatives for GLOBE Alumni in Europe and Eurasia, Mr. Martin Pentson, from Estonia, and Mr. Tomas Tunkl, from Czech Republic, have done exemplary work on behalf of all the GLOBE Alumni throughout the region. The Europe and Eurasia GLOBE Alumni Regional Report is available at Alumni Reports. For more information on GLOBE Alumni activities in Europe and Eurasia, or to link your GLOBE Alumni to these efforts, contact Mr. Pentson and Mr. Tunkl via email at: europe-alumni-regionalrep@globe.gov.
Partners, please identify Alumni within your country or region that are interested in continued involvement with GLOBE and link these Alumni to their Regional Alumni Representatives.
GLOBE Day Unites Students of Diverse Backgrounds at Israel Annual Conference
GLOBE Alumni Host Join the Nature in Czech Republic
GLOBE Europe Regional Train-the-Trainer Workshop
GLOBE Germany 2007 School of the Year
Former GLOBE Student Now a GLOBE Teacher in Croatia
GLOBE Students in France and the U.S. Expand Collaborative Activities
GLOBE at Night 2008 Observed Around the World
GLOBE Students and Teachers from Seven Countries Attend SciFest 2008 Finland
Please help us acknowledge special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. Visit the GLOBE Stars page for more information.
The Fifth Regional Meeting was held in San Antonio, Texas, during the 11th Annual GLOBE Conference. Plans for the next regional event are currently underway. Country Coordinators in the Latin American and the Caribbean Consortium (CLAC) have been busy participating in activities supporting GLOBE’s new ESSP, Seasons and Biomes, and specifically International Polar Year (IPY) as well as GLOBE at Night.
On 8 April, 2008, Dr. Peggy LeMone, GLOBE Chief Scientist, opened the second GLOBE Seasons and Biomes International Polar Year Pole-to-Pole Videoconference from Boulder, Colorado. Participating schools included: Escuela Provincial No. 38 Julio Argentina Roca, a GLOBE school in Esperanza, Antarctica hosted by Argentina, participating from Ushuaia, Argentina; and Randy Smith Middle School (Fairbanks), Moosewood Farm (Fairbanks), Innoko River School (Shageluk), and Wasilla High School (Wasilla), from Alaska.
The goal of this videoconference conversation with scientists and students near both poles was to think of ways students can be involved in climate change research in their local environments and in collaborative partnerships with scientists and other students worldwide.
Students were asked to think about: the most important seasonal indicators, if these are being impacted by climate change, and how they could study these indicators to see if they are impacted by climate change. Amongst the discussion topics proposed by the students were:
Read more about the 2008 Pole-to-Pole Videoconference. Also, on 10-11 April, 2008, GLOBE hosted a follow up Web chat and forum about Climate Change and Polar Science. This allowed GLOBE Students the opportunity to communicate directly with scientists, asking questions and answering some too! Participants within the region included GLOBE students and teachers from Argentina, Peru, and Dominican Republic.
The regional representative for GLOBE Alumni in Latin America and the Caribbean, Mr. Guillermo Grimaux, from Argentina, has done exemplary work on behalf of all the GLOBE Alumni throughout the region. The Latin America and the Caribbean GLOBE Alumni Regional Report is available at Alumni Reports. For more information on GLOBE Alumni activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, or to link your GLOBE Alumni to these efforts, contact Mr. Grimaux via email at: lac-alumni-regionalrep@globe.gov.
Partners, please identify Alumni within your country or region that are interested in continued involvement with GLOBE and link these Alumni to their Regional Alumni Representatives.
Communities Look to Students for Environmental Data (En español)
Latin America and the Caribbean V Regional Meeting San Antonio, Texas (En español)
GLOBE Students in Uruguay Apply GLOBE Data to Cloud Research (En español)
GLOBE Across the Curriculum in Chile! (En espanol)
NSF and the Omar Dengo Foundation Bring WV Trainers and Costa Rican Teachers Together
GLOBE at Night 2008 Observed Around the World
GLOBE Students and Teachers from Seven Countries Attend SciFest 2008 Finland
GLOBE Presentation at the 33rd International Book Fair in Buenos Aires, Argentina (En español)
Please help us acknowledge special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. Visit the GLOBE Stars page for more information.
