Leafsnap: By Columbia University, University of Maryland, and Smithsonian Institution

I love being in the outdoors amongst nature – but then who doesn’t? I also have a fascination for all things technological. Sadly, all too often these two passions are incompatible. For as us techie-lovers know, too many an hour can be spent cooped up inside staring at a computer screen.

The emergence of the smartphone now means that we can effectively carry powerful little computers around in our pockets. Programmers have sought to exploit this new technology and let citizen scientists get more involved.

Hot on the heels of MoGo and SoundAroundYou, Columbia University and the University of Maryland teamed up to create a new iPhone app called Leafsnap. Seeking to use smartphone technology to engage people in their environment, it promises to answer to that question, “I wonder what type of tree that is?,” when you don’t have anyone to ask.

Utilizing visual recognition technology and an Internet-enabled smartphone, the Leafsnap app identifies plant species with the phone’s built-in camera. I was excited by this prospect, and so tearing myself away from the laptop (iPhone in hand), I set out into the great outdoors to put Leafsnap through its paces. Here’s what I found:

Leafsnap performed well on both an iPhone and iPad; it is easy to use and boasts a wealth of great features. After “snapping” and uploading an image of a tree’s leaf, you are presented with a list of likely candidates. Bark, flower and leaf images and accompanying facts then let you work out if Leafsnap has found your tree. Your findings are saved and placed on a world map, letting you see what other people have also spotted in your area. I never knew the Yoshino Cherry tree grew in our part of the world!

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Click to watch a Mole Bridge tutorial.

This guest post was contributed by Dr. Stuart Farrimond, a science teacher at Wiltshire College in the United Kingdom. Check out all of Dr. Stu’s Reviews!

Video games: Do you love them or loathe them? When I was a teenager, I couldn’t get enough of them. Nowadays, I find it difficult to get excited about whiling away an hour with a joypad. Now might be a time for a rethink…

Recently, I wrote a post that reviewed a new generation of computer games where the results of your gaming actually contribute to real science! Now, there is a new kid on the block from Finland!

Click to watch a Mole Hunt tutorial.

It’s a citizen science project called Digitalkoot, and it’s based on word puzzle games where you must try to decipher letters and words. There a two versions, Mole Hunt and Mole Bridge, both with video tutorials to get you started. Short sequences of letters and words appear on the screen, and you have to correctly work out the identity of the letters. But don’t forget: the clock is ticking! The faster you do it, the more moles you save. And the more moles you save, the higher the score you get!
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This guest post was contributed by Dr. Stuart Farrimond, a science teacher at Wiltshire College in the United Kingdom.

If you’ve ever felt like you could be an undiscovered genius, then today’s blog post is for you!

Get ready to use your grey matter to push back the boundaries of science… by playing video games! If you think you could be the next Einstein (without the hair, of course), just put down that Sudoku and take a look at these computer games. You never know, you just might help discover the cure for cancer (seriously)!

Now, a new way of crowdsourcing our brain power has arrived. No longer do you need to feel guilty for playing Angry Birds because now you can indulge your puzzle gaming passion for a good cause. By doing some online puzzles, you can unwittingly do some of the problem solving that scientists don’t have the time to do. And take heart because researchers have even discovered that members of the public are just as good as professionals at solving even the most complex of problems!

5. Old Weather: Help Predict Global Warming

Do you enjoy history? Do you like trying to decipher and decode riddles? If so, then Old Weather could be up your street.

After registering online at the Old Weather website, you “climb aboard” a World War I Royal Navy warship. You are tasked with reading and deciphering a scanned image of the ship’s weather log. As you and other online players simultaneously track work out through the ship’s journey, you can watch the warship move across the globe, your efforts being shown on a world map for all to see!

Good For: history buffs, environmentally-minded crossword fans, and nautical enthusiasts.

Play Old Weather!

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