Database defined

We've defined all fields for the database for each of the three levels of participation. This exercise of course brought to light areas of stickiness and uncertainty and struggle. Here are a few of the harder ones we had a good fun wrestle with:



What to name each of the three levels of participation? How do we name these levels without implying that Level 1 data is of lesser quality than Level 3 data? The difference lies in time, focus, and depth of research - not quality. I present to you our three shiny new "Types of Investigation":

• Level 1: "Species survey"
• Level 2: "Species and habitat survey"
• Level 3: "Populations and habitat survey"

What to do about photo captions? Initially we thought a caption written in the field would help students find the right photo later in the classroom. We quickly learned otherwise when photo-enthused students remembered the photos they had taken weeks earlier without the aid of a caption. ....and either wrote or tweaked their captions during the data entry process. So do we use photo tags instead of captions? A few key words that will help students build a potentially critical 21st Century skill? Maybe for the site photo, but how to appropriately tag a species photo when unsure of its identity? So we think our best bet is to have data collectors tag their site photo, and take 2-3 photos of each species and list 2-3 pieces of corresponding written evidence. Now the trick is how closely to link the species photos and evidence. We've asked our teacher advisors for help thinking through this one.

Do we need the dead or alive field? It confuses the heck out of the literal middle school mind, but with the help of scientist advisor Jonathan Grabowsky we've determined it's a critical field for coastal species. Students investigating other habitats will be spared the confusion.

Which fields should be made mandatory? Tricky. We need to require enough data to ensure a quality, usable record. We also want to set students up for a successful experience whereby "forgetting" to collect a piece of data doesn't result in their entire entry being denied from the database. So we've required the minimum, but will be clear in our expectation that the best of the best entries have all fields filled in.

Did I find it or did we find it? We decided to go with "I" rather than "we" with the hope that it will lend itself to more ownership of the data and (we really hope) more careful data collection.

How to report not finding a species? I think I didn't find it....Nice contrast with "I think I found it, but wicked confusing. I don't think I found it....Not what we're going for. I looked, and don't think it's here....Seems to be the most clear we can muster up right now.

New fields with some great promise for learning:
Evidence of vectors
Diversity of species
Evidence of reproduction