The GLOBE Near East and North Africa Regional Meeting took place at the Supreme Council of Education, Doha, Qatar, 22 –23 February 2008. Country Coordinators and representatives from 6 Near East countries, including Bahrain, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Qatar and Saudi Arabia attended the meeting. In addition to the country coordinator, Morocco sent 3 other representatives, including a representative from the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, a university scientist studying sustainable landscapes and a graduate student working on regional impacts of climate change. A U.S. Peace Corps volunteer from Mauritania represented the country on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
The extremely productive meeting culminated with the signing of the Near East and North Africa Country Consortium Agreement (Memorandum of Understanding). Discussions resulted in the following changes to the draft document:
The GLOBE Near East and North Africa Master Trainer Workshop and Train-the-Trainer Workshop took place at the Doha Independent Secondary School for Boys, February 15-16, 2008. Master Trainer candidates from 7 countries in the region participated in the workshop, and the program resulted in accreditation of 9 Master Trainers and 19 Assistant Master Trainers for the Near East and North Africa Region. More than 60 teachers and secondary school students were able to participate in protocol training in the areas of atmosphere and phenology, hydrology, soils, and Land cover Biology during the five day workshop. To learn more about these events, please visit the stars below.
Please help us acknowledge special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. Visit the GLOBE Stars page for more information.
The 7th Annual Regional Meeting and International Training Workshop in Doha, Qatar
Near East and North Africa International Training Workshop
Countries in Near East and North Africa Finalize Regional Consortium
Please help us acknowledge special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. Visit the GLOBE Stars page for more information.
U.S. News
The first North American Regional meeting took place on Wednesday, 28 March 2007 (the day before NSTA began), in St. Louis, Missouri. Twenty-six U.S. Partners representing fourteen states as well as the Country Coordinator for Canada convened to discuss implementation of GLOBE in North America. States in attendance included Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Partners provided updates on current activities and discussed many great projects being implemented across North America. Please join us in March 2008 for the 56th Annual NSTA Conference on Science Education which will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, where the North America Region will once again reunite (visit http://nsta.org/conferences).
Regional meetings also took place in conjunction with GLOBE's 11th Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, from 29 July - 3 August 2007. The 2007 Annual Conference was hosted by the University of Texas at Tyler and Austin, in partnership with Northern Michigan University and Southern Connecticut State University. It was held at the Historic Menger Hotel. You can view the GLOBE Annual Conference proceedings.
For more highlights about GLOBE in United States see the 2007 Country Report summarizing the activities from October 2003 through June 2007. Included are historical U.S. partnership data, summaries of current efforts underway and a description of the GLOBE Program Office U.S. Partner Support Plan.
See the U.S. Country Report.
Reminder: The 4th GLOBE Learning Expedition and Annual Partner Conference will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, 22 - 28 June 2008. Submit your presentation abstract soon! Abstract submission closes on 1 February 2008; no abstracts will be accepted after that time, so don't delay — act fast! This is going to be an amazing event! For more information, visit: /gle2008.
The GLOBE Program Office, with the assistance of UCAR scientists, selected five student teams to represent the United States in South Africa.
The winning schools, and their projects, are:
Each team consists of 2-4 students accompanied by a teacher-chaperone. All travel and hotel expenses for the five winning teams to attend the GLE will be covered by GLOBE. We encourage all GLOBE schools to continue working on their projects and to submit proposals to present their research. Many funding opportunities can be found on the Partner Page at Funding Opportunities.
For more information about the 4th GLE and 12th Annual Conference, visit /gle2008.
Canadian News
In July, 2006, Bill Batycky of Calgary was appointed as the Country Coordinator for GLOBE Canada by the Canadian Federal Government. As there was no financial support to accompany this appointment, GLOBE Canada was fortunate to enlist the assistance of the SEEDS Foundation (Society, Environment, and Energy Development Studies), a not-for-profit environmental and energy education foundation. SEEDS now provides a home and support for GLOBE in Canada in the form of office space and office resources.
