Creating Additional Content for Macro.org

by Jamie Dorst, REU, Carnegie Mellon

Hi! My name is Jamie Dorst, and I’m a new Research Assistant on the Learning to See, Seeing to Learn project. Most of my responsibilities so far have been content related, such as creating an updated landing page, annotating illustrations, and creating an expansive Trichoptera info sheet for the family level training led by Stroud Research Center last November. I worked with Tara to put together a handout for participants showcasing all the caddisflies in our collection. I’ve really enjoyed my time on the team so far!

My latest project has been to create an interactive digital dichotomous key, which has been really interesting. Analog keys are very commonly used, but we felt that a key utilizing our resources could be extremely useful. We wanted to make a key that was easy to navigate, and incorporated our images and information.  I started by laying a key out based on the Stroud key, placed our images into it, and then created clickable pop ups that people can use to help move through the key. With this tool, people can identify their insects, and simultaneously learn about the characteristics they have. It’s been super interesting for me to work on this and learn about how to make it really well designed. The next step is to create an interaction for the actual website, which I’ll be working on soon.

In the meantime, here's a preview of drafts of a few of the images!

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