Tools
On this page you'll find a set of tools that we hope will engage learners and inspire new ways of learning about biodiversity. We aim to create tools that provide rich examples of the types of educational applications that are possible with the Encyclopedia of Life and related activities. Building these tools should help to define open and standardized methodologies and data structures that are accessible and extensible by others.
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Education LifeDesks
A LifeDesk is an online environment that provides a collaborative space for creating, editing, and publishing web pages of species information. LifeDesks can be used in a variety of ways including publishing to EOL. Check out the Education LifeDesk site.
EOL Undergraduate Initiative: Students in college biology classes may be able to contribute to EOL species pages under close supervision. Professors serve as curators of student contributions. Go to EOL Undergraduate Initiative page to learn more.
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NameLink
NameLink is a beta-level service offered by EOL that allows you to submit a webpage address and have the taxon names within the page automatically identified and linked up to projects which have information about those names. Developers can easily embed this functionality within their own webpages by using the NameTag API. To find out more, go to the NameLink page.
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Cool Iris
The Encyclopedia of Life website now has an RSS media feed that supports third-party applications such as Cooliris, software that transforms Internet browsers into a fast, cinematic way to experience online photos and videos. The Cooliris "3D Wall" lets users fly through thousands of items in a flash. To enjoy Cooliris on the EOL site, download the plug-in at www.cooliris.com. Once on a species page, simply click on the icon for an incredible view of the images.
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Observer Cards
Observer Cards are designed to foster the art and science of observing nature. Sets of cards are organized around families of plants, animals, and fungi and provides information about key traits and techniques necessary to make accurate and useful scientific observations. We are currently developing sets for ants, frogs and bees. If you are interested in helping to develop Observer Cards, please contact us.
View an example set of Ant Cards.
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Whyreef
Dive into marine biology with WhyReef. Developed by EOL cornerstone institution, The Field Museum in Chicago, in conjunction with the social networking site WhyVille, WhyReef is a virtual coral reef stocked with species that are linked to content on EOL. You can find educational resources for Whyreef here. Check out their new Conservation Connection program, a digital learning program for teens.
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Google Earth Species Quiz
Eduardo Garcia-Milagros has created an innovative species quiz that works within Google Earth. The questions ask where in the world various species can be found. When the correct answer is chosen, Google Earth will zoom into a region where the species lives. To try it out, make sure that you first have installed Google Earth on your computer Then simply download this file and double-click on it to open the quiz.
PLEASE NOTE: Mac users need to upgrade to Google Earth version 5.2 or higher for the tour to work properly.
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