The Scout Report -- Volume 22, Number 23

learnXdesign was spearheaded by the New York City Hall of Science (NYSCI) in collaboration with six science museums in the United States and Canada. Together, the group has created an extensive, yet easily navigable, database of science activities for youth of all ages. Designed especially for informal settings, such as after school programs, libraries, museums, and youth centers, users can search for activities by subject, age level, or the time duration of the project. Almost all projects can be completed in under an hour and many can be completed in under 30 minutes, making learnXdesign an especially valuable resource for museum educators and those who coordinate drop-in youth programming. Best of all, each activity is accompanied by a video of science educators demonstrating the activity and explaining how they incorporated the activity into their own programs. [MMB]

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Anyone who has taught or tutored math - or who has simply been a mathematics student themselves - will recognize that one of the biggest challenges to learning mathematics is the prevalence of math anxiety. Children and adults alike often believe that they are bad at math. Graham Fletcher is one of many educators who is working to change the way that math is taught and alleviate this anxiety. On his blog Questioning My Metacognition, Fletcher, an elementary school math educator with over 10 years of teaching experience, shares complete lesson plans, instructional videos, and resources. Fletcher emphasizes creative, hands on instructional activities that promote metacognition - the ability to recognize and reflect on one's own problem solving process. These kinds of activities are designed to combat the myth that one is "good" or "bad" at math and instead help students develop and recognize their critical thinking skills. Fletcher's instructional videos and lesson plan ideas can easily be incorporated into math classrooms, adult education programs, or tutoring sessions. [MMB]

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Interactivate is a website created and maintained by Shodor, a North Carolina-based non-profit organization dedicated to developing resources that help students engage with computational science. Interactivate contains dozens of interactive online activities to aid in mathematics instruction. Activities include interactive probability games, graphing tools, and statistical analysis. Mathematics instructors can search for interactive courseware by mathematic subject (including fractions, statistics, algebra, and calculus) or by student grade level. Resources are available for instructors teaching all levels of mathematics; activities range from those that can be used in a 3rd grade classroom all the way up to activities for the undergraduate college classroom. While much of this resource consists of stand-alone activities, Interactivate also provides numerous detailed lesson plans that allow instructors to integrate courseware into their curriculum with ease. The website also identifies how each activity aligns with a number of national mathematics education standards, including the Common Core. [MMB]

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How does the history of nursing inform modern-day health care policy? What insights can we gain by examining this history that may be helpful for the future? The Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing is dedicated to examining these questions and more. Part of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing, the Bates Center holds the largest nursing history archives in the world. Its blog, Echoes and Evidence, is headed by Bates Center leader Jean C. Whelan, RN, Ph.D., and authored by an interdisciplinary group of contributors, including nursing professionals and history professors. These authors provide thoughtful historical analyses of contemporary health care issues that often utilize Bates Center archival sources. For example, historian Lydia Wytenbroek investigates the history of the stethoscope and illustrates her examination with historical photographs and advertisements from nursing journals. Echoes and Evidence provides useful resources and insights for those interested in the history of nursing, as well as those interested in contemporary public health issues. [MMB]

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Founded in 2014, the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) is an organization dedicated to fostering scholarship and dialogue about the history of African-American thought, writing, and culture. Intentionally interdisciplinary and inclusive, the AAIHS is mostly comprised of historians, but also welcomes anyone - including literature scholars, art historians, policy analysts and journalists - with an interest in African-American intellectual history. The AAIHS blog reflects this inclusivity. One can read an interview with urban historian Guadalupe Garcia about her work examining race, space, and empire in Havana; a guest post from English professor and children's book author Janaka Bowman Lewis about historical and contemporary perceptions of black children and play, which pays particular attention to the writing of educator Lucy Craft Laney; and a thoughtful analysis by historian Chernah Sesay Jr. that examines how the black newspaper Freedom's Journal functioned as a sort of "museum" to chronicle the lives and accomplishments of black Americans in the early 19th century. This blog is a strong resource for anyone interested in American history of the African Diaspora. [MMB]

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When researchers combine scientific analysis with historical archival research, they are able to provide us with exciting insights that only such an interdisciplinary approach could produce. For instance readers may be familiar with science undergraduate Linnda Caporael's 1976 examination of 17th century Salem, which led her to hypothesize that ergot poisoning may have played a role in the Salem Witch Trials. In similar style, this article, which appeared in the open source science journal PLOS One, uses archival evidence - specifically Zou Zhe, reports from local officials to the Chinese emperor - to map out the location and duration of droughts in China between 1689-1911. This information can be used to predict and prepare for future drought patterns in the region. The article is fascinating, can be used in both history and geography classrooms, and serves as a model for scholars interested in pursuing such interdisciplinary approaches. [MMB]

