The Scout Report -- Volume 25, Number 49

Many of us strive to stay well-informed of local and international events, but sometimes the news can be stressful or discouraging. To help counterbalance this, the data visualization website Information is Beautiful recently embarked on a new project, Beautiful News Daily. As its name implies, this project offers its visitors "a collection of good news, positive trends, uplifting statistics and facts -- all beautifully visualized," in colorful charts and graphics. New graphics are posted each day over the course of the project's one-year lifespan, which aims "to move our attention beyond dramatic news headlines to the slow developments and quiet trends that go unseen, uncelebrated." Readers can browse all of the Beautiful News items on the project's main page, and they can also filter them by category. Each item's page includes a brief summary, and below readers will find links to view the data in spreadsheet form and to see the source that inspired the chart, as well as a link to a relevant organization for those who would like to get involved. All of the images created for Beautiful New Daily are covered by a Creative Commons license and can be used and shared freely. Information is Beautiful was founded by David McCandless, a London-based writer, designer, and artist. [JDC]

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Parents, caregivers, and educators looking to foster a love of reading in young people may want to check out Brightly. Launched in 2015, Brightly aims to provide resources to help adults "raise kids who love to read," and also "to keep kids connected to books through every age and stage of life." Visitors have several options for exploring the site's content beyond the most recent articles on its main page. Under Ages & Stages, visitors can begin by selecting the age group that best fits their audience, where they can then peruse Brightly's "book picks, reading tips, and activities," for that age group. Visitors can also browse Brightly by Popular Topics, which includes numerous lists of book recommendations along with categories such as Educator Resources; DIY and Family Activities; Parenting and Advice; and Science and STEM. While Brightly focuses primarily on books for younger readers, it also brings adults along for the ride with a monthly roundup of the Best Grown-Up Reads. Brightly was co-founded by Amanda Close and Christine McNamara, who are both veterans of the publishing industry and parents of young children, in partnership with Penguin Random House. [JDC]

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Literary scholars have undoubtedly encountered Edmund Spenser and his epic poetry. Spenser Online takes this exploration a step further, providing visitors with a number of resources, all with the "hope to serve scholars and students as well as the casual passer-by." Advanced scholars can head straight for the Abstracts (accessible under Spenser Studies) or The Spenser Review, a triannual magazine publishing articles such as "Spenserian Allegory in Japan" and "Creative Criticism." These subsections are helpful for detailed studies, as they cover a diverse range of his works, with very specific topics. Readers new to Spenser's poetry may find it helpful to start by reading the author's Biography and exploring a Critical Bibliography of his works, both under Scholarly Resources. Visitors interested in viewing full copies of Spenser's original works, ranging from poetry to letters, will find links to do so under Online Texts. Other engaging Scholarly Resources include a five-part podcast series on Spencer, Poetry and Performance. Those wishing to engage further can subscribe to a Discussion List. Spenser Online is a collaborative project from Cambridge University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of South Carolina. [AL]

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STEM educators may appreciate Science for Students with Disabilities, a resource provided by the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). Here, visitors will find a wealth of information, teaching strategies, and links to additional resources, all aimed at helping science educators work more effectively with students with disabilities. These resources are helpfully organized into Physical Disabilities and Cognitive Disabilities, with an additional category for General accessibility information. Each category is subdivided into pages focused on more specific topics, such as Visual Impairments under Physical Disabilities and Autism under Cognitive Disabilities. Each page begins with some general information about its topic followed by specific strategies that educators can adopt to make their teaching more inclusive of students with that type of disability. While these resources were compiled with science teachers in mind, educators in other disciplines may also find useful tips here. Science for Students with Disabilities is the continuation of a project originally developed by Dr. Edward C. Keller, Jr., an award-winning professor of biology at West Virginia University who, due in part to his own paralysis from polio, was passionate about working to ensure that science education becomes fully accessible to all students, including those with disabilities. [JDC]

