Using the iNaturalist app in biological research and education

Introduction: iNaturalist is an application for the detection and identification of organisms and communication between users, aimed at both amateur and professional scientists. Aim: This master thesis should give an insight into the usefulness of the application in education and research through different methods. Methods: We used a few different methods in this research. Through various article search engines – Nature, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar – we searched for research papers that used the iNaturalist app in the classroom environment. The articles found were then reviewed and a cross-section of methods and results obtained by foreign researchers was created. Another method was to test the usage of the app in school. We took advantage of the school's participation in the Forgenius project, which focused on gaining insights into the diversity of European forests and their resilience to climate change – here we saw great potential for using the iNaturalist app. The app was then implemented in another elementary school, where we adapted the way of working according to feedback from teachers, students and pupils who were present during the first implementation. The third method was to review the observations recorded in Slovenia – in this way we gained insight into the groups of organisms most commonly observed by users in our country. The last, fourth method was an interview. We selected a group of users who have recorded observations of organisms of the genus Mantis since the application was created. We contacted these users through the iNaturalist website and invited them to participate in an interview where we obtained information about their education, hobbies, occupation, and how they record and determine data. Results: In total, we found 13 unique searches about the use of the iNaturalist application in education on various article search engines. We found that a common method of use was conducting BioBlitz’s and using the application with students to increase knowledge of taxonomy and improve attitudes toward nature. Awareness of the importance of biodiversity was also frequently promoted. We were successful in our attempts to use the app in a school setting. The application was interesting for both students and teachers. During the activity, students acquired new knowledge about the names of plants and other organisms, and some students indicated that they would like to use the app outside of the school context. For the third objective, we collected data on species recorded in Slovenia. We found that over 60,000 observations had been recorded in Slovenia by April 2022, more than half of which were marked “research grade”. We also found that the observations concerned over 5,300 species, among which plants and insects predominate. In the last objective, where we gained insight into users recording representatives of the order of praying mantis, we found that users mainly used the application as a method to store their observations and deepen their knowledge. In most cases, respondents were invited to use the app by an acquaintance, and we also found that the vast majority used biological keys and other tools to identify organisms. Discussion and Conclusion: iNaturalist is an application that is rapidly gaining traction for both professionals and laypeople. The number of research papers investigating the educational benefits of the application is increasing, although the number of articles is still too small. The authors of the articles often focus on events such as the BioBlitz, since these are already an established practice to which it is very convenient and efficient to add an ICT aspect. It might be smart to consider the usefulness of the application in the school context and advise teachers on how and where to incorporate it into their learning process. We see that the use of technology in the classroom is attractive and often used "just because it is new." Of course, teachers need to ask themselves where it makes sense and where it does not, and a set of materials will greatly help them in these decisions and planning. iNaturalist already has some materials and tips for teachers on their website, but most of them are written in English. With this application we can bring a lot of good into the classroom, both in knowledge and in stimulating the emotional side of the students. The current state of biodiversity and climate change shows us how important it is that we change our behaviour, and the easiest place to start is with our children. Encouraging them to develop positive feelings towards nature and natural diversity is one of the first steps we can take towards a better and more sustainable environment