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Somatosphere describes itself as "a collaborative website covering the intersections of medical anthropology, science and technology studies, cultural psychiatry, psychology, and bioethics." Authored by an international group of scholars, Somatosphere articles examine the connections between cultural and social phenomena and scientific, technological, and medical issues. Readers can browse for articles by subject tags, and the site has an especially rich collection of musings on neuroscience, epidemiology, technology, and the pharmaceutical industry. In contrast to many internet blogs, which tend to publish exclusively bite-sized pieces, Somatosphere includes numerous long-reads and a handful of serialized articles. This format allows for in depth explorations on topics including the rise of drug resistant tuberculosis and issues related to neo-natal care. Somatosphere regularly publishes summaries of new journal articles and "web round-ups" to keep readers abreast of recent articles, both scholarly and popular, that are related to the intersections of social science, technology, and science. In addition, the site includes Book Reviews and an occasional Book Forum, in which multiple scholars discuss a new publication. [MMB]

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Larry Ferlazzo teaches English Language Learners (ELLs) at a high school in Sacramento, California. He also serves as an adjunct Education faculty member at California State University, Sacramento, authors books about curriculum and teaching, and runs a weekly radio show to boot. And most helpfully for ELL/Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) instructors, he maintains a website full of resources for teaching English. Teachers can browse for resources by the English level of their students (Beginning, Early Intermediate, Intermediate, and Advanced) or check out resources for teaching other core subjects to ELLs. Ferlazzo includes a versatile set of resources that will be of use to high school teachers and adult educators alike. This website is an excellent addition to any ELL/TESOL instructor's toolkit. Furthermore, many of these activities can also be used in general reading and writing classes for native English speakers. [MMB]

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"As I child," writes John Boardly, "I always wondered why the teacher asked us to draw the letter a as an o with a tail, when, in my books, the a's had an extra bit at the top." And so, as an adult, John Boardly publishes a blog called I Love Typography. Written by Boardly and a number of contributing design professionals, I Love Typography is rich with history, fascinating trivia, and, of course, visually striking images of fonts. While Boardly is deeply knowledgeable about the nuances of typography, he aims to make his blog accessible to anyone with a passing interest in the topic, and writes in a jargon-free, engaging manner. Newbies can start with the New to Type? series, which helpfully breaks down typography basics and terminology. However, any reader - not just design experts - can also appreciate articles such as Boardly's examination of the hidden history of 15th century women typographers or designer Kristyan Sarkis' explanation of how he created a new Arabic type system, Greta Arabic. [MMB]

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In 1999, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the SETI Institute, NASA's Ames Research Center, and the Foothill College Astronomy Program teamed up to create the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures. Each lecture, presented at Foothill College in the Silicon Valley, is approximately 90 minutes in length and features various noted astronomers as they make astronomical phenomena accessible to the general public. For example, in November 2015, Harvard University's Richard Kirshner explained the recent astronomical discovery of cosmic acceleration - growing evidence that the universe is expanding at an increasingly rapid speed. With this resource, users may opt to either download these lectures as podcasts or listen to them online. Alternatively, the lectures in this series are also available on the SVAstronomyLectures YouTube channel and include slides that provide helpful visuals. That said, these lectures do not center on visuals, and thus can be understood just as enjoyably in podcast form. [MMB]

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Rich in Color is a resource for youth, librarians, teachers, parents, and teen mentors who are looking for new young adult (YA) fiction. The blog, maintained by a small team of teachers, writers, and book lovers, features recently released YA novels authored by writers of color and First Nations writers. The team at Rich in Color is committed to both publicizing books scheduled for release (maintaining an up-to-date book release calendar on the site) and to critically reviewing new books. Books of all genres are covered - including realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction - and often feature LGBTQA characters of color. As the site notes, "We believe that teens (and adults!) should be able to find themselves in the books that they love to read." Readers will also find interviews and book lists by topic. [MMB]

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Stereoscopic photography was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This kind of photography involves placing two photographic images side by side; when one views them through a lens called a stereoscope, the side-by-side photographs create the illusion of a three dimensional image. Richard M. Dennis collected thousands of these photographic images throughout the 20th century. In 1939, Dennis sold his collection - a total of 35,000 images - to the New York Public Library. Continuing to collect stereoscopic images, he then donated an additional 35,000 images in 1980. Today, the New York Public Library has digitized these images and made them available through its substantial Digital Collections. These photographs were taken between 1850-1930 and depict cities and landmarks across the United States. Website visitors can search the collection or browse for certain stereoscopic views by date or geographic location. Some items have also been added to the Stereogranimator, where readers may view, create, and share stereographs as they were intended, in 3D form. This collection provides a fascinating glimpse into American history, urban development, and the history of photography. [MMB]

