Dataset Information

An open source web application for distributed geospatial data exploration.

ABSTRACT: The number of online data repositories is growing and they are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Data are scattered among different repositories, or hidden on personal or institutional servers. To access data, users must search extensively and rely on site-specific tools. These hurdles substantially inhibit data findability and accessibility; in particular, those in the long tail of data. We developed an open source web application, Spatial Data Hub, that is a geospatial data index, connected to remote Internet sources. It allows simultaneous display and comparison of disparate datasets on a single map. It aims to promote all data equally and provide the flexibility to connect to any storage system, effectively making long-tail datasets as visible as those in large, established repositories. Its low barrier of entry allows scientists and organizations to easily add data throughout the research process; enhancing transparency, openness and reproducibility. This flexibility and functionality makes Spatial Data Hub a novel platform for researchers to promote their work, develop new hypotheses and create new collaborations.

SUBMITTER: Curry PA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6371891 | biostudies-other | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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An open source web application for distributed geospatial data exploration.

Curry Patrick A PA Moosdorf Nils N

Scientific data 20190212

The number of online data repositories is growing and they are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Data are scattered among different repositories, or hidden on personal or institutional servers. To access data, users must search extensively and rely on site-specific tools. These hurdles substantially inhibit data findability and accessibility; in particular, those in the long tail of data. We developed an open source web application, Spatial Data Hub, that is a geospatial data index, c ...[more]

PMID: 30747919

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Project description:Learning biology, and in particular systematics, requires learning a substantial amount of specific vocabulary, both for botanical and zoological studies. While crucial, the precise identification of structures serving as evolutionary traits and systematic criteria is not per se a highly motivating task for students. Teaching this in a traditional teaching setting is quite challenging especially with a large crowd of students to be kept engaged. This is even more difficult if, as during the COVID-19 crisis, students are not allowed to access laboratories for hands-on observation on fresh specimens and sometimes restricted to short-range movements outside their home. Here, we present QuoVidi, a new open-source web platform for the organization of large-scale treasure hunts. The platform works as follows: students, organized in teams, receive a list of quests that contain morphologic, ecologic, or systematic terms. They have to first understand the meaning of the quests, then go and find them in the environment. Once they find the organism corresponding to a quest, they upload a geotagged picture of their finding and submit this on the platform. The correctness of each submission is evaluated by the staff. During the COVID-19 lockdown, previously validated pictures were also submitted for evaluation to students that were locked in low-biodiversity areas. From a research perspective, the system enables the creation of large image databases by the students, similar to citizen science projects. Beside the enhanced motivation of students to learn the vocabulary and perform observations on self-found specimens, this system allows instructors to remotely follow and assess the work performed by large numbers of students. The interface is freely available, open-source and customizable. Unlike existing naturalist platforms, allows the educators to fully customize the quests of interest. This enables the creation of multiple teaching scenarios, without being bound to a fixed scope. QuoVidi can be used in other disciplines with adapted quests and we expect it to be of interest in many classroom settings.

Dataset Information

An open source web application for distributed geospatial data exploration.

Publications

An open source web application for distributed geospatial data exploration.

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