Ios Applications for Water Quality Data Collection and Education.

Software development for Apple’s iPhone is relatively easy because the  interface, navigation, and photo capture capability are built into the software development kit.  In addition, iPhones and 4G equipped iPads have GPS capabilities that are also built into the operating system.  Taking advantage of these features, a water quality monitoring database was built to capture information from a campus rain garden.  Students in two courses were instructed on the use of the application and throughout the semester small groups of students collected water quality data at weekly intervals throughout the semester.  Utilizing the applicaiton site data (location, time, photo) werecollected via iPhone or iPad, and water quality parameters were manually transferred from the probes to the application interface. This case study will describe the application, its deployment, compilation of acquired data, and students’ experience.