Project website
What research questions the project addresses, aims & themes
iSpot Local aimed to explore the potential of an exciting technology-enhanced learning practice (Bioblitzes) to serve as the key mediating event for the co-creation and crowd-sourcing of digital content related to field biology, by extending an existing web tool (iSpot) and building a strong community partnership network.
A bioblitz is a time-limited wildlife survey of a particular site – usually a single day – during which all organisms encountered are identified and recorded by the public, working with a team of experts.
Managing the data generated in a Bioblitz is a particular challenge, as is identification of organisms. It is often hard for members of the public to build on the interest generated through the event and learn more about the site and the science.
This project aimed to explore ways of enhancing the Bioblitz process, and harness its potential for co-creation and crowd-sourcing of digital content, by working with a strong network of community groups, supported by a community website integrated with iSpot.
How the research questions are addressed by the project (methodology and activity/environment)
The central focus was a series of six bioblitzes, held in a variety of sites across the South West of England, working in partnership with Ambios Ltd and Learning South West. Three of these were held in schools on their grounds, and three were held in nature areas with a wider public engagement.
Before each bioblitz, a series of pre-event learning opportunities were delivered, to engage and empower potential community users. During and after each bioblitz, the data captured by participants was uploaded to iSpot, where the existing range of experts were able to help with identification.
The project's evaluator worked alongside the project team throughout, using a formative, developmental model of evaluation, and gathered feedback from participants and stakeholders through a variety of methods, from informal conversation to formal feedback forms.
Findings and outputs
A key success of the project was joining up an extremely local learning activity – the bioblitz – with a much wider, national (or even international) community, by linking observations made during the bioblitz with the wider iSpot community.
The project developed some strong understandings about partnership, collaborative working, bringing experts and beginners together, directly and remotely, across age-ranges and hierarchies. 'Delivering' learning events through informal learning communities depended on existing networks being deployed, further developed and evolved, and the role, involvement, engagement and support of volunteers was critical.
The project developed a technical mechanism for embedding observations on iSpot from a specific bioblitz within a community-supported website, based on Drupal, which is [will shortly be!] available as an open-source Drupal module.
Project deliverables:
- Two-page Project Summary http://issuu.com/shoshinconsultancy/docs/about_the_jisc_ispotlocal_project
- Video explaining iSpot Local bioblitzes:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5FzmAQifE0
- Documentary video of a bioblitz in progress http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Nhe0dLZ90
- Final Evaluation Report
http://issuu.com/shoshinconsultancy/docs/jisc_project_ispotlocal__evaluation_report_publish - The Bioblitz guide – explanation, tips and advice for how to run a bioblitz
http://issuu.com/shoshinconsultancy/docs/the_bioblitz_guide
Project impact
Six bioblitzes were held, with a total of nearly 1300 participants. Over 1,800 observations were recorded on iSpot, with more than 2,100 identifications made and more than 3,100 agreements.
Follow-up activities with the stakeholder groups involved, and plans for extending the model beyond those groups, are now in hand.
Publications
In preparation
Keywords
Bioblitz, community learning, informal learning, family learning, schools, partnership
People involved
Doug Clow, Richard Greenwood, Julian Clark-Lowes (IET)
Jonathan Silvertown, Donal O'Donnell, Janice Ansine (Science)
Project partners and links
Ambios Ltd http://www.ambios.net/
Learning South West http://www.learning-southwest.org.uk/
Funder(s)
JISC eContent Programme
Start Date and duration
1 March 2011 - 30 Sept 2011