Because of a growing Canadian interest in curricular programs and resources that focus on student engagement and environmental stewardship, the past year has been quite an exciting time for GLOBE Canada. The number of GLOBE schools has increased from 127 to 169 schools and this number is growing. This has been largely due to the cooperative efforts and generous volunteer time given by trainers such as Bob Sharp, Cate McEwen, Wendy Campbell and Bill Batycky.
In July, 2006, six Canadian GLOBE Teachers attended the NASA CCAG (CALIPSO, CloudSat and GLOBE) Educator Workshop hosted by Hampton University in Hampton Virginia. As a result of this great experience, 31 Calgary area teachers from 17 schools were in trained in Atmosphere Protocols and in Ground Truthing for the NASA CloudSat Satellite Mission.
In March, Bill Batycky attended the Seasons and Biomes Workshop in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Plant Phenology Protocols (Budburst, Green Up, and Green Down) and Ice Phenology (Freeze Up, Break Up, and Frost Tubes). In April, at the GLOBE North America Regional Meeting, GLOBE Canada was able to present its proposed networking strategies of using regional GLOBE contacts to facilitate communications with both existing and potential GLOBE Teachers to better understand and represent both the cultural and environmental facets and diversity of the many regions of Canada. As well, a presentation was done at the NSTA/ICASE International Conference on the challenges that are presented in supporting GLOBE in such a vast country as Canada.
The days ahead look quite promising for GLOBE Canada with more workshops in the planning!
GLOBE Alumni in North America
The regional representative for GLOBE Alumni in North America, Mr. Matt Fenzel, from the United States, has done exemplary work on behalf of all the GLOBE Alumni throughout the region. The North America GLOBE Alumni Regional Report is available at Alumni Reports. For more information on GLOBE Alumni activities in North America, or to link your GLOBE Alumni to these efforts, contact Mr. Fenzel via email at: na-alumni-regionalrep@globe.gov.
Partners, please identify Alumni within your country or region who are interested in continued involvement with GLOBE and link these Alumni to their Regional Alumni Representatives.
GLOBE Stars in North America
SCUBAnauts International and GLOBE Begin Research Collaborations with Operation: Deep Climb
A group of 21 young explorers from the Tampa Bay Chapter of SCUBAnauts International took part in an extraordinary journey to the middle of the Pacific Ocean from 11-21 October 2007.
Ohio Students Incorporate GLOBE Data into Research Projects Related to International Polar Year
On 20 April 2007, over 600 5th - 12th grade students and teachers gathered from 21 Ohio schools to present and showcase their GLOBE research projects at the first annual OhioView SATELLITES Geospatial Technology Conference at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio. OhioView, a grassroots organization founded in 1996, promotes the low-cost distribution of U.S. Government satellite data for public use. The organization aims to make geospatial data from the U.S. Government more accessible and to fill the knowledge gap in education about the uses of data. OhioView collaborated with NASA, Ohio Aerospace Institute, and the Great Lakes Science Center to bring together students from across Northern Ohio to present poster presentations about their research projects which were based on GLOBE data on Surface Temperature, and the International Polar Year.
Students in California and Thailand Find Innovative Ways to Incorporate GLOBE
In November 2006, nineteen of Terri Lhuillier's fifth grade students began corresponding with 28 students from Princess Chulabhorn School in Trang, Thailand. Patchara Pongmanawut, with help from North American Regional Desk Officer Nan McClurg, initiated the pen pal project with American students to give her Thai students the opportunity to improve upon their English reading and writing skills. The students write to each other regularly, discussing many aspects of their lives: climate, the animals inhabiting their countries and their experiences with GLOBE projects in the classroom.
Students in Norfork, Arkansas Predict the Arrival Date of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds in their Migration Path North
At Norfork Elementary School in Norfork, Arkansas, Wade Geery, a GLOBE teacher, and his sixth grade students are anxiously waiting for the arrival of the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird, on the birds' spring migration path from Central America to Canada. The students have been collecting data on the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds for the past two years: observing the first arrival dates of each gender, noting the relative number of hummingbirds throughout each season, observing what flowers the birds visit and noting the departure date of the last hummingbird in the birds' fall migration to Central America. See the GLOBE Star.
