Lesson plan
ISpot
iSpot was a website developed and hosted by the Open University with funding from the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network with an online community intended to connect nature enthusiasts of all levels. Registered users upload images of wildlife observations, identify species, and discuss their findings with other members. This was intended to provide opportunities to learn more about the wildlife they have observed, and also provided a database of observations which is made available for scientific analysis. The site also provided some online identification tools. In 2026, the Open University management decided it could no longer support iSpot, and iSpot was decommissioned on Thursday 11 June 2026.
Article summary
iSpot was a website developed and hosted by the Open University with funding from the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network with an online community intended to connect nature enthusiasts of all levels. Registered users upload images of wildlife observations, identify species, and discuss their findings with other members. This was intended to provide opportunities to learn more about the wildlife they have observed, and also provided a database of observations which is made available for scientific analysis. The site also provided some online identification tools. In 2026, the Open University management decided it could no longer support iSpot, and iSpot was decommissioned on Thursday 11 June 2026.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.