MonitorAnything - Free Web Database Application for Monitoring Records

5. a free web database application for collecting and managing monitoring records

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Enter "MonitorAnything" a software application for collecting and managing monitoring records, with improvements for greater efficiency and more capability.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

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

13. Getting started 2 1 Log in, then go to the PaSEC Database

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

15. Add data (1) • Click on a site in the left-hand column, click on a monitoring suite in the right column, then click GO.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

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

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

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

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

24. Add new protocols • Protocols may be shared across parameters

25. 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.

26. Rules can be very specific

27. Suites of Protocols • Parameter/ protocol pairs are assigned to "suites" of monitoring parameters.

28. Suites (2) • Individual groups may assemble their own suites for special purposes. • A suite may be copied, renamed and reused.

29. 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.

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

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

32. Help Desk (2) Make sure you give specific details about where your issue occurs.

33. 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/

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. MonitorAnything is brought to you by The Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement http://easi.org/monitor/ with sponsorship from

37. For more information about MonitorAnything or to download the software to install on your PostNuke site, see http://easi.org/monitor or contact Andy Alm <andy@almlet.net>