Thanks Miyoku, those examples are really helpful! It would be great to experiment and learn from the different kinds of investigations and interactions that develop organically and with the help of facilitators. This kind of research could be really useful for other citizen science efforts. There is so much video out there, and we need good models for what kinds of citizen science investigations really work.

Thanks for your interest, Claire—and for sharing the link to Laura Trouille's talk! You're absolutely right; we now have such an opportunity to engage the public in co-created science now that there are tools and applications being developed that make it possible. With each new investigation, the data that participants end up annotating will really depend on the questions that they are interested in investigating. Data collection will be mostly focused around what is visible on camera, but we also envision that there will be opportunities to measure other parameters by installing instruments (e.g. a thermometer, rain gauge, etc.) at the cam site or by incorporating existing data sets that are already being recorded. In the first stage of the process, researchers will be working with participants to develop a testable question that is agreed upon based on the interests and observations of those involved in the question-asking process. From there, we'll be collaborating with Laura and Zooniverse to build projects that will facilitate the data annotation process from archived footage. We also hope to incorporate live annotation, where participants can tag data while watching the cams in real time! 

This whole project is close to me, as I've been a viewer of online bird cams for a few years now intermittently.  It's a way that my grandmother and I connect, even while we're a few hours apart from each other.  Always a fun topic of conversation to compare what we spotted on the various bird cameras!

As a teacher, I find it inspiring that there is a community-involved, inquiry-based research project happening.  Your team's willingness to add data collection instruments to the cameras sites, and lead collaborative discussions is amazing!  The data that is collected can open up anyone to the lives of these marvelous animals.

What is the process like for a viewer to start working closer to the research team as a volunteer?  Do you accept data from anyone, or are there specific viewers who can report data?

Hi Rebecca-thanks for sharing how the cams have impacted your life personally! We're still working on the exact methodology behind the entire project, trying to do formative evaluation for each stage as we engage viewers in the effort. Data collection is in some ways one of the most straightforward aspects of the project, though, in that once protocols are established and tools are defined for gathering data, almost anyone who pays attention to those protocols and tools would be empowered to submit valid data. Thanks for commenting!

Hi Rebecca, thanks for your comment. It's wonderful to hear that you've watched the cams and that it's been a way that you've connected with your grandmother. Data collection will be open to anyone using the Zooniverse platform. Hope you'll stay in touch as we start rolling out activities for testing!

Thanks for your question, Laura! At the beta stage, we'll be recruiting a select number of participants from the thousands of viewers that watch the Bird Cams everyday. From there, we'll be promoting the project across our social media pages, on our website (www.allaboutbirds.org/cams), and through our bi-weekly eNewsletter, opening up the project to anyone who wants to participate. We expect that most of our participants will have already been involved in watching the Bird Cams at some level, but we will invite anyone with an interest in citizen science and community investigations to join the project.

Hi Julianne—

Our education program here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has created curriculum modules for educators to use with cams (http://www.birdsleuth.org/cams4educators/) and hosted webinars in the past to train educators in using the curriculum. They've also developed some albatross-specific content (http://www.birdsleuth.org/perfectday/) that goes along with a children's book that we released recently.  Finally (and more broadly) they've created resources for helping educators integrate inquiry-based learning using many different kinds of resources, from direct observation to web-oriented data or cams: http://www.birdsleuth.org/investigation/

There's no explicit plan in this current grant to address formal education environments. We agree it's a very interesting and fruitful area to work toward. Thanks for sharing your comments!

I can wait to check it out! We study the migration patterns and also human impact on the albatross in my marine biology class and I am looking forward to see if I can incorporate your resources. Thanks so much! 

Hi Julianne, it's thrilling to think about the potential for classrooms to engage in collaborative research with the cams. Although we are developing the project prototype for lifelong learners, if it's successful, we hope that the project can be developed to take life in classrooms someday. Even though our prototype will not be specifically designed for classrooms, it would be really interesting if any teachers would want their classes to participate, for example, by having teachers submit questions on behalf of the students, tuning in to some of the live Q&As, or having some of the same kinds of discussions as the adult participants around what is a testable question, etc. We know there will be a lot of kinks to work out in such a dynamic system, but if any teachers are interested in plugging in (potentially starting with feeder cams next fall and nest cams next spring), we would welcome it! Our email address is birdcams@cornell.edu.

