The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 28

Ireland is home to a vibrant contemporary music scene, one which readers can explore by listening to the Contemporary Music Centre's biweekly podcast Amplify. Musicologists, teachers and students, and music fans of all ages will want to listen in for new performances, supplemented by artist interviews and discussions of current issues in music. For example, Episode 31 features four composers whose work was recently presented at the Irish National Opera. Episode 16 highlights discussions about music performance in the context of COVID-19. Listeners can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Google Podcasts. Alternatively, at the link above readers can navigate to a page for each podcast episode, which includes the embedded episode, show notes, and a playlist. Amplify is presented by the Contemporary Music Centre, a resource center and archive whose mission is to document the "contemporary music landscape in Ireland," and to provide support for Irish composers. [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

This report from the Pew Research Center examines how well American adults understand a range of digital technology topics. The results of the study were rather mixed, revealing generally strong knowledge in some areas (e.g., phishing, cookies, ads) but glaring gaps in others. For example, less than 30 percent of respondents accurately answered questions about private browsers or 2-factor authentication. The study's results also highlighted considerable group-level variation, as people under 50 and with higher educational attainment tended to be more knowledgeable about digital topics. On the page linked above, visitors can find the complete report (downloadable as a PDF) and topline results under Report Materials (in the sidebar on the right). Readers may want to take the interactive Digital Knowledge Quiz found there, which features the same 10 questions asked of survey respondents. This report was based on a June 2019 nationally representative survey of 4,272 US adults conducted by the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel. It was written by researchers Emily A. Vogels and Monica Anderson. [JDC]