City Officials in Charleston, Arkansas Look to GLOBE Student Data to Alleviate the Impacts of Recent Water Shortages
In Charleston, Arkansas, there have been ongoing drought conditions for the past several years. Unfortunately, city planners did not have the data needed to address the drought situation. Gloria Eiland, a teacher at Charleston Elementary wrote, "As our city water supply fell to an all- time low, the community started asking questions that only the GLOBE students could answer." See the GLOBE Star.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Hosts GLOBE Field Campaign
In Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA), students, teachers, scientists and park personnel gathered recently to evaluate land-cover and satellite images of the area for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of NASA's satellite maps.
Please help us acknowledge special GLOBE events as well as any GLOBE activities that teachers and students would like to share with the GLOBE community by writing up your news and sending it to us with photographs of the event. Visit the GLOBE Stars page for more information.
In an effort to enrich the GLOBE community, the GLOBE Program has established relationships with similar organization working regionally and internationally. Past highlights of GLOBE efforts linking to the community have included sections on our relationship with the U.S. Department of State, UCAR International Affiliate Institutions, and the World Meteorological Organization. In this newsletter, we visit our relationships with the U.S. Peace Corps.
The United States Peace Corps
The U.S. Peace Corps has a long and rich history of international service and has worked in partnership with GLOBE since the early days of the GLOBE program. The Peace Corps was created in 1961 when then President John F. Kennedy challenged U.S. students to serve their country in the cause of world peace and friendship by living and working in developing countries. Since then, more than 187,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries. The Peace Corps has three primary goals: 1) to help people of interested countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained workers; 2) to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and 3) to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. Peace Corps volunteers currently work in 74 countries in the areas of agriculture, business, education, environment, health, HIV/AIDS, and information technology. Peace Corps volunteers serving in the fields of environment and education have worked in various capacities to help support GLOBE by translating GLOBE materials into local languages, helping to organize workshops, training teachers, and working with students in the classroom using GLOBE activities. Of the 74 countries where Peace Corps volunteers are currently serving, 44 of them are also GLOBE Partner countries. These countries are spread throughout five GLOBE regions — Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe/Eurasia, Latin America/Caribbean, and the Near East/North Africa.
Contact the Peace Corps representatives in your region to involved them in your GLOBE Activities!
The GLOBE Schools Network (GSN) is designed to support inquiry-based learning for GLOBE students. The GSN operates within a paradigm of computer and information technology supporting the collective advancement of student inquiry. Learning emerges through the interactive network and is distributed and mediated among the interacting agents (students, teachers, scientists, and tools). Collaboration within the network is designed around adding value to students' learning that would be impossible if schools worked in isolation.
The GLOBE Schools Network is supported by a Scientists Network. Top-level Earth-system scientists engage with students at various stages of their inquiry. Scientist collaborate with students via video-conferencing, blogs, web chats, and as reviewers for student research projects.
At the 2005 Annual Conference, a group of European students initiated an appeal to the GLOBE Program Office (GPO) to help guide Alumni organizational efforts. The current GLOBE Alumni Network is a group of secondary school graduates who have the desire and commitment to support the implementation of the GLOBE program. GLOBE Alumni work with Country Coordinators, Partners, teachers and students to promote GLOBE in schools and in communities. GLOBE Alumni currently participate as Seasons and Biomes IPY Ambassadors, facilitating collaborations between local and regional projects, and planning for the GLOBE Learning Expedition.
For more information on GLOBE Networks visit the GLOBE Community page.
New GLOBE Web site:
By now, many of you have had the opportunity to examine the new GLOBE Web site. We hope the new look and navigation will meet with your approval. A short overview of the functionality of the new Web site can be found at the announcment. Please let us know how we can continue to improve the GLOBE Web site!
Partner Administration Pages:
The GLOBE Program Office is pleased to inform you that the Administration Pages on the GLOBE Web site have been updated. You will notice a brand new look with improved graphics, increased functionality and easy navigation. If you prefer the original format of the Administration Pages, simply select "Previous Admin Layout" from the bottom right corner of the page. This link will be available for your use until January 2008.
