Citizen Science: Training Courses ; Tools & Products
Training Courses ; Toolkits
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Learn the basics about citizen science and climate change. Understand some of the most pressing environmental issues that affect human communities today. Find out how cutting-edge sensors and apps can engage citizens in environmental science.
It is aimed at empowering individuals to take climate action through concise and practical lessons. Designed for participants of all backgrounds, the course invites citizens to explore the basics of pressing environmental issues such as air pollution, flooding and heatwaves, and to learn how citizens around the world are collecting data and acting for climate change. Learners will also be encouraged to engage with the citizen science tools used in I-CHANGE, contribute to environmental data collection, and become active agents of change.
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by Carina Veeckman,Floor Keersmaekers, Karel Verbrugge and Eline Livémont of VUB’s Science Outreach Office
The starter kit consists of different modules:
• Module I – Start to learn about citizen science. This first module reflects upon the different terms and characteristics used to describe citizen science. The benefits of citizen science research are listed, and the diversity of the field is illustrated with case studies in all scientific branches and disciplines.
• Module II – Determine if citizen science is right for your research. Before you initiate a citizen science project, you should reflect on whether it is suitable for your research. This module provides some reflective questions as well as decision frameworks
to figure out the suitability of a citizen science approach.
• Module III – Crucial design factors for successful citizen science: This last module presents crucial design factors for planning and developing your citizen science research (project).
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Download the Biodiversa Citizen Science Toolkit
The Biodiversa Citizen Science Toolkit was developed by Biodiversa, the European Biodiversity Partnership, with the objective of informing scientists working in the fields of biodiversity and, more generally, in environmental sciences, about the potential benefits of Citizen Science, and to provide a summary of the rationale to develop Citizen Science, current best practices, and useful resources in the field.
The toolkit is aimed at researchers and scientists involved in research projects where Citizen Science could be used for data collection or public/stakeholder engagement (or where existing Citizen Science data could be used). It is expected that the toolkit could help scientists to better consider the different dimensions and potential of Citizen Science as part of their research projects.
Using examples from a variety of projects, including but not restricted to BiodivERsA-funded projects, the toolkit aims to improve the understanding of Citizen Science practices and overcome potential barriers in research projects.
Using examples from a variety of projects, including but not restricted to BiodivERsA-funded projects, the toolkit aims to improve the understanding of Citizen Science practices and overcome potential barriers in research projects.
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Citizen Science and Scientific Crowdsourcing: an Introduction
This free online course will introduce you to the theory and practice of citizen science and scientific crowdsourcing. The course is run by the Extreme Citizen Science (ExCiteS) research group, part of the Department of Geography at University College London and you can access and work through it at your own pace.
Citizen Science Toolkit : Teaching science through citizen science
This toolkit developed by the California Academy of Sciences is designed to help educators integrate citizen science projects into classroom curricula or afterschool programming. It contains resources—including lessons, readings, and worksheets—to help communicate the value of citizen science to students.
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Better together: Citizen Science and Digital Tools to Improve Air Quality Policy
This free online course was developed by the EU-funded project COMPAIR (Community Observation Measurement and Participation in AIR Science) to help cities become healthier, safer, and more cohesive through citizen science (CS). Focusing on air quality as an important element of sustainable development, the course provides comprehensive guidance on how to run multi-dimensional urban CS campaigns that are scientifically sound, socially empowering, politically relevant, and technically innovative. The course draws upon COMPAIR experience in establishing CS Labs across Europe to offer a wealth of information for a wide range of audiences.
The course has five modules, each made up of several lessons, a forum, and a quiz. Learners must view all pages and attempt all activities in order to achieve 100% completion, at which point the certificate will be sent to their email. The course can be started at any time and completed at learner's own pace taking as much time as is needed.
Citizen Science Checklist
- Interactive Checklist from Citizen Science Zurich and Schweiz forschtAre you currently working on a concept for a Citizen Science project and wondering whether you have thought of everything you need to make your project fully effective? Or are you already in the middle of your research work and want to know what you can implement now to get the most out of your project?
Schweiz forscht and Citizen Science Zurich have jointly developed an interactive checklist to support you in planning and implementing participatory research projects. The checklist offers reflection questions that encourage you to think about core elements of participatory project design, tips and hints for implementation as well as further information and links to helpful resources.
Tools, Products, Apps
- AnecdataAnecdata is a free online platform for citizen and community science created by the MDI Biological Lab in Maine, USA.
- ArcGIS Survey123"ArcGIS Survey123 is a complete, form-centric solution for creating, sharing and analyzing surveys." This case study shows how it can be used for citizen science projects: www.nps.gov/articles/survey123.htm
- Epicollect5Epicollect5 is a mobile & web application for free and easy data collection created by the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance.
- EU Scent ToolboxScent is a European Union research project funded under the Horizon 2020 programme.
The Scent Toolbox is a set of smart technologies designed to engage citizens in environmental monitoring.
- HUMAP : The interactive map platform"Humap is an interactive map platform that works for storytellers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
Humap’s user-generated content feature is perfect for crowdsourcing in-depth, local knowledge and gathering qualitative and quantitative data."
- Merlin Bird IDFree global bird guide with photos,sounds, maps, and more. Download this free app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University.
- NASA GLOBE Observer App - Trees ToolBy downloading the NASA GLOBE Observer app and using the Trees tool, you can measure the height and circumference of trees. Your data will augment satellite-based measurements and help scientists studying forests and their ability to capture carbon and slow climate change. The GLOBE Observer app also lets you report a tree’s genus, species, and/or common name.
- Pervasive NationThe objective of Pervasive Nation is to build an Internet of Things testbed of scale which will become a resource for industry, government and academia, and act as a strong catalyst for Internet of Things research and innovation. Pervasive Nation is a national resource open to any individual, researcher, educational institute, business, or agency seeking to test their IoT idea.
- SapelliSapelli is an open-source project that facilitates data collection across language or literacy barriers through highly configurable icon-driven user interfaces. It enables communities, regardless of social and geographical background, to map their environment. Download for free from the Google Play Store.
- SCORE Sensors Catalogue - EULow-cost sensors viable for citizen science activities. Includes sensors for measuring and detecting precipitation, temperature, uv levels, light intensity, soil moisture, water levels, topography and more.
- Smart CitizenThe project builds on open source technologies such as Arduino to enable citizens and communities to gather information on their environment and make it available to the public via the Smart Citizen platform. Use Smart Citizen as a tool for data capture and analysis, or to create local maps of noise and air quality.
- TelraamTelraam allows researchers and citizens count traffic accurately. Telraam develops high-tech and reliable measuring equipment that is made available to interested citizens. They are helped to set up their own fully automatic traffic counters.
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