General Conference & Research Symposium
When and where will the 2021 NAAEE Conference and Research Symposium be held?
- The 50th Annual NAAEE Conference and 18th Annual Research Symposium will be held virtually.
- Events will take place over two weeks, October 4–October 15, 2021.
- The conference begins with an afternoon opening welcome and keynote address on Tuesday, October 12 and runs through Friday, October 15.
- The Research Symposium requires separate registration and will be held on Thursday, October 7 and Friday, October 8, with an opening networking gathering on October 6.
- Half-day pre-conference workshops require separate registration and will be scheduled on Wednesday (October 6), Thursday (October 7), Monday (October 11), and Tuesday (October 12).
- eePRO Group meetings will be held on Monday, October 4 through Wednesday, October 6.
- Special sessions and networking opportunities will be scheduled throughout the two-week period.
- Most sessions will be scheduled between 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM Eastern time. We are exploring the possibility of offering some sessions outside of these hours for the convenience of international participants.
Please note: The Research Symposium requires a separate registration fee.
What's the difference between the conference and the Research Symposium?
- For five decades, NAAEE has convened one of the leading annual conferences for environmental education professionals, designed to promote innovation, networking, learning, and dissemination of best practices.
- The annual Research Symposium, held in advance of the conference, attracts new and established researchers to examine in-progress EE research, explore the current state and future directions of environmental education research, and advance the use of practices proven to be effective.
- Concurrent sessions for the conference and Research Symposium are selected through independent review processes with different criteria. Each respective Call for Presentations includes details about this year's priority topics, session formats, and tips for submitting proposals.
Presenters
How do I submit a proposal for the Conference or Research Symposium program?
- The Call for Presentations is open now.
- The deadline for submitting proposals is May 7, 2021 (11:59 PM Pacific time).
- All proposals must be submitted online through the link on the conference home page.
- The requirements for the Conference and the Research Symposium differ and are explained in separate Calls for Presentations. Both are available for download on the conference home page.
- Each Call for Presentations includes detailed information on this year's session formats, strands, priority topics, and review criteria. Successful proposals will reflect these guidelines.
- To help maximize the number and diversity of presenters and perspectives on the conference program, each individual or team of individuals is limited to three proposal submissions.
When will I be notified if my presentation is accepted?
- The review process begins in mid-May and we expect to notify individuals of the review results around the end of July.
- Notification comes through the All Academic conference management system via an email message from <Do_Not_Reply@AllAcademic.com>. Sensitive filters sometimes reject this address; check your email settings to ensure these messages are not filtered out as spam.
- Notifications are also stored in each presenter’s message center in All Academic.
Will you tell me if my proposal is rejected?
- Yes, we notify all submitters of the results of the review process.
Do presenters have to pay conference registration fees?
- Yes. All conference presenters are required to register for the full conference. Research Symposium presenters must register for the full two-day symposium.
- All presenters for the conference and the Research Symposium are required to register by September 10, 2021, to confirm their presentations.
- Approximate fees are included in the "Registration" section below.
How do I make changes to my session description or presenter list?
- To edit your proposal until the March 23 submission deadline, go to the conference home page and click on the “submit proposals" at the top of the page. This takes you to the conference proposal system.
- Select the title of the session you wish to revise and click on "edit" in the action menu to the right.
- Edit the appropriate sections as needed.
- Presenters will not be able to access the system to make changes during the review and selection process. The system will reopen for updates when the review process is complete.
- The final deadline for making any changes to session descriptions and presenter lists is July 31.
How do I add a presenter to my proposal?
- Before individuals can be added to a proposal, they must have an account (eePROfile) in NAAEE's eePRO directory AND that account must be linked to the conference proposal system (All Academic). Careful! It is a two-step process, but many people miss the second step.
- Creating multiple eePRO accounts can cause problems with your ability to submit or add presenters to your proposal(s). If you're unsure whether you or your co-presenters have existing accounts or whether the account email addresses are current, please search the eePRO directory or contact NAAEE for assistance. Email Briggs Burton or call 202-419-0412.
- Adding an individual to the system is a two-step process:
Step 1: To create an eePROfile, go to NAAEE's website (naaee.org) and click on the link to "create an account." (Note: Creating an account is not the same as becoming a member of NAAEE.) Use your email address as your login, create a password, and provide the information requested.
Step 2: After creating a profile, add it to the conference proposal system (All Academic) by clicking the link to "submit session." This step takes you to All Academic’s NAAEE home page and creates the required "handshake" that connects the two systems. You can then log out.
