CitSciOzOnline EMCR: Researching With Citizen Scientists to Co-Design Technologies - Jessie Oliver
Channel: Australian Citizen Science Association
Date: 10/11/2020

Researching With Citizen Scientists to Co-Design Technologies that Support Saving Sneaky Wildlife Species


Technologies are central to citizen science, from interfaces of applications that collect and analyse data, to platform infrastructures. The design of such technologies influences how people participate and what they do. I will share an approach to designing technologies that illuminate opportunities, challenges, and practical considerations. Over the past several years I have worked closely with a species recovery team to explore how acoustic sensing and citizen science may support the conservation of brown, furtive, and endangered Eastern Bristlebirds. In this Lightning Talk, Queensland University of Technology Ph.D. Candidate Jessie Oliver talks about how she and conservationists and deployed acoustic sensors and explored data collected, which revealed barriers and opportunities for using audio recordings to support efforts to save the species. She also co-designed with citizen scientists to explore engaging and useful ways to interact with audio recordings. Collectively, this research revealed the importance of providing contextual experiences and creativity with audio.




ACSA's International Liasion and Founding Member, Jessie Oliver is passionate about engaging people with nature and saving species through ecology, science communication, and environmental education. She learned that citizen science could do all of this while working as an educator at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Realizing technology’s role today in communication and information sharing, Jessie delved into interdisciplinary PhD research at QUT exploring how to create technologies that are both fun for citizen scientists and informative for wildlife conservationists. During this research, she has worked closely with the Northern Working Group of the Eastern Bristlebird Recovery Team to trial acoustic sensing with bristlebirds to better understand technological needs for supporting conservation of the species. 

Twitter: @JessieLOliver
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessieloliver
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jessica_Oliver3
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3464-0247