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The Slow Melt is a podcast about chocolate that takes its name from the fact that chocolate melts at human body temperature. As the website says, The Slow Melt uses chocolate as a "lens through which to explore the world -- from flavor and physiology to chemistry and conservation, from global markets and gender to climate change, social justice and beyond -- highlighting the people, places and processes behind this $100 billion industry." The site features two related series of nine Episodes each (as of this write up). The Slow Melt installments cover topics such as "Chocolate is Multiple," the pilot episode in which host and founder Simran Sethi explains her reasons for creating podcast about chocolate, and "The High Price of Cheap Chocolate," (episode 4). In the Maker Series, each installment focuses on specific chocolate makers, from well-established creators like Valrhona, which has been in business since 1922, to newcomers like Fruition Chocolate, founded in 2011. Those looking for further reading on the world of chocolate will find a list of books, articles, and studies and reports on the Inclusions page, accessible under the Episodes drop-down menu. The musically minded can find a list of songs included on the podcast under Music Attribution, organized by episode. The Slow Melt is available to stream on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and SoundCloud, as well as at the link above. [DS]

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MedEdPORTAL is an open-access journal that focuses on peer-reviewed educational resources for health professionals. Here, visitors will find a clearinghouse packed with more than 2,500 "stand-alone, complete teaching or learning modules that have been implemented and evaluated with medical or dental trainees or practitioners." Both educators and learners in the medical field are likely to find helpful resources in this large clearinghouse. The newest additions to this journal are featured on the home page, and visitors can easily search the clearinghouse by keyword to discover resources on a diverse array of topics. Examples include simulation activities for health care teams, game-based approaches to learning anatomy, computer modules on how to interpret CT scan results, and communication techniques for interacting effectively with patients and their families. MedEdPORTAL also features several resource Collections (found in the top right) on subjects such as Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity; Dental Education; and Opioids Education. Launched in 2005 and currently in its 15th volume, MedEdPORTAL is published by the Association of American Medical Colleges in partnership with the American Dental Education Association. [JDC]

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Readers curious to learn about diseases and related medical mysteries should check out This Podcast Will Kill You. This engaging and informative podcast is hosted by two experts in disease ecology, Erin Welsh, who is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Finland, and Erin Allman Updyke, who is now in medical school after finishing her PhD. In each episode of their podcast, "the Erins" explore the history and biology of a specific disease in a delightfully conversational way that is approachable for anyone regardless of their academic background. Many episodes focus on illnesses caused by pathogens (such as E. coli and Lyme disease), but others delve into genetic conditions like cystic fibrosis, or environmental toxins like lead poisoning. Despite the heavy topics, the hosts' enthusiasm for science keeps the tone of the podcast remarkably upbeat, and for added fun, they also create "quarantini" (or nonalcoholic "placeborita") cocktail recipes to match each disease. Currently in its third season, the podcasts' episodes are generally one to two hours long, and source bibliographies are provided at the link above. Those interested can stream the podcast online or subscribe via apps such as Stitcher, Spotify, or Overcast. [JDC]

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TeachEngineering offers educators a rich library of standards-aligned teaching materials on a wide variety of STEM topics. The biomedical science lesson plan Get in My Body, contributed by the University of Houston, was created for upper-level high school students and may also be of interest to college instructors. In this lesson, which is estimated to take about 30 minutes, "students are challenged to think as biomedical engineers and brainstorm ways to administer medication to a patient who is unable to swallow." They learn about the available methods of delivering medications into the human body and about various considerations in pharmaceutical design, such as efficacy, size, toxicity, and solubility. Building on students' prior knowledge of human anatomy and chemistry, this lesson is designed to prepare them for Proof of Concept, a multi-session hands-on activity (linked in the sidebar) in which they design and test encapsulation prototypes for a hypothetical new medication. Both this lesson and its accompanying activity are printable and include detailed instructions, background information, and vocabulary lists. Downloadable teaching materials, including PowerPoint files, worksheets, and answer keys are also included. [JDC]

