iNaturalist

I was reading Larry Ferlazzo's blog and he mentioned Inaturalist.  With this app you and your students can take a picture of something in nature like a Monarch butterfly and with some information about where and when you took the picture etc, you and your students will be able to contribute to a real world science project.

From the Inaturalist website, "One of the world’s most popular nature apps, iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a community of over 750,000 scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! What’s more, by recording and sharing your observations, you’ll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. iNaturalist is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society."

Here is a link to the teachers guide and you can click here to the page on getting started.  If you happen to be taking your class out on a field trip, this might be a great activity to do in conjunction with your trip.  See the video below.