iSpot Local: Bioblitzes and crowd-sourced digital data
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iSpot Local: bioblitzes and crowdsourced digital data Doug Clow CALRG Conference, 13 June 2011
description
Talk at the CALRG conference, 14 June 2011 http://kn.open.ac.uk/public/workspace.cfm?wpid=9385Abstract:Open Educational Resources (OER) and other freely-available learning resources provide a huge potential for learners. But activities to engage learners with appropriate resources are thinner on the ground. iSpot Local is a JISC-funded project exploring one potentially fruitful activity: bioblitzes.A bioblitz is a time-limited wildlife survey of a particular site during which all organisms encountered are identified and recorded by the public, working with a team of experts. We already know that bioblitzes can be very popular with a wide audience, and can generate much useful scientific data. iSpot Local is running six bioblitzes to explore the potential for using them as the key mediating event for the co-creation and crowd-sourcing of digital content and learning related to field biology. We are exploring how to better capture the data generated on the day, and more importantly, how to embed the bioblitz in ongoing learning trajectories: from preparation activities, learning on the day, and onwards in to follow-up learning and engagement.The project is a partnership between the OU, Ambios (an environmental organisation based in Devon) and Learning South West (a partnership of learning organisations), and has links with an extensive network of stakeholders, including schools, councils, learning organisations, landowners, and specialist nature societies and recording schemes.In technical terms, we are building an iSpot Local website (using Drupal) to act as a community 'hub' for each of the six bioblitzes, where key stakeholders can provide background and scene-setting information about the site and the bioblitz day. The bioblitz data is collected using the existing iSpot website (http://www.ispot.org.uk), to connect participants up to the vibrant and helpful iSpot community, and is then displayed in aggregated form on the iSpot Local site.
Transcript of iSpot Local: Bioblitzes and crowd-sourced digital data
iSpot Local: bioblitzes and crowd-‐sourced digital data
Doug Clow CALRG Conference, 13 June 2011
Open EducaEonal Resources (OER)
Par$cipatory learning InteresEng
Social
CreaEve
AcEve
Open-‐ended
Bioblitzes • 24 hours • Public • Wildlife survey • Experts on hand Popular:
• engagement • outreach • science • learning
• Capture of data not good • Not part of ongoing learning acEviEes
iSpot Local
• iSpot Local website – CC-‐BY, linked to iSpot • Six seVngs: schools, public sites, local authority
• Bioblitz as key mediaEng event for co-‐creaEon and crowd-‐sourcing of digital content and learning
Project structure
• Partnership – OU – iSpot Local website – Ambios – on-‐the-‐ground, community engagement
– Learning South West – learning stakeholders
• JISC eContent programme • March to September, £100k
Technical
• iSpot – stores observaEons with tag • iSpot Local – community content (Drupal) plus visualisaEon of bioblitz observaEons (API)
Sharpham Bioblitz
• 94 visitors • 420 records on iSpot
– Previous best 38 • 409 idenEficaEons
Semi-‐public site Marsh improvement plan
• 246 different species – 143 plants – 72 invertebrates – 13 birds
Sandford Bioblitz
• Primary school • SEll processing data!
• Model – PreparaEon – On the day – Follow-‐up learning and engagement
• Lots of nidy-‐gridy organisaEonal detail
• Four more bioblitzes • Follow-‐up learning acEviEes and engagement • EvaluaEon • Follow-‐on funding and sustainability
• iSpot Team: Jonathan Silvertown, Doug Clow, Richard Greenwood, Richard Lovelock, Julian Clark-Lowes, Mike Dodd, Martin Harvey, Donal O’Donnell, Jenny Worthington, Marion Edwards, Jon Rosewell, Janice Ansine, iSpot Mentors
• iSpot Local Partners: Simon Roper, Simon Mauger, Paula Jones
• Photos: Doug Clow, Ambios
@dougclow hdp://dougclow.wordpress.com
