So from a practical perspective, everyone in the room works on their own until someone hits something they are unsure of, and that gets projected and everyone weighs in?
In the current situation where everyone will probably have to provide their own beer, we’ve been thinking about doing a series of zoom calls, with luck, each having an expert or experienced amateur in a particular taxon, and perhaps pick out a set of obs to start with so we don’t start with “dead air”. Then project the pix and the expert weighs in while explaining why they make the ID they do. From a teaching perspective, perhaps a person who brings an observation might start with a guess of their own with their rationale. If the sessions are recorded, they could be indexed and posted for future reference.
Of course, if they are remote, anyone could dial in to any call, but it would probably be most useful for the call to focus on one geographic area. If folks haven’t been able to get out to make observations, there are a few unidentified ones still in the database, and it would still foster that sense of community.
I’d love any additional ideas or suggestions beyond Carrie’s list!