| Sandwatch Online Database |
Training in the Sandwatch International Database
________________________________________ Sandwatch Online Database launched and ready for useThe database was launched in Mauritius on 20th March 2013. Now this long awaited tool is ready for use. The database will:
Are you ready to start using the Sandwatch International Database? There are a few steps will need to take before you can get started:
1. Take a look at the following list of types of users for the database and decide which one you are: A. Member of a Sandwatch Group: - Beach Administrator: as a Beach Administrator you are the Sandwatch leader at your school or for your group and responsible for the data entered for your beach - Beach Editor: as a Beach Editor you can load and edit data for your beach - Beach Viewer: as a Beach Viewer you can view all data and contact information for your beach B. Non-member of Sandwatch Group:
- Guest: as a Guest you will be able to view data but you will not be able to see restricted information such as contact information for Sandwatch groups
2. If you are the leader of your Sandwatch group and wish to register as a Beach Administrator, or if you wish to register as a Guest, send an email to
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to obtain a user name and password. In your email please provide the following information:
- Your first and last name
- Name of your Sandwatch Group, if applicable
- What type of user will you be for the database (see point 1 above)
If you are a Beach Editor or a Beach Viewer, then ask your Sandwatch group leader (Beach Administrator) for a user name and password.
3. Once you have received your user name and password go to https://sandwatchdb.org/beachdata and login using your user name and password.
4. Once you are logged in, click on the Help button on the main menu in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Then hover your mouse over Tutorials and select the Getting Started tutorial. The tutorial will open in a new window and give you directions on how to navigate the database.
* If you have any questions or comments about the database please send an email to
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sandwatch Online Database Design Progresses
On Saturday, Sept 24th, 2011 immediately after UNESCO’s Experts Meeting on Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development and Adaptation in Small Island Developing States (Sept 21-23, 2011), Sandwatch Directors, Dr. Gillian Cambers (Melbourne, Australia) and Paul Diamond (Nevis, West Indies) met with Hans Thulstrup (UNESCO HQ Paris) and Dr. David Gray (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Miami, to go over the prototype of the new online Sandwatch database.
Heading the design team is Dr. Gray who has succeed with the generous assistance of the technical staff at UNESCO HQ in Paris in installing a working Beta-version of the database on their server.
However, much work remains to be done before the database is to be unveiled and ready for Sandwatchers globally to use, hence the meeting of key staffer in Miami.
Questions of site security are still be resolved as are who will have authority to create/edit/change/delete users and data etc. It is an extremely complex task to make the database not only secure but also easy to use.
Hopefully most of these problems were ironed out during the Miami meeting and the next working version of the database should be up and running before the end of this year, although it likely wont be available to general users until early next year. A small group of Sandwatchers worldwide will be given advanced access to the program before general release, so that any problems with it can be identified and fixed. So stay tuned for further developments!
The Sandwatch Database Launch Plan
The Sandwatch Database will provide a central repository for the data collected by Sandwatch Groups. The Database will provide secure storage for the data. It will make the information collected available to a wider audience and will allow for comparisons of data trends for beaches in different geographical areas. This will provide a unique source of information for monitoring how climate change is affecting beaches around the world. Members of Sandwatch Groups will access the Database over the Internet through a web browser. The user software will use the Adobe Flash Player that can be freely downloaded and is probably being used by many of you already for viewing other Internet sites. This allows us to provide you with software that will function with any current browser and computer and have features that will be responsive and easy to use. The Database is being designed to hold all the information you collect for your beach. As well as storing basic descriptive information on your group and your beach you will be able to upload and store pictures, beach profiles, weather data, and water quality data. The software will include access to Google Maps. You will be able to store the coordinates for your beach but a viewer will be able to move around the area as with any other Google Maps application.
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