From Screen to Science: Advancing Research Through Digital Volunteering

Authors

• Richard J. McMullanFollow
• Cam'ryn WilliamsonFollow
• Jace PereiraFollow
• Sanya KakkarFollow
• Katlyn TaylorFollow

Streaming Media

Files

Course Code

LDR

Course Number

2002

Faculty/Instructor

Dr. Haley Winston

Faculty/Instructor Email

Haley.Winston@ucf.edu

About the Author

Our group—Cam’ryn Williamson, Jace Pereira, Katlyn Taylor, Richard McMullan, and Sanya Kakkar—is part of the University of Central Florida’s LEAD Scholars Academy. As students in LDR2002, we are committed to developing our leadership skills through service, reflection, and community engagement. For the Amy Zeh High Impact Student Showcase submission, we are highlighting our volunteer work with Zooniverse, a platform that allows students to contribute to real scientific research through digital service. We would like to thank the LEAD Scholars faculty for their guidance and support throughout this project, as well as the Zooniverse research teams whose work made our service-learning experience possible. Their contributions have helped us better understand the impact of collaborative service and the role students can play in supporting meaningful research.

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

The purpose of this project was to contribute to real-world research by being a part of a large community and engaging with specific organizations. We helped classify images, data, and focused on key topics such as environmental conversation and scientific discoveries.   Zooniverse made it extremely accessible to finish projects and analyze data in a short amount of time. better understand wildlife populations and ecological changes.

Key activities included identifying certain animals/plants, reviewing images in space, and exploring new species I hadn't know about before. Zooniverse helped me gain many skills, such as paying more attention to detail and consistency. One key thing our group learned was the importance of contributing to the scientific community and helping in certain research projects. Zooniverse is a way to engage within our community, and help us gain more knowledge about wildfire and our ecosystem.

Overall, this experience showed me how effective it can be to be a part of Zooniverse and make a big impact on the scientific community

Additional Resources

Kegan R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). (1996). A social change model of leadership development guidebook (Version III). Los Angeles, CA: University of California, Los Angeles, Higher Education Research Institute.

Keywords

Service Learning; Volunteering; LEAD; Zooniverse; UCF; Leadership; Amy Zeh

Recommended Citation

McMullan, Richard J.; Williamson, Cam'ryn; Pereira, Jace; Kakkar, Sanya; and Taylor, Katlyn, "From Screen to Science: Advancing Research Through Digital Volunteering" (2026). High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026. 27.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2026spring/27