EASI

EASI

EASI

EASI

EASI

a free web database application for collecting and managing

monitoring records

EASI

Since 1997, volunteers with the Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps (PaSEC) have stored the records of their stream investigations in a web site, using a web-enabled database. Back then, this was quite a trick. The World Wide Web itself was just three or so years old, and databases on the web were new... especially for non-profit citizen groups.

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By 2005, the old database had collected more than 370,000 measurements of stream health:

• physical and chemical characteristics, • habitat assessments, and

• surveys of water-dependent organisms.

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Enter "MonitorAnything"

a software application for collecting and managing monitoring records, with improvements for greater

efficiency and more capability.

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This is the first open-source database that allows the individual user to monitor any environmental parameters and observations they want to keep a record of, from the amount of dissolved oxygen in a stream to the number of eaglets that were fledged off the nest.

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Truly, this tool will for the first time allow users around the world to share their observations and exchange information on any and all environmental events.

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MonitorAnything is integrated with a free, open-source content-management system, allowing monitoring efforts to be associated with one another and with other information in a standard web hosting environment.

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Flexibility

MonitorAnything can store data• for any parameters, • for any sites,• with any site characteristics, • for any number of monitoring events.

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Getting started

Log in, then go to the PaSEC Database

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Add a site

Use the Add a New Monitoring Site option to create a record for a monitoring site.

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Add data (1)

• Click on a site in the left-hand column, click on a monitoring suite in the right column, then click GO.

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Add data (2)

This event record has a Draft status

until it is submitted

and approved. Go

ahead and change

status to Approved to

publish the data.

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Remove a monitoring record

• On the list of monitoring event records, choose the “Edit” link to edit the record, then change its status to Archived and click Submit.

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View Reports

• Click on a site in the left-hand column to select a site

• Click on a report in the right column.• Then click the GO button.

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Change site filter

Use this option at the bottom of the View Reports or Add Data screens to

change the list of sites you see.

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Biosurvey report

The biosurvey report shows the number of each observed organism, plus summary statistics. Choose configure to change

dates.

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Charts and Reports

Charts may be customized. Select the graph type and which parameters to chart.

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Raw data may also be dumped as comma-separated text for importing to spreadsheets or other database software.

Export for Excel

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Add new parameters

Administrators may add new monitoring parameters and modify or delete existing parameters.

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Add new protocols

• Protocols may be shared across parameters

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Use multiple protocols• Each monitoring

parameter may be linked to one or more monitoring protocols.

• Each protocol includes its own validation rules for quality assurance, and metadata about the protocol.

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Rules can be very specific

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Suites of Protocols• Parameter/

protocol pairs are assigned to "suites" of monitoring parameters.

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Suites (2)• Individual groups may assemble their

own suites for special purposes.

• A suite may be copied, renamed and reused.

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Fine-grained permissions

A permissions system allows users to submit proposals for new parameters, protocols and suites, which may be reviewed by group coordinators before being approved and made available for use.

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Parameters and suites are flexible enough to use for just about any kind of monitoring, not just water.

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Help Desk

The help desk lets you post a trouble ticket or feature request where responses can be tracked.

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Help Desk (2)

Make sure you give specific details about where your issue occurs.

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Support

Support resources are limited. We can't promise one-on-one support, but we provide several ways for you to obtain support online:

• Frequently asked questions• Documentation• Web forum for peer support• Downloads of current versions

http://easi.org/monitor/

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You can help make it even better

MonitorAnything was developed by the non-profit Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement (EASI) with funding from grants and contracts, and with countless hours of testing and feedback by volunteers. It is a free software package, and users are encouraged to make improvements and contribute them back to the MonitorAnything project.

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Did we mention it’s free?

MonitorAnything runs as a plug-in module for the popular open-source PostNuke content managment system. It can be run on personal computers or in most standard web hosting environments costing from $10 to $30 per month.

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MonitorAnything is brought to you by

The Environmental Alliancefor Senior Involvementhttp://easi.org/monitor/

with sponsorship from

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Andy Alm <andy@almlet.net>

For more information about

MonitorAnything

or to download the software to install on your PostNuke site, see

http://easi.org/monitor

or contact