Please contact the GLOBE Help Desk (help@globe.gov) with your feedback or comments. We appreciate hearing from you and will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have. Below please find a quick summary of several of the most frequently asked questions about navigating the Administrative pages:
Sending Mass Mail
Log in using your Partner ID and go to the Administration Pages of the GLOBE Web site. You can send a GLOBE Massmail to all registered schools with email addresses in your country or region by clicking on .Send a Mass GLOBEMail message. under the communications section. Be sure to select the 'email reminder option' so everyone will be notified to log-on to with their GLOBE ID and password to see your message. In case a teacher has forgotten the school's username and password, a tool is included to assist in requesting this information.
International GLOBE Partner Implementation Guide
The Partner Implementation Guide includes information on the roles of the Country Coordinator, information on GLOBE science, training GLOBE, GLOBE IDs and much more. In order to view, please log-in with your Partner ID and password. The Partner Implementation Guide is located in the Administration Pages under the Support Materials section, entitled "Guidelines for GLOBE Program Implementation by International Partners."
Partner Administration Manual
The Partner Administration Manual is intended as a supplement to the GLOBE Web site's Administrative Pages and Partner Support materials. It includes descriptions and step-by-step instructions on using the Web site. In order to view, please log-in with your Partner ID and password and visit the Administration Pages section of the GLOBE Web site. The Partner Administration Manual is located under the Support Materials section.
GLOBE Mirror server
GLOBE provides a set of Web and database services for the community. These services run on specialized computers, or servers. Historically GLOBE has been able to distribute the location of these servers in various places around the U.S. and the world (Washington D.C., California, Germany). For those interested in learning how to run their own GLOBE server (a mirror server), we've compiled the following technical overview.
Running a GLOBE Mirror server today requires a robust level of hardware and software specifications in order to participate. There are also some minimum network speeds, and a need for on site personnel. The following are minimum system requirements:
Hardware: 1.5 Ghz Processor or better (Intel chipset preferred), 35 GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM. Reliable power and cooling in server location.
Software: Enterprise-grade Linux capable of running Xen virtualization (such as SuSE or RedHat); Oracle 10g RDBMS Enterprise Server software Network bandwidth: 768 Mbps or faster, such as a DSL or T1, with no outages lasting more than a few minutes.
Support personnel: Onsite personnel may be required occasionally. Primary maintenance will be done by GPO systems administrators. In the future these requirements may increase with the rapid changes in technology.
Please contact the GLOBE Systems Team if you would like to explore this possibility.
Our aim is to build a coalition of key partners from science, education, business, and policy areas to plan, fund, market, implement, and assess a Worldwide Student Research Campaign on Climate Change.
Over a 2-3 year period, beginning in 2011, our goal is to involve over 1,000,000 students in Climate Change Research and we need your help to achieve this goal. This international event will enhance climate literacy and understanding for millions of people worldwide, through student research investigations on a set of interrelated climate topics.
As the world’s largest international science education program, GLOBE endeavors to take environmental science education to the next level by leveraging our scientific protocols, educational activities, experience, and worldwide network of GLOBE Partners, teachers, scientists, alumni, schools and countries.
GLOBE is in a unique position to enlist the support of some of the world’s leading climate change scientists, internationally recognized education and outreach experts, businesses, foundations, and policy makers through collaborative partnering efforts including our principle sponsoring and cooperating agencies (NASA and UCAR). GLOBE’s new NSF Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs), will be a key component of this effort, supporting student research on Climate and Energy (Carbon Cycle), Climate and Water (Watershed Dynamics), Climate and Ecosystems (Seasons and Biomes), and Climate and Oceans (From Local to Extreme Environments).
The Climate Change Campaign will provide a variety of opportunities for meaningful, relevant and important student research that leads to understanding and action at local to global scales. GLOBE has always been considered a unique educational force to educate, train, inspire and encourage young people to preserve the environment for current and future generations. Through GLOBE’s new Climate Change Initiative, GLOBE will empower students, teachers and communities around the world to realize their individual and collective potential by addressing the single most challenging issue of our time.
