Category
APPS FOR UNIVERSITIES
More and more universities are using mobile apps to teach biodiversity and to support species identification during field excursions. Sunbird Images has many years of experience in collaborating with academic institutions. Our apps are frequently used in biology and environmental science courses to complement lectures and practical fieldwork.
Several of our educational apps, including Bird Song Id USA, Tree Id USA, Bird Id USA and Wildflower Id USA, have been used at PRATT Institute in New York. In Europe, apps such as Tree Id and Bird Song Id have supported students during field excursions and helped them prepare for species identification examinations at universities in the UK and Switzerland.
In addition to existing learning tools, Sunbird Images provides custom university app development for biodiversity teaching. These solutions range from focused learning apps for specific courses to complex platforms for planning and coordinating scientific fieldwork, including data analysis support. For example, we are currently developing a customised app that includes a learning quiz and project coordination tools for research teams working in biodiversity hotspots at the universities of UNELLEZ and Valencia in Venezuela.
universities
LECTURES & CLASSES
During a DAAD guest lectureship, Georg and Peter visited several institutes at UNELLEZ in San Carlos and the University of Valencia in Venezuela. They participated in courses, supported field classes, and helped design teaching concepts and project structures.
Since 2003, Georg and Peter have also collaborated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama on studies of pollination ecology in lowland rainforests. In Venezuela, they carried out multiple expeditions to evaluate suitable locations for field courses and scientific research projects.
Pollination biology plays a key role in understanding and conserving tropical ecosystems. Therefore, local education and research are essential. Developing effective teaching concepts and scientific project structures is particularly important, especially in a country with such contrasting habitats. Venezuela ranges from treeless páramo and elfin forest to mountain cloud forest, lowland rainforest and Caribbean coastal regions.
These experiences form the foundation for our custom university app development for biodiversity teaching, ensuring that digital tools support real ecological learning environments.
Sunbird Apps
Scientific Field Guide with database
The participating institutes in San Carlos and Valencia are in need of a versatile digital system to assist in the planning, execution, and evaluation of scientific field studies as well as student courses. This system is to be embedded in cross-regional research projects and enable a standardized collection and evaluation of data. At the same time, it should enable grading and
Futures
Core functions of the app will be:
- Identification keys for different pollinator groups like beetles, butterflies, euglossine bees, birds, and bats with detailed species accounts for each animal and the plants that depend on them
Identification key for plants with detailed species accounts including information on specific UV–patterns
- Map function for planning research, with the possibility to enter and edit transects and study sites
- Mapping function to enter sightings, also as a combination of pollinator and plant
- Form for recording scientific observations in the field. The form will allow to select predefined entries and allow free text entries also
- Database connection for a central evaluation of the respective observations and results
- Learning quiz for students, with editable content by the instructors
- Examination function, where students have an individual login for performance review and grading. Students can also use this function to take a final exam for the course. The contents and course objectives are determined and edited by the course instructors
