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The USA National Phenology Network | National Coordinating Office | University of Arizona 1311 East 4th Street, Suite 325, Tucson, AZ 85721 | Phone: 520-621-1803
[email protected] | www.usanpn.org/education
Q:Howdoyousetupanaccount?A:TosubmitobservationstotheNationalPhenologyDatabaseviaNature’sNotebook,you’llwanttogetstartedherehttp://www.usanpn.org/nn/become-observer).Ifyougetstuckwehavemanytutorialsandreferencematerialsonlinetohelpyouthroughtheprocess.CheckouttheresourcesontheLearnHowtoObservePage(https://www.usanpn.org/nn/guidelines)orthetutorialvideosonourUSA-NPNYouTubepage(www.youtube.com/user/usanpn1).Q:CanyouprovidemoreexamplesofhowpeopleuseNature’sNotebookintheclassrooms?A:Thefirstplaceyou’llwanttovisitisourStartaLocalProjectpage(www.usanpn.org/nn/connect/project).Onthere,youwillfindexamplesofseveralwaysinwhichpeopleareusingNature’sNotebookineducationalsettings.Onthesidebaronthatpageyou’llfindalinktohowgroupsareusingNature’sNotebook(www.usanpn.org/nn/groups_using_nn),whichcontainscontentthatwassharedinStation#4aboutNature’sNotebookapplications.TherearemoreexamplesonmyEducationlandingpage(www.usanpn.org/nn/education)whereIoutlinehowtouseNature’sNotebookindifferentgradesandformalandnon-formaleducationsettings.Lastly,we’veestablishedalistservforleadersandeducators,towhichI’vesubscribedyou,whereyoucanaskquestionsabouthowothershavesetupNature’sNotebookprogramsintheircourses.AttheNationalCoordinatingOffice(NCO)wearelimitedbywhatinformationpractitionerssharebackwithourstaffaftergettingstarted.IhaveideasofhowIwouldimplementNature’sNotebookindifferentways,whichareoutlinedonthesite,buteveryinstanceisdifferent,sinceeachclassroomandprogramhaveuniquegoalsforparticipantsandaccesstodifferentresources.Ifyouneedhelp,don’thesitatetoemailme([email protected])orgivemeacallandI’dbegladtohelpyouthinkthroughyourapplication.I’vealsocreatedseveralplanningdocuments,accessiblehere:www.usanpn.org/program-planning-guide.Q:HowisNature’sNotebookusedincollegelevelresearch?A:WeknowgenerallythatNature’sNotebookisbeingusedtomakeobservationsandanswerquestionsrelatedtolocalecosystemssurroundingseveralcollegecampuses.Somefacultyrequirestudentstonotonlymakeobservations,buttolookatthedataandcomeupwithsomehypothesesfortheirobservations.Stillothergroupsrequirestudentstojustlookatthedataandperformdataanalysiswithoutevergoingoutsidetomakeobservationsontheirown.Ourwww.usanpn.orglandingpagehaslotsofinformationabouthowresearchersareusingourdata(www.usanpn.org/publications).Youcanalsosubscribetoourresearcher’snewsletter,TheLeaflet,onthatpage.SeveralschoolsarealsorequiringstudentstousethedataaspartofaseniorresearchprojectORtodevelopanmonitoringprogramoncampusaspartofanhonor’sprogram.StillanothercourseisusingNature’sNotebookasaservice-learningproject,wherethestudentsarecollectingobservationsandcreatingeducationalcontentaroundthoseobservations,ultimatelysharingthematerialsbackwithmeforusewithournationalaudience.Again,itdependsontheoutcomesandtheteachingobjectivesthatarerequiredforthecourse.YoucanfindtheexamplesofsyllabiIsharedinStation#6onthislink:
2016 ESA EcoEd Conference Nature’s Notebook Citizen Science Program Questions and Answers
2 | 2016 ESA Eco Ed: Question and Answer Page
www.usanpn.org/higher-ed-program-sample.Q:IsCanadiandatawelcomeinNature’sNotebook?A:Yes!WewelcomedatafromCanadaorMexico,eventhoughwearetheUSANationalPhenologyNetwork.Theonlylimitationisthespecieswe’vegotonthelist–welimitthenumberofspeciesaddedtothelisttothose,mostlyfoundwithintheUnitedStates,becauseweseektodevelopadeepdatasetonalimitednumberofspeciesusedforphenologicalresearch.Thatsaid,ifthespeciesyou’dliketostudy/researchisinthedatabasealready,youarewelcometosubmitobservationsonitregardlessofyourlocation.Insomespecialcaseswemaymakeexceptionstothoserules,butthoserequestsarehandledonacase-by-casebasis.Beintouchwithme([email protected])ifyou’vegotquestionsaboutthatprocessortheadditionofspecies.Q:Wouldyouletstudentssetupanaccountoruseagroupaccount?Shouldyouhaveseparateaccountsforexpertsvs.volunteersvs.students?A:TheshortanswertothisquestionisYESwearefinewithstudentssettingupaccounts.Inkeepingwithgooddatabasemanagementpracticewedonotrecommendthesharingofaccountsatall–whetherthatmeanstwopeerssharinganaccountoraleaderandastudentsharinganaccount.We’vecreatedthe“sharedsite”or“group”modelsothateveryonehastheirownaccountsandissubmittingobservationsusingtheirownuniquelogin/username.Rightnowwehavemanycollege,highschool,middleschoolandelementaryschool,andvolunteergroupssuccessfullyusingthe“sharedsite”or“group”functionality.AsaneducatorIrecommendthateveryonegoesthroughtheprocessofsubmittingandlookingattheirowndatasotheycanbetterunderstandhowitworksandwhyweareinterestedinphenologyobservationsinthefirstplace.Wedohavewhatiscalleda“dataentrytechnician”function,whichmeansthatadministratorsofgroupscanassignapersonthatrole.Forexample,ifyouhaveapersonwhoiscollectingdatasheetsfromstudentsorvisitorsat.asite,andthosevisitorsarenotenteringtheirowndataforwhateverreason,thedataentrytechniciancanmakethoseentriesfromthedatasheetsforthem.Itisthusflaggedinthedatabaseashavingbeenenteredbyapersonwhodidnotmaketheoriginalobservations.Thereisnoneedtoseparateexpertsfromvolunteersfromstudentsinthedatabase.Q:Howaretheobservationsvalidated?A:ForspecificinformationonhowthedataintheNationalPhenologyDatabasearevalidated,seePage3oftheUSA-NPNTechnicalInformationSheet–“DataQualityAssuranceandQualityControlfortheNationalPhenologyDatabase.”YouwillfindalinktothissheetonourDownloadPhenologyDatawebpage(https://www.usanpn.org/results/data).Ifyouhavefurtherquestionsorneedclarification,feelfreetobeintouchwithme([email protected])orourResearchScientistKathyGerst([email protected]).