We are interested in your ideas! Please send specific investigation topics and questions around Climate-Water, Climate-Energy, Climate-Ecosystems, Climate-Human Health, and any other topics and questions of interest for the GLOBE Climate Campaign you may have to ClimateChangeCampaign@globe.gov.
We look forward to working with the GLOBE Community and Scientists around the world to plan for this exciting event over the next two years to prepare for the 2011-2013 GLOBE Student Research Campaign on Climate Change!
GLOBE Students Conclude Fall 2007 Pilot including Phone Call to the Deep
GLOBE teachers and students from 11 schools in the United States and 10 schools in Germany tested the 2007 version of the FLEXE Energy Unit. Beginning in August 2007, GLOBE Pilot teachers were introduced to the activities in the FLEXE Energy Unit activity guide and trained on how to use the on-line components to support learning objectives. The activities engaged students in:
In December, as a culminating event, many of these classrooms and those in the broader GLOBE community followed the Research Ship Atlantis as it headed for the East Pacific Rise to investigate a hydrothermal vent community. The Research Cruise Web event is archived on the GLOBE Web site and includes updates from the scientists and crew aboard Atlantis and the submersible Alvin as well as correspondence from FLEXE students who participated in the Pilot. Check out the Web site to learn about the cruise mission, read student questions to scientists, hear podcasts, browse image galleries, and listen to the recorded phone call between the GPO and crew aboard the Alvin as it sits next to a hydrothermal vent!
The FLEXE team wishes to send a special thanks to the GLOBE teachers and partners who participated in this fall pilot. Not only did they work extra hours to bring this unit to their students, they also provided extensive feedback to our evaluator so that we can improve the unit for next year. THANK YOU!
During the 2008 school year, FLEXE will be incorporating suggestions from 2007 Pilot participants and conducting the final evaluation of crucial system components before releasing FLEXE to the broader GLOBE community. In particular, new components include:
The Energy Unit will be the basis for training of Partners attending the August 2008 Integrating GLOBE ESSP and DLESE Resources Workshop in Boulder, Colorado. FLEXE and GLOBE look to release the Energy unit and components of the unit to the broader GLOBE community in 2009.
In addition, the FLEXE team is working to complete a second unit on Extreme Ecology. The unit will engage students in exploring and comparing life in extreme environments with life in their own environment. Topics will include:
Information on piloting the second unit will be sent out during the Fall 2008-2009 school year with testing taking place during spring of 2009.
As a final note, FLEXE will sail with another deep-sea Research Cruise in spring of 2009, this time to the western Pacific. Students participating in this year’s pilot will have a ‘front-row seat’ although the cruise Web site will also be open to all GLOBE schools interested in following along. Be sure to check out the GLOBE Web site for an announcement of the cruise and for updates on FLEXE.
Seasons and Biomes has used the IPY Pole-to-Pole Video Conference as a launch of a first pilot Collaborative Student Research Field Campaign. The GLOBE Alumni have created a GLOBE School Pals (GS-Pals) web site to facilitate school collaboration for the campaign. Visit the Student Research Campaign page in the Seasons and Biomes section of the GLOBE web site for information about how your schools can participate.
GLOBE Alumni: The GPO and the GLOBE Alumni Organization are working together to develop a sustainable structure for the organization. Each GPO Regional Representatives are researching how to establish NGOs in their country and region. An NGO structure will allow for growth, inclusion for all graduating GLOBE students, and for funding.
Where does your water come from? Do you always have enough or is the supply limited where you live? What factors affect the quantity of the water where you live? The GLOBE Watershed Dynamics Project offers GLOBE students the opportunity to conduct science investigations on watershed behavior using My World GIS and authentic scientific datasets. New My World features were added for this project that assist students in accessing data including USGS stream gages as well as stream flow and land cover data. Improved data visualization and analysis tools have also been added to assist students in conducting their own watershed investigation.
The first unit of the project's curriculum materials have been piloted in classrooms across the United States and are being revised for public release. This Water Availability unit helps students to discover the relationship between precipitation, runoff, and evaporation. Students also look at this data in the context of seasons and different regions across the country.
