#GLAG18: Cultivating Global Learners

 

 

4th Annual Global Learning in Agriculture Conference January 22-26, 2018    Presented  by  the  Global  Teach  Ag!  Initiative          

 

 

 

Welcome   Hello  and  welcome  to  #GLAG18!

We  are  so  very  excited  to  have  you  as  a  participant  in  this  learning     adventure!  Did  you  know  that  this  is  the  fourth  Global  Learning  in     Agriculture  Conference,  and  the  third  offering  online?     The  first  Global  Learning  in  Agriculture  Conference  was  offered  face-­to-­face  in   November  2014.  This  first  meeting  was  an  unfunded  mandate  from  a  grant,  which  required   our  Fulbright-­Hays  group  to  get  together  to  discuss  how  we  could  implement  what  we   learned  in  Korea  into  our  agriculture  classrooms  (#AgEd2Korea).  When  others  heard  of  our   meeting,  they  asked  to  attend  and  it  became  a  conference—accidentally.  We  didn’t  think   that  too  many  folks  would  be  interested  in  coming  to  Happy  Valley  in  November,  but  they   were!  Our  conference  room  was  bursting  at  the  seams  with  nearly  sixty  people  in   attendance  for  #GLAG14. It  seemed  that  there  was  a  need  for  a  conversation  on  global  learning  in  agriculture,     but  no  one  needs  another  conference  to  try  to  pack  into  their  schedule.  So  forget  the   airplane  tickets,  hotel  rooms  and  catered  food—the  decision  was  made  to  move  the   conference  online  in  order  to  be  able  to  include  even  more  educators.  We  felt  that  this  was   the  best  way  to  give  the  most  people  an  entry  point  into  the  conversation.  The  conference   has  grown  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  has  moved  to  encompass  twelve  Global  Learning   Partners  from  institutions  across  the  nation  and  the  world!     (For  a  full  listing  of  Global  Learning  Partners,  please  see  page  2  of  this  program.) Each  year  we’ve  tried  to  implement  something  new,  to  innovate,  seeking  to  make  the   conference  more  interactive  and  more  impactful.  We  had  our  hands  full  putting  #GLAG16   online,  but  took  the  leap  to  add  on-­demand  presentations  to  #GLAG17.  This  year  we  are   excited  that  Vivayic  (@Vivayic),  one  of  the  Global  Learning  Partners,  will  be  hosting  a   workshop  during  Friday’s  live  session  with  the  intention  of  creating  a  take-­away  item  for   immediate  implementation  in  your  learning  environment.  Additionally,  four  other  Global   Learning  Partners  (Hawkeye  Community  College  (IA)  Global  Agriculture  Learning   Center,  @GALC_Hawkeye;;  Iowa  State  University,  Agricultural  Education  and  Studies   Department,  @iastate_cals;;  The  World  Food  Prize,  @WorldFoodPrize,  and  Penn  State   Extension,  @agsiciences)  are  hosting  roundtable  discussions  throughout  the  conference   week  on  specific  topics.  We  encourage  you  to  participate  fully  in  these  new  activities,  and   look  forward  to  your  feedback  on  these  new  additions  and  new  possible  innovations  as  we   look  to  #GLAG19! Global  learning  in  agriculture  is  a  subject  that  we  approach  with  great  humility.  From  that   first  face-­to-­face  meeting  to  trying  to  figure  out  how  to  best  host  an  online  conference,  it’s  a   process  of  continual  learning.  I  hope  that  you  won’t  hesitate  to  reach  out  to  us  or  one  of  the   Global  Learning  Partners  with  a  great  idea  that  you  would  like  help  bringing    to  fruition  or  a  suggestion  you  wish  someone  might  do.  We  are  all  here  to   share  and  exchange  ideas  and  best  practice  with  the  shared  desire  of   helping  those  we  come  into  contact  with  be  better  global  citizens. I  look  forward  to  “seeing”  you  at  the  conference!