Map of Life, An Application Developed In Yale And University of Florida Awarded Best App for Teaching & Learning

An application, Map of Life, developed by joints efforts of Yale University and University of Florida was awarded as Best App for Teaching & Learning for 2016.

Map of Life was named 2016 Best App for Teaching & Learning by the American Association of School Librarians in the annual conference held of the American Library Association held in Orlando, Florida last June 25, 2016. During the said event, applications with "exceptional value to inquiry-based teaching and learning" were given credit and award, Yale News reported.

The application gathers information from multiple data sources that describes the distribution of species worldwide. The knowledge acquired from the sources is made available to the users. The application contains details about biodiversity and is able to tell users which species can be found in the area. There are also details in the form of text and photos that helps in identifying and learning about the species. Another feature of the app is that it allows users to create their own personal observation list to be contributed to research and conservation efforts.

Map of Life contains geographical information that is essential in understanding the services offered by nature and the potential changes it may undergo. This application is built on a web platform that is ready for large environmental and biodiversity data. The application provider does their best to provide the best-possible range of species information for all geographical area. It aims to support global biodiversity education, research and monitoring, as described in Map of Life's official website.

The data, which includes species range maps, ecoregions, protected areas, and species occurrence points came from large providers such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Global Biodiversity Information Facility(GBIF). The data are stored, backed up, managed, and accessed through the use of a hosted cloud instance.