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Henry Reich was a physics graduate student looking for ways to make physics more accessible to his students. He created MinutePhysics, a collection of short YouTube videos designed to explain a variety of physics concepts in a succinct, engaging manner. In fact, as the series' title suggests, many episodes attempt to explain topics in approximately one minute. Armed with a marker and a knack for breaking down complex theories, Reich explains astronomy, light and color (in one video, he does, in fact, explain why the sky is blue), the physics of bicycles, and the Higgs boson. These videos comprise an entertaining and intelligible resource for anyone (of any age) looking to brush up on their physics knowledge. In addition, Reich has compiled a free online course based on his videos for anyone who wants to learn some more physics. [MMB]

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As cameras became more portable and affordable in the first half of the 20th century, people began to take photographs of places of interest, and souvenir photography was born. One such place of interest was the Palace of Versailles. The Chateau de Versailles Photos Souvenir project presents readers with an interactive collection of photographs taken by palace visitors over the past century. The project was born on social media; three years ago, a few employees of the Palace of Versailles decided to share old family photographs of the palace on a Flickr site, and soon invited others to share photographs as well. Next, researcher Noemie Couillard conducted interviews to discover some of the stories behind the photographs. On the website, a select 100 of these photographs are grouped by theme and shared in an interactive timeline. Together, these images demonstrate both the shifting public role of the Palace of Versailles as well as the evolving role of personal photography in modern culture and society. [MMB]

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Hosted by British professors Nigel Warburton and David Edmonds, the Philosophy Bites podcasts feature short interviews (approximately 15-20 minutes in length) with philosophy professors from around the world about a wide variety of topics. Started in 2007, the podcast has covered topics including the true nature of Epicureanism, the philosophy of film, and the ethics of purchasing oil from totalitarian nations. While listeners can subscribe to the podcast to get the latest episodes, they can also search through past episodes on this website. Past episodes have been helpfully tagged with Categories that include "Religion, "Body and Mind," and "Art, Beauty and Taste." Additionally, a post from March 26, 2016 arranged the trove of Podcast Interview by Theme, such as About Philosophy, Great Thinkers and Their Ideas, and Ethics of Health and Medicine. With well over 350 past episodes to browse through, this website is a useful source for anyone looking to better understand modern philosophical debates or the general reader who may be looking for a new, engaging podcast. [MMB]

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Founded in 1986 by comic book artist and publisher Denis Kitchen, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) exists for the "protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers." In service to this mission, CBLDF provides legal referrals, advice, and education. In the Resources section of the site, the Using Graphic Novels in Education category may be of special interest to the librarian and educator readers of The Scout Report, as it provides lists of suggested titles that can be used to teach particular topics or with certain audiences. For example, the suggested titles for teaching about war and living through upheaval include Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi and Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen, a 10-volume series on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and life in Japan during WWII. From the list of titles, readers will find links to longer posts with discussion topics, links to additional resources, and state standards that can be fulfilled with educational units based on comic books. Some other categories on the list include books for younger readers, and books for Black History Month and Women's History Month. [DS]

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Email clutter is a nuisance, and it can cause one to miss important emails. Unroll.Me provides a fast, easy way to cut down on unwanted emails. All one has to do is visit the Unroll Me website, sign up, and allow Unroll.Me access to your inbox. Within seconds, the program will detect the number of subscriptions that are connected to your email account. For each subscription, you can choose to unsubscribe, continue to subscribe, or include in a "Rollup"-- an email digest that you can choose to receive once a day. A heads up: Unroll.Me is free of charge, but you are required to share a post about Unroll.Me on a social media site in order to continue with the service after unsubscribing from five email lists. Unroll.Me may be used with a handul of email providers, including Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, AOL Mail, and iCloud. Outlook 365 is not currently supported. [MMB]

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Schoology is a learning management system that can be used either in academic classrooms or for workplace professional development courses. Instructors can post assignments, discussion questions, quizzes, and course documents for students to use. Once instructors grant students access to the course (which they can easily do by providing students with a short access code), students can access all course materials and participate in course discussion. One strength of Schoology is its simplicity; each component of the website is clearly labeled and easy to navigate. In addition, the discussion page on Schoology will look familiar to anyone who has commented on Facebook or other social media platforms. For these reasons, Schoology is an especially helpful resource for those working with individuals who are just beginning to develop computer literacy. [MMB]

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