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Health care educators, students, and professionals in search of teaching and learning materials may be interested in Teachers of Evidence-Based Health Care. Launched in October 2018, this project offers visitors a large open-access database of educational materials, which it refers to as the Critical Appraisal Resources Library (CARL) database. Visitors can easily search the database from the main page, where they can also browse and filter the available resources by fields such as target audience (e.g. schools, self-directed learning), format (e.g. lessons, cartoons, websites), language, and difficulty level. In accordance with the project's goal of encouraging health professionals and the general public "to think critically about the treatment claims they come across," the resources are also organized by EBM (evidence-based medicine) stage and by Key Concepts for critically evaluating health care claims. As of this write-up, the database contains more than 600 resources in numerous languages, with over 500 available in English. Teachers of Evidence-Based Health Care is hosted by the International Society for Evidence-Based Health Care, and its development was funded by the UK-based James Lind Initiative. [JDC]

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While modern medical research methods and health treatments have generally improved as our understanding of the human body has increased, some purported remedies have been less than helpful. Those interested in the history of this era of pseudo-medicine should check out Quack Cures and Self-Remedies: Patent Medicine, an exhibition from the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). The exhibition opens with an overview of patent medicine's heyday from approximately 1860-1920, a period of American history in which people "knew very little about human physiology, biochemistry, and endocrinology," and "sought quick solutions for medical problems that they did not necessarily understand." These so-called cures frequently included opiates, whose addictive properties were not yet understood, as well as high levels of alcohol. The exhibition details the marketing and advertising methods employed by patent medicine purveyors, illustrated by dozens of examples of historical advertisements. From there, visitors can learn about the evolution of the drugstore as we know it today. The exhibition closes with two examples of patent medicine companies that were based in Minnesota, the J.R. Watkins Company and Mark's Medical Company. Published in 2015, this exhibition was organized by Greta Bahnemann in collaboration with the Minnesota Digital Library. [JDC]

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Firepad is a JavaScript library that provides a collaborative, real-time text editing widget. It can be used both for editing rich text documents (similar to Google Docs) and for editing source code. As with Google Docs, each user actively editing a document gets a cursor and a list of currently connected users is provided. Additionally, in Firepad text can be attributed to the user that entered it, specific versions can be checkpointed, and documents can be rolled back to earlier checkpoints. Firepad uses Google's Firebase Realtime Database service to store and synchronize data. The free tier of Firebase allows 1GB of data stored, 10GB per month of downloads, and 100 simultaneous connections. Higher quotas are available with paid plans. Firepad works in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer 8 and above, and Opera. Firepad is distributed under the MIT license, with source code available via GitHub. [CRH]

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Wing is an Integrated Development Environment designed specifically for Python development. It comes in three flavors: Wing 101, a simplified, free version designed for novice programmers; Wing Personal, a free version for students and hobbyists; and Wing Pro, a commercial version for professional programmers. All three versions include an integrated debugger. The Wing Personal version adds a number of features including: code inspection and navigation tools that will allow a user to jump from uses of a function to its definition, a "project" manager to work with programs having multiple source code files, and extension support. A directory of user-contributed extensions can be found in the Extensions section under the Support menu. Under the Tutorial tab (accessible via the Support drop-down menu), users can find an introduction to all of Wing's features. An icon at the top right of each tutorial section indicates which versions of Wing include the feature in question. Wing can be downloaded for Windows, macOS, and Linux. [CRH]

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We originally featured the Medical Heritage Library in the 11-25-2016 Scout Report. Since then, this intriguing resource has redesigned their website and continued to add content, making it a must-visit for anyone interested in medical history.

The Medical Heritage Library is a "digital curation collaborative" between numerous leading medical libraries, including the August C. Long Health Science Library at Columbia University, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and the Wellcome Library, to name just a few. These libraries are working together on this remarkable collection that provides insight into the history of medicine in the United States and Great Britain. Through the website's Content tab, visitors can browse hundreds of medical journals, pamphlets, and books dating back to the sixteenth century. Researchers can also conduct a keyword Search in order to find relevant material within this extensive (and still growing) collection. Educators or the more casually interested visitors may want to simply start with the homepage, which highlights a variety of material from this collection as well as current exhibits and projects at participating libraries. For example, in the most recent blog post (as of this writing), readers can hear from Hanna Clutterbuck-Cook as she discusses seventeenth-century blood transfusions.

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