In this assignment, I go over the features of the iNaturalist app and how it can help users learn about the world around them.
A1: Learning about the natural world with iNaturalist
9 responses to “A1: Learning about the natural world with iNaturalist”
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Thank you for introducing this wonderful app, Megan!
Comparison and categorization are important cognitive skills. The study of Kotovsky & Gentner (1996) supports the hypothesis that comparison and categorization processes lead to changes in children’s representations of relational structure, enabling them to recognize more abstract commonalities (p. 2797). iNaturalist is a great app to train kids’ ability to compare and categorize! It is amazing that the app allows the user to contribute to scientific research. As Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist (1978), points out, knowledge is co-constructed in a social environment (as cited in Churcher et al., 2014). This is absolutely true in this social media age.
References
Churcher, K. M. A., Downs, E., & Tewksbury, D. (2014). “friending” vygotsky: A social constructivist pedagogy of knowledge building through classroom social media use. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 14(1), 33.
Kotovsky, L., & Gentner, D. (1996). Comparison and categorization in the development of relational similarity. Child Development, 67(6), 2797-2822. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01889.x
Hello Megan,
Nice review. I was not aware that there was an app for connecting users with the natural world. I like taking pictures of flowers and butterflies, just for me to keep. Now with this app, I can upload them and contribute to “research”. It makes me feel that I am also “contributing” the scientific research.
What an interesting app to profile! I actually profiled an app very similar to this, but with a focus solely on birds, and I found it quite funny that I ended up posting my assignment immediately following yours. I was so focused on exploring birds, I probably should have taken more time to see what other apps are out there for exploring other parts of nature. Now that I know about iNaturalist, I have more wants for the app I profiled; namely, it doesn’t currently include the crowd-sourced identification feature that iNaturalist does. Anyways, thanks for sharing.
Birds are what originally brought me to iNaturalist! I was going to profile Fantasy Birding but there’s no app and it just didn’t work well enough on mobile. I have to say though, Fantasy Birding throughout BC has improved my bird IDs a ton.
Megan, thanks for analyzing and profiling iNaturalist! As a horticulturalist and pollinator enthusiast, I use it every few days to help with arthropod ID in my garden and plants and animals when I’m travelling elsewhere.
Have you tried out the Seek app? It’s got more gamification and challenges, but I’ve found it a bit limiting in terms of ID capability.
Hi Mel,
I’ve actually used the Seek app with my students. It definitely has some advantages in terms of privacy for students but for myself I prefer iNaturalist.
Hi Megan
I’ve downloaded the app! I really like the use of technology to connect people closer with to the natural world and this is a perfect example.
Have long have you been using the app for?
Hi Adrian,
I’ve only been using it for a few months. I came across it when I was looking for apps for my students to use while they were away from school.