During your initial submission process or when you go back to edit your proposal, you will be able to search the All Academic database for the individual you want to add to your proposal.
- Names, affiliations, and email addresses will appear in the conference and Research Symposium programs exactly as they appear in the NAAEE eePRO directory. Please ensure correct spelling and capitalization, and avoid using unfamiliar abbreviations.
My co-presenters have created accounts on the NAAEE site, but their names are not appearing when I search for them during the submission process. What's wrong?
- Most likely, the account was not linked to the All Academic online conference management when it was created.
- Ask your co-presenter to log in on the NAAEE website, naaee.org.
- Once on the individual’s eePROfile page, click on the "submit proposal" link to create the required "handshake" that connects our directory to All Academic.
- Once this step is completed, the name should appear when you search for it within your online proposal.
- If the name still does not appear, please contact conference@naaee.org for assistance.
What is the difference between live and on-demand sessions?
Live sessions:
- Live sessions are scheduled once between October 13–15 and presented live via Zoom.
- Presenters are in attendance for the session and interact with participants in real time using typical features in Zoom (screen sharing, chat, polls, breakout rooms).
- Each live session will be assigned to a virtual room, accessed through our web and mobile conference platform.
- Live sessions may include pre-recorded segments, in particular to help accommodate international presenters in different time zones.
- Live sessions (except workshops) will be recorded for on-demand viewing after the conference.
On-demand sessions:
- Pre-recorded sessions are available throughout the conference for asynchronous viewing at any time. They do not have a scheduled presentation time.
- Presenters must be registered conference participants but do not need to be in attendance for their sessions.
- Presenters will need to submit pre-recorded mp4 files by September 10 to allow time for processing.
- On-demand session recordings will continue to be available for viewing after the conference.
What do I need to know about poster presentations?
- Posters are PDF images that summarize programs, resources, research studies, or other work through text, images, and data. They are most often created using Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft PowerPoint, and similar applications.
- Although posters are presented virtually, we recommend designing posters in a standard 48” x 36” horizontal format. Many universities offer editable templates. PDF files are limited to 10 MB.
- Poster presentations may include an optional pre-recorded introduction up to three minutes in length. All posters and associated recordings will be offered as on-demand sessions.
Registration
When can I register?
Registration is expected to open by July 30.
How much is registration?
- Fees for the 2021 conference are not yet set; they will be finalized in July.
- We expect Annual Conference registration for current NAAEE members to be about $250 for a professional and $150 for a student.
- We expect Research Symposium registration for current NAAEE members to be about $200 for a professional and $100 for a student.
- Nonmember rates will be about 30% higher than member rates.
- Registration fees include extended access to all recorded sessions for the Annual Conference and/or Research Symposium; therefore, registration fees are not refundable.
- As in 2020, we hope to raise funds to allow us to provide lower-cost options for those with limited funding due to the impacts of the pandemic. We will post more information when it becomes available.
Are there any discounts available?
- NAAEE members receive a discount on registration fees.
- There are discounted rates for students.
- As in 2020, we hope to raise funds to allow us to provide lower-cost options for those with limited funding due to the impacts of the pandemic. We will post more information when it becomes available.
Exhibiting at the Virtual Conference
What are my options for exhibiting and advertising at the conference?
- Virtual exhibit booths will be available for purchase by organizations and individuals.
- Virtual booths allow for sharing web links and information, networking and scheduling one-on-one appointments, and optional staffing hours.
- Product sales through vendor websites are allowed.
- We are recruiting exhibitors who wish to share information about environmental education programs and services, university-based environmental educator preparation programs, and nature/environment-oriented arts and crafts.
Where and when can I sign up?
- Information on purchasing exhibit booths will be available by June 1. Please check back on our conference website.
What are the costs for exhibiting and advertising?
- We offer both commercial and nonprofit rates for exhibiting.
- We will post pricing information by June 1.
What are the Exhibit Fair hours?
- Exhibit booths are available for 24-hour asynchronous viewing throughout the two-week conference event and will continue to be available for an extended period following the conference.
- There will be one dedicated event during the conference to promote the exhibits with incentives for attendees to interact with exhibitors. Details to be announced late.
When can exhibitors set up?
- We will provide exhibitors with easy-to-follow instructions for setting up virtual booths during September.
- Booths must be ready to view by October 3, 2021.