Hello Alex-thanks for commenting. Right now that's exactly what we're working on refining! To begin we'll have open-ended commenting forums where observations and potential investigation topics can be discussed by both by staff experts and the viewing community. Polling and upvoting will reinforce topics that the community is interested in, and live Q&As from experts will allow more nuanced and personal discussions of the pros and cons of various questions, too. We imagine the final collaborative research questions to potentially be investigated by the community to rise organically through these discussions, at which point we'll ask participants to vote on a singular question to investigate. A similar process would occur for the design phase, and we hope to have interactive tools available to allow self-led data visualizations to explore the collected data and share novel interpretations. Some of the analysis may ultimately be the task of statistical experts for example, but the process is intended to be collaborative. 

Glad you & your daughter like the bird cams! Just getting ready to launch our hummingbird feeder cam this afternoon—check it out later today when it goes live at allaboutbirds.org/texashummers

Hi Jedda-thanks for the kind words! 
Right now the project is squarely aimed at informal science learning, so while educators might use the cams in the classroom and even have kids participate at some scale in the investigations, we've only really scratched the surface of what might be possible in those arenas. 

We've seen people from across the world feel a connection to the phenomena that are observable on camera. Many viewers didn't have any prior experience with birds and forged their first connections via these cameras. So, while there's definitely a bias to the global coverage of our cams, the focus really has been on what the birds are doing. In some cases (as with endangered species like the California Condor or the Bermuda Petrel), stories much more complex play out both on cam and in the periphery, with commentary and interventions from research scientists becoming part of the content that is streamed to the public. 

Ultimately, the model of co-created investigations is ripe for georgraphically-spread-out populations investigating many different topics, including those related to environmental justice, that are important to them. The only missing elements are the platform to converse, share, and investigate, and a data source that is more-or-less equally accessible to participants.

To your last point, our education program here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has created inquiry-oriented curriculum modules for educators to use with cams (http://www.birdsleuth.org/cams4educators/) and hosted webinars in the past to train educators in using the curriculum. They've also developed some albatross-specific content (http://www.birdsleuth.org/perfectday/) that goes along with a children's book that we released recently.  Finally (and more broadly) they've created resources for helping educators integrate inquiry-based learning using many different kinds of resources, from direct observation to web-oriented data or cams: http://www.birdsleuth.org/investigation/

Thanks for commenting & sharing your thoughts.

Jedda, I love your questions about linking the videos to observations in the real world, because we do hope that the cams inspire people to make connections with the birds outdoors and in their own neighborhoods. We do have qualitative information from our surveys that this is an outcome for some participants (e.g., teachers taking their classes outdoors and pointing out connections, whether looking for hawks passing overhead or, in cases locally here, even bringing classes to the cam site on the Cornell campus to see the very same hawks who are featured on our cam!). In one case we had a young teenager who had never seen a Great Blue Heron before, but connected with them on the cams, became an expert within the cam community, and then connected with herons in the wild. All of this has happened without explicit supports, and I think there is much more potential to foster such linkages.

Thanks David-

We're just getting underway right now, so it's hard to know how the role of "failure" will work out. A lot of the facilitation of the discussion will (i think) involve almost a teaching mentality of helping participants increase their awareness of the tools that are available to answer questions and how to frame answerable questions. Which isn't to stifle the brainstorming efforts that typically brew up some of the most interesting (but unanswerable) ideas! But to try to reinforce that question-asking itself is a skill, as is observation and communicating accurately about what is observed.  Ideally the first few iterations of this model will be successful in generating interesting data and outcomes, because that will probably be more engaging than otherwise. But as more investigations are undertaken and co-created investigations spread, the likelihood of a particular question not working out should become inevitable, and it will be interesting to see how invested communities react and move on. Thanks for the interesting thought!

