December 2020
Welcome to the December 2020 edition of the BSCS Science Learning FieldScope newsletter. We want to keep you better informed about the FieldScope tool for citizen science and its capabilities as well as what people are doing with FieldScope and what changes are taking place as we continue to evolve the tool. We welcome your ideas for future content. Please write us at [email protected].
More than two dozen citizen and community science (CCS) projects using FieldScope are now featured on a new, modernized version of the platform! Members of these projects have contributed over 38,000 data observations about our world in the last year alone.
WHAT'S NEW IN FIELDSCOPE

The re-launched version of FieldScope is mobile-friendly, has enhanced tools for working with data in maps and graphs, and an improved user interface to make participants' experiences of contributing and engaging with data easier and supported by integrated help tools.

CHECK IT OUT!

If you are an active or past contributor to one of the CCS projects hosted on the platform, a user of data from these projects, or just curious about citizen and community science platforms, we invite you to check out the new tool!

Access a list of public projects HERE.
A few of our projects are not yet migrated to the new version of FieldScope as we are finishing the build on some important features relevant to those projects. We will reach out to these communities to keep you posted on the migration of your project in the next 1-2 weeks: 
  • Indigenous Mapping – Hawaii
  • Indigenous Mapping – Navajo 
  • Indigenous Mapping – CNMI PSS
WAIT, WHAT IS FIELDSCOPE?

If you’re not yet a FieldScope whiz, check out this overview video.
INTERESTED IN LAUNCHING YOUR PROJECT ON FIELDSCOPE?

The FieldScope platform is available for citizen and community projects (or other types of data collection field studies) to launch and host their projects on.

To learn more, check out our Launching a FieldScope Project article HERE.
Here are some other highlights from the new Help Center:
WHAT'S COMING IN 2021

We’re not stopping here. In 2021, we will continue to enhance the FieldScope platform to make it as useful as possible for the FieldScope community. What can you expect to see added to FieldScope in 2021? 
  • More tools for collaboration and sharing within and across projects 
  • Options for an offline data entry mode (for when participants want to collect data outside on phones or tablets but are disconnected from cell signal or wifi)
  • Better support for groups within a project
  • New options for teacher accounts with students and student groups nested underneath 
  • Additional enhancements to data analysis and visualization tools, such as dynamic displays of change over time
  • Community forums for all members of our FieldScope community to discuss best practices, challenges, and ideas for CCS programs, learning with data, and all things FieldScope.

What features would you most like to see in the new FieldScope? Let us know if your new Feature Request channel of our community forums.
We could not have successfully re-launched FieldScope without the support of many. Key organizational supporters include the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Design and development partners have included Azavea, a Philadelphia-based company that specializes in geospatial web applications and research for social good. Other development partners include Inquirium and Blue Dragonfly Labs. Advisors include the many organizers of and participants in citizen and community science projects, our FieldScope Advisory Board, and staff and colleagues at BSCS Science Learning (the host institution for FieldScope).