Shell-E
Ecology fieldwork made easy
Only for iPhone
Free · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
Ecology fieldwork made simpler: join practicals, record mapped snail observations, work offline and support capture–mark–recapture learning.
Shell-E is an ecology field teaching app that brings team allocation, mapped field recording and capture–mark–recapture learning into one practical workflow.
Students join an organised practical using their student number, without needing to create a conventional username and password account. Shell-E then connects them to their assigned team, demonstrator and survey area.
During fieldwork, students can record snail observations, capture GPS locations, add measurements and photographs, record capture and marking information, and view observations on the practical map. Records can also be saved when connectivity is poor and synchronised when a connection becomes available.
Shell-E supports linked Practical 1 and Practical 2 capture–mark–recapture sessions. Teaching staff can use results from the first practical to plan the second, while students use the resulting observations to carry out their ecological analysis.
Features include:
• Interactive survey maps and allocated team areas
• Capture–mark–recapture field recording
• Offline recording and later synchronisation
• Live team leaderboards
• Field guidance and identification support
• Practical-specific student onboarding
• Golden Snail challenges
• Secure demonstrator access and student marking
• Practical and year filters for historical records
• Teacher-controlled announcements and notifications
• Student marks export for teaching staff
Teaching staff can create and manage practicals, allocate students to teams and survey areas, configure demonstrator access, manage assessment tasks, communicate with the class and prepare linked P1 and P2 sessions from the Teacher Admin area.
Returning recorders can also continue contributing observations outside an organised practical when access has been authorised by teaching staff.
Shell-E has been developed primarily for ecology field teaching at the University of Exeter.
Ratings & Reviews
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Shell-E 1.0.2 includes major improvements developed through practical testing and staff feedback.
• Reworked Teacher Admin with separate P1 setup, P2 setup and live practical management
• New guided P2 workflow using P1 results to allocate groups to different survey areas
• Option to keep the same student groups and demonstrators while moving them between areas
• P2 can reverse the P1 catch pattern, moving high-catch groups towards low-catch areas and low-catch groups towards high-catch areas
• Improved demonstrator marking and secure access
• Added explicit DNA (Did Not Attend) handling alongside numeric marks
• Updated bird identification marking criteria
• Added student marks export to CSV
• Improved practical and year filtering on maps
• Improved notifications and offline fieldwork support
• Stability, navigation and usability improvements throughout the app
The developer, Dave Hudson, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
- Location
- Contact Info
- User Content
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Dave Hudson
- Size
- 26.3 MB
- Category
- Education
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 15.0 or later. - iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Dave Hudson