Help! There's a class project!

General
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To add a teachers viewpoint… I wanted to use some nature-identifying app during the lessons for long time - there are numerous advantages. Kids often have absolutely no clue what is around them. Mainly in the cities, we all tend to be really heavily blind, when it comes to wildlife. We barely acknowledge the existence of it or cannot distinguish between planted and wild species as we have no knowledge of basic plants and animals whatsoever…
Apps are great help - kids can easily and quickly identify species in their surrounding and while searching for organisms they learn to see them, basicaly to realize their existence. + There is no need to pick the flowers and create herbarium. Kids just learn to observe (not disturb or do any harm). Also they realize what parts of the flower are crucial, so it can be lately identified according to them. Not even talking about the possibility to have class/personal statistics of species. Sooo maaany advantages, trust me.

But of course, every teacher should plan these activities reasonably. Otherwise it is useless mess, hopeless students and nobody will learn anything from this activity. I wanted only 10 observations per student, explained them how they can find wild organisms, tip and tricks where to look for them… Still there were observations of cultivated trees and such, but overall it was not bad. I was even very surpised by some observations of wild birds. So far, I use the class project to repeat the trophic levels, we will use their observations lately while learning about ecology, biotopes, food webs and such… Lots of plans :)

So reach out to teacher, give him/her tips and tricks how to use iNatura reasonably, send some videos explaining what observations should be added, so the teachers will have something they can send to their students… So far it helps a lot just to explain all these enthusiastic gardeners that iNat is not for cultivars and many understood. So, I believe that teachers try to do better job, if someone reach out to them and politely explain :)

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I never stop being surprised at this. From my youngest days I was so interested in nature, I took for granted that people learned at least some of it.

Your description of city life sounds like the Dianne Reeves song, “I Remember.”

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I feel like this is largely an iNat problem though. New users especially need the in-cultivation button in their faces and it’s just not very prominent.

Maybe if a user has under 100 identifications make them take the extra step to selection cultivation or wild?

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I’ve met a few times with one of the organizers of large Hong Kong school bioblitzes. Not sure if this one is related to those, but the organizer I know distributes materials that go over best practices. Getting that message through to teachers and then to students, though, can be difficult.

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