After my flight taking off an hour late (the pilots were delayed getting to the airport), I’ve started my journey to another conference – a conference with an exciting topic at an exciting location! Earlier this year, I attended the ScienceOnline Climate “unconference” in Washington DC (and blogged about it, of course!), which was one of the more innovative and engaging conferences I had been to in quite some time. Now, just two months later, I’m heading to another ScienceOnline event – but this time, it is ScienceOnline Oceans in Miami, Florida. Seeing as my graduate degree is in marine geology & geophysics from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, the topic and location is a perfect fit! I was able to get a lot of information and ideas out of ScienceOnline Climate, and I have the same high expectations for ScienceOnline Oceans.

I’m starting on Friday with a pre-conference podcasting workshop called “Ocean Science in 60 Seconds (or less!).”  I’ve always completed podcasting projects with students in my courses, so I’m looking forward to learning a new approach and perhaps some different ideas for class assignments, and maybe for even my own use. Friday evening is a panel discussion and dinner at the Miami Science Museum – which, sadly, I never had a chance to visit during the six years I lived in Miami (better late than never, I suppose). Saturday is a full day of technical sessions, of which I’m thinking of attending the talks that focus around oceanography outreach and use of social media (not surprising!).  And I have just learned that there will be an ocean geek fashion show on Saturday night – #whatoceanscientistsdoforfun!

Sunday is going to be a real treat, as I’ll be heading out on a shark tagging trip with UM’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program. Unfortunately, for safety reasons we are not able to take photos while on the boat, but there will be a designated photographer that will send us photos after the trip (I hope there is one that has me with a shark to show students in class next year!).

It will be strange staying in a hotel in Coconut Grove, a location I used to visit frequently with graduate school friends to grab a movie and dinner or to go dancing. But I think I will be able to get used to it – especially with this view!  (I hear the view from the hotel restaurant is even more spectacular, looking out across the water.)

Looking out at and across the CocoWalk complex in Coconut Grove, from my hotel room balcony.

But before I head out, I’m going to take the great advice offered by the ScienceOnline Climate Twitter feed:

Will do!