Curriculum developers from Northwestern University and GLOBE are developing a second unit of materials for the Watershed Dynamics project. The next unit, Watershed Investigations, will include a study of the human impact on the watershed. Students will analyze National Landcover Data and access on-line stream gage data. This unit will enable GLOBE students to investigate their own watershed in order to understand the flow of water through the watershed, how human activities within the watershed have been shaped by its hydrology, and how human land use is impacting the hydrology of the watershed. The new materials will be field tested in classrooms around the country in the fall of 2008.
For more information and project updates, visit the Watershed Dynamics website at www.globe.gov/watersheds.
The GLOBE Program Office, in cooperation with the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), held a GLOBE Partner Professional Development Workshop from 3 – 9 August 2008 in Boulder, Colorado. The workshop is titled Integrating GLOBE Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs) and Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) Resources into Teacher Professional Development Workshop that Promote GLOBE Student Scientific Research. Seventy five GLOBE regional Master Trainers and U.S. Partners from 19 countries and 18 states and the District of Columbia participated in this innovative workshop. Participants returned to their regions and will disseminate all relevant information received during the workshop at the next GPO-sponsored regional meeting and training event held in each region. One of the main goals of the workshop is that each member of the regional delegations attending the event (3 Master Trainers have been supported from each region) will cooperatively work together to design a teacher professional development workshop that will be delivered to trainers and teachers in your region during the next GPO supported regional meeting. The final day of the workshop, Friday, 8 August, was dedicated to partners developing their regional professional development workshop plans. An important goal of this workshop was to model a variety of professional development strategies that promote the Next Generation GLOBE.
For highlights of the workshop sessions and activities, see International Gathering of Partners and Trainers Attend GLOBE / DLESE / ESSP Workshop.
GLOBE provides students with a more integrated view of the various subjects they study and supports curricula interconnections in all areas. GLOBE developed a Web page to highlight exemplary models of the diverse ways that GLOBE teachers collaborate between disciplines, focusing on the interconnections and relevance of what their students are studying. The page provides examples in science, mathematics, technology, geography, social studies, language and culture, including activities for English Language Learners (ELLs), and spans across the humanities (art, drama, drawing, music, photography and even physical education). The GLOBE community continues to share with us their progress in integrating GLOBE Across the Curriculum! We welcome your input as well. Please send us information about classrooms in your area that are integrating GLOBE Across the Curriculum so we can add this information to the Web page.
New articles highlighting GLOBE Across the Curriculum include:
GLOBE Across the Curriculum in Chile!
GLOBE Students in France and the U.S. Expand Collaborative ActivitiesThe 2008 international star-hunting activity known as GLOBE at Night inspired 6,838 measurements of night-sky brightness by citizen scientists around the world, including 660 digital measurements using handheld sky-quality meters.
The third GLOBE at Night field campaign was held from February 25-March 8, with assistance from the educational outreach networks of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) to help spread the campaign to amateur astronomers and science centers.
The 2008 campaign received measurements from 62 countries, surpassing last year's total of 60 countries. Just over 4,800 of the measurements came from the United States (with 48 states and the District of Columbia reporting at least one measurement). Observers in Hungary submitted the most measurements (380) from outside the U.S., followed by Romania, the Czech Republic, Costa
Rica, and Spain, all with over 100 observations; Canada was next largest, with 95 measurements reported.
Go to GLOBE at Night 2008 Results a Solid Step Toward IYA 2009 for more information about this year's event and the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009. Mark your Calendar for next year's GLOBE at Night campaign set for 16 - 28 March.
GLOBE at Night is a collaboration between the GLOBE Program; the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, AZ; Centro de Apoyo a la Didactica de la Astronomia (CADIAS) in Chile; Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI); and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).
Web and Print versions of the Elementary GLOBE Storybooks and Learning Activities can be downloaded. For information about purchasing hard copies of the Elementary GLOBE storybooks or unit, please visit the NCAR Science Store.
Note: All modules require the free browser plug-in, Adobe Flash Player 7.0. You will also need an Internet browser that is compatible with this plug-in (see system requirements listed on the Web page). The modules are best-viewed at a screen resolution of 1024x768 pixels.