Science Homework Help

OPTION A: Zooniverse Project Participation

Zooniverse www.zooniverse.org (Links to an external site.) is a web site that compiles community/citizen science projects that you can participate in. Community science is the idea that non-technically trained people can contribute to the scientific endeavor by helping crowdsource time-consuming tasks. Often the tasks involve identifying or counting animals or plants in photos. Tutorials for doing the task correctly are included in the project information.

Your task is to pick a project and work on it for an hour, then report on the experience. Make sure to pick a project with a topic that relates to BIO 240 (for example, not a history or anthropology project). Click on the BIOLOGY topics button and you will find a good one, but if you are not sure, ask me first!

1. What project did you pick and why? What turned you off about other projects that you screened or what attracted you to this one?
2. What was your task? How did you feel about doing the work? Did doing this work change your idea of what “science” is and how it is done?
3. Would you spend more time volunteering on a Zooniverse project and/or recommend the experience to a friend? Why or why not?

OPTION B: Contribute to iNaturalist or eBird

When you upload photos to iNaturalist www.iNaturalist.org (Links to an external site.) or submit a checklist to eBird www.eBird.org (Links to an external site.) you are also participating in community science. These observations are accessed by real scientists and used in publications.

Your assignment is to spend and hour or so birdwatching or nature-watching and upload your list/photos to either eBird or iNaturalist.

1. What do you think of the user interface of the app? Was it easy to use? How would you improve it?
2. How do you feel about contributing your observations to these databases? What are good aspects of the project and what are problems with it?
3. Will you continue to use this app? Why or why not? If you are a frequent contributor already, what has been your best “find” or a particularly rewarding experience with the community