David, I appreciate your question about failed science because messiness and failure are a part of authentic science. As Charles mentioned, we'll be supporting communities as best we can toward successful outcomes at the outset but as we build more of a critical mass of activity, we will surely run into obstacles to overcome or even dead-ends. It would be amazing if, in the future, this type of platform becomes a living laboratory with even more ownership by participants, perhaps with input from scientists when and if they choose to seek it. I like to imagine that such experiences wouldn't have to be curated as much by an institution behind it compared with these fledgling stages to establish a prototype. We've seen cases in the realm of wildlife cams where participants take initiative on their own to summarize and share data, and it would be a true success if someday people could initiate their own investigations using these new resources and tools.

"the circle of life!" ;-)

Thanks for considering the cams as part of the preschool curriculum, Tonja!

Thank you, Nancy! We're really happy any time the cams can reach kids in classrooms.

Hi Jennifer, thanks for sharing your past experiences with the cams and for expressing interest in our project! Being that these cams are 24 hour windows into the most intimate periods of birds' lives, there is an opportunity to unearth new discoveries (both through one-off observations and more structured investigations) that may not have been possible through typical research methods. We are really excited to start formative testing and eventually have people like yourself participating in co-created investigations. If you are interested in participating, consider signing up for our Bird Cams eNewsletter (http://dl.allaboutbirds.org/birdcams-enews-abtest) to ensure that you get an announcement when the project opens up to the public.

Good morning Ben,

I am very interested in participating in any way.  The possibilities are so exciting!  And I have many questions!  Thank you for the abtest link.  I do receive the regular AAB info, but signed up for this as well.

Hi Jennifer, thanks so much for your note--it's wonderful to hear how much you valued the greater degree of interaction before, and that you have been such a keen observer this whole time (along with screen caps!). Great that you have signed up for the Bird Cams eNews, and please feel free to email me at birdcams@cornell.edu; would love to stay in touch.

Great point, Kevin (I just popped over to watch your video as well—great project~!). One thing we know is that people are asking questions at various scales all the time while watching the live cams, and the big challenge in this first phase will be to develop tools, resources, and a culture that can be constructively critical enough to wind up with testable, interesting questions to continue working on. Thanks for the vote of support!

Thanks for sharing your observations and experiences watching the cams, Lois! Here's to many more years of learning about the birds together.

Thanks for your comments, Lois. I miss Ezra. We learned a lot from him and are learning a lot from Arthur. Your observations remind me of what a privilege it is to be able to witness a hawk's very first nesting season!

Muchas gracias, Randall! Creo que siempre es mas fácil a empezar algo cuando tiene cosas exteriores para motivar, y en este, las camaras tiene mucha fuerza a hablar con gente en cualquier parte del mundo. Ojala que puede poner un camara en Costa Rica para compartir los aves con todos que pueden ver. Pura vida!

Thanks Lamanda—

I've followed many of the Pittsburgh cams over the years and participated in some of the technical discussions about what kinds of tech to use. I like that you bring up the issue of patience, of watching together—these themes are pretty consistent across cameras and years, and really drive home the difference between watching curated content (like Planet Earth) vs. life unfolding. Thanks for your comments—looking forward to learning together online!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Anthony! It's inspiring to hear how the cams have had such an impact on your life, and we hope that this project will take that learning and discovery to the next step. We're excited to get the project out to the public so that cam viewers have the opportunity to participate soon! 

Thanks for commenting, Jessica. We're happy to hear that you're daughter enjoys the feeder cams; it sounds like she's on her way to becoming a promising young birder (it's never too early to start!). I just popped over to watch your video, and it looks like a great project as well!

Hi Carol, thanks for this thoughtful note about your experiences with introducing your grandchildren to the bird cams. We've heard a lot of stories like yours, both in educational and family settings, in which teachers and relatives inspire and motivate kids to learn about nature by watching the cams together. It speaks to the potential that they have to encourage younger generations to become more involved in science and in caring for the natural world, and we hope to extend our reach to these young folks as our program grows! Thanks again for sharing.

Hello Audrey, thanks for tuning into the Bird Cams ad for your thought comments! The Bird Cams are definitely a success thanks to viewers like yourself. Since we are trying to create an online space to encourage informal education and science, and you are an informal educator yourself, your thoughtful comments are great to read and we welcome any suggestions or advice you may have! Plus, once the Bird Cams Lab space is launched, we would love to see you there!