Virtual citizen science (VCS) uses computer-mediated interaction (usually a Web-based platform) to enable the public to work with professional scientists conducting research. However, there is currently a lack of research about the core features of VCS projects. This would aid professional scientists in engaging in best practices for creating their own VCS projects. This research presents a pilot study applying usability-based categories towards the creation a VCS classification scheme. We selected categories from the literature empirically related to the usability of commercial and non-commercial websites. Two independent sets of judges rated the extent to which certain forms of technology were manifested in VCS projects and how well the VCS projects reflected the usability principles. We used Zooniverse, a collection of different VCS projects that share a common brand. This allows us to study a diverse but integrated sample of typical VCS projects from the Zooniverse.

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Digital environments are one of the newest methods of resource‐ and program‐creation to be added to the museum toolkit, and are increasingly employed by museums across all fields to support learning. Unfortunately, this category is also one of the least‐fleshed‐out components in the Learning Science in Informal Environments (LSIE) chapter devoted to media. The report does not take into account the increasingly interwoven nature of media resources, particularly those found in digital environments. It is imperative that museums both become familiar with the breadth of research that is available related to digital environments and that they continue to specifically build an understanding of how this works in a museum setting.