James White

Joined: Sep 5, 2020 Last Active: Jan 2, 2024 iNaturalist Monthly Supporter since November 2020

I am a Professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA and have been teaching mycology courses for over 34 years. We have transformed the mycology courses here to a much more self-learning format with more time in natural areas looking at and identifying fungi. It is an interesting transformation of mycology courses. iNaturalist is a useful learning tool for mushrooms because students need to evaluate the correctness of iNaturalist suggestions for identifications. The mycologists in the iNaturalist community also help significantly with identifications. I am also able to follow students to give them some tips in identification. Essentially, I can give each student personalized assistance as they learn about fungi. It is more work than the 'in group classes' approach, but may be better for the student. I would have loved to have this personal attention when I was taking mycology courses years ago.

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