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OrcaSound Public Outreach

Public outreach:
  • My overall experience with this project is positive. It only took a quick google search and then some playing around with search filters to find an interesting citizen science project. I'm not exactly sure if this project is actively advertised but it is easily searchable. One thing that I would change about the project is making sure the audio training files are offered in several formats so everyone can participate regardless of their computer software specifications. Also, making the training mandatory would increase the barrier of entry but would also make sure participants aren't misinterpreting sounds.
  • I think the educational aspect of this project is the strongest piece of it. Computer software can mostly do a better job at picking up natural sounds than humans can so long as the sounds are similar to ones recorded before. Combine that with the fact that you don't really have to pay a computer program and humans quickly become obsolete. However, the goal of OrcaSound isn't only to alert researchers of the presence of certain species, OrcaSound also strives to educate the public about the prevalence of noise pollution and its damaging effects on wildlife. 
  • I think that this project is mostly about public education that data collection. There will be valuable data gathered from these hydrophones, like the presence of certain species, but the real value is in teaching people about the invisible threats that ocean dwellers face. I don't really see any problems with this approach as long as funds for actual research are allocated towards public education. There should be enough grants/donations to allow OrcaSound to continue educating the public without drawing from research monies.
  • All in all, this is a very strong project. However, I would improve the audio listening experience by adding an alert system to the hydrophones. If computer software or another human listener picks up on some activity on one of the hydrophones then an alert in the form of a push notification on an app could be sent out so other participants could listen in. 

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