For any explorer or scientist in the field, their journal is the most important tool. It doesn’t carry the same utility as a knife or a scientific instrument, but the journal is a critical navigation device. Not for magnetic north, or a precise GPS fix, but for the explorer to organize and record their own observations. It’s a tool to make sense of the world.

Observational skill — intense, acute skill — can take years, if not a lifetime, to develop. The actual, physical journal has traditionally been the workbook. The canvas to hone the craft of watching closely and noticing patterns and connections.

As the tools for citizen science and exploration continue to improve, we saw an opportunity to reimagine the field journal for the digital age. Of course, the smartphones and digital cameras are important new documentation tools, none of them live up to being the journal we’d imagine. That’s why we’re building OpenExplorer; to capture the unfolding narratives, organize observations, as well as share and learn from one another.

Here’s what we think is important:

1) Context
Looking over the journals and notes from previous generations of explorers, the most important parts of an entry is the metadata provided: the date, the location, the relation to other entries. The wonderful part about using new technologies is that information is easily captured. The challenge becomes conveying that information in a way that’s unobtrusive and coherent.

2) Collaboration
Citizen scientists and explorers have a lot to learn. The act of sharing your work in public can help us all learn faster. By showing the process, it’s easy for others to see models, learn the basics, and avoid common mistakes. Similar to what Instructables.com has done for makers and making, we can create a community of fast learners.

3) Simplicity
The field journal has survived for centuries for one reason: it works. It doesn’t take a masters degree to keep a field journal. You don’t need an expensive piece of equipment. It just works, as long as you use it. A digital field journal should be equally simple, yet even more useful.

What do you think? What would you add to this list?