Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By John Ohab, Sep 13, 2011
As summer comes to a close, a young person’s fancy may turn to fretting at the thought of being cooped up in a classroom. But for fans of science and nature—and by that we mean kids who like to watch clouds, hunt mushrooms, prowl around graveyards, and check out what gets squashed on the side … Read more “10 back-to-school projects for young citizen scientists”
Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Biology, Birds, Chemistry, Climate & Weather, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Education, Geology & Earth Sciences, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Physics, Science Education Standards
By John Ohab, Jun 07, 2011
I love being in the outdoors amongst nature – but then who doesn’t? I also have a fascination for all things technological. Sadly, all too often these two passions are incompatible. For as us techie-lovers know, too many an hour can be spent cooped up inside staring at a computer screen. The emergence of the … Read more “Leafsnap: a mobile app to identify tree species”
Categories: Apps, Biology, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Guest Contributor, Nature & Outdoors, Science Education Standards
By John Ohab, Jun 01, 2011
At OpenSignalMaps, we’re mapping cell signal strength and wifi access points. Through our Android application, 400,000 users have submitted readings — from the remote island of Svalbard north of Norway to Ushaia, the world’s southernmost town, our maps are filling out. We’re building an impartial view of the world’s networks. For many people, a smartphone will … Read more “OpenSignalMaps: Mapping the world’s signal strength”
Categories: Apps, Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Guest Contributor
By John Ohab, May 23, 2011
Adolescents diagnosed with chronic illness have a lifelong responsibility to maintain and promote their health. Chronic illness can impact life in a variety of ways: pain, fatigue, inability to take part in physical abilities, and feelings of hopelessness. To help overcome these challenges, adolescents commonly look to counseling, social groups, and similar online activities. What … Read more “Games for Health: Inspiring Adolescents to take Control of their Health”
Categories: Apps, Biology, Computers & Technology, Gaming, Health
By John Ohab, Apr 08, 2011
Could you come up with a new way to track submarines? Could you outsmart a submarine commander? If you think you’re up to challenge, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) could use your help! DARPA is inviting citizens to get in the virtual driver seat of a new video game: the Continuous Trail Unmanned … Read more “The Hunt for Red October: Citizen Science Edition”
Categories: Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Gaming, Geology & Earth Sciences, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
By John Ohab, Mar 21, 2011
Video games: Do you love them or loathe them? When I was a teenager, I couldn’t get enough of them. Nowadays, I find it difficult to get excited about whiling away an hour with a joypad. Now might be a time for a rethink… Recently, I wrote a post that reviewed a new generation of computer … Read more “Digitalkoot, an online game for indexing Finnish newspapers”
Categories: Computers & Technology, Gaming, Guest Contributor
By John Ohab, Mar 07, 2011
This guest post was contributed by Dr. Stuart Farrimond, a science teacher at Wiltshire College in the United Kingdom. If you’ve ever felt like you could be an undiscovered genius, then today’s blog post is for you! Get ready to use your grey matter to push back the boundaries of science… by playing video games! … Read more “Dr. Stu’s Reviews: citizen science puzzles”
Categories: Astronomy & Space, Chemistry, Computers & Technology
By John Ohab, Feb 21, 2011
Have you ever seen the Milky Way from where you live? Most of us have not, and it’s largely due to increased light pollution from outdoor lighting. Light pollution not only wastes billions of dollars a year in energy and money but it causes human sleep disorders and disrupts habits critical to ecology. Globe at … Read more “Be a star: join the international star-hunt!”
Categories: Apps, Astronomy & Space, Computers & Technology, Nature & Outdoors
By John Ohab, Feb 08, 2011
A new partnership between Microsoft and the European Environmental Agency is combining detailed scientific information on air and water quality with observations made by citizen scientists. Ever wondered about the air quality in Copenhagen? Or perhaps the water quality in Paris? Eye on Earth uses Microsoft’s Bing Maps to combine goespatial and environmental data from … Read more “Keep your eye on the Earth”
Categories: Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Geology & Earth Sciences, Health, Ocean & Water
By John Ohab, Jan 28, 2011
As record levels of snow blanket much of the United States this year, Science For Citizens is collaborating with an important climate research project at the University of Waterloo called Snow Tweets. We’re pleased that this is the first of many scientific projects that you’ll be able to do on Science for Citizens. To help researchers … Read more “Snowed In? Contribute to Science!”
Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
