Online Learning Tools

… for citizen science monitoring of water systems

These online learning materials aim to help learning and training in citizen science tools for monitoring of water systems, including streams, rivers, wetlands, and estuaries. They were developed as part of a research project (C2022/2023-00841) funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC) in South Africa. All the materials listed below are open source and are free for anyone to use. However, the original creators need to be acknowledged when the content used. Please use the following suggested reference: Russell, C., Sithole, N., Tshabalala, G., Kotze, D., and Taylor, J. 2024. Citizen science online training and learning system. Water Research Commission (WRC) Report No. TT 933/23, Pretoria, South Africa. Available at https://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/TT%20933%20final%20web.pdf 

Tools in the WRC citizen science toolbox:

Click here for an infographic guide to using these online learning materials.

For each of these tools a short summary has been created. This guide hopes to provide basic instructions on how the tool can be used to collect biomonitoring data. To access these summaries, please click on your chosen language next to the tools listed below.

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Through the citizen science work that GroundTruth is involved in we have highlighted the following citizen science tools that add value to the information that is captured using the tools in the WRC toolbox.

Complementary citizen science tools:

iNaturalist

Dragonfly Biodiversity Index (DBI)

E. coli Water Test

More detailed learning material

in the form of picture-based notes, instructional videos, and suggested quiz questions has been developed for the following Tools:

miniSASS Learning Content

Clarity Tube Learning Content

Velocity Plank Learning Content

miniWET-Health Learning Content

Dragonfly Biotic Index Learning Content

E. coli Water Test Learning Content

A guide for facilitators has been developed, it was compiled using the summarised results from the research into the piloting of the online learning materials. It introduces the user to the key concepts that were used to create the materials, and includes descriptions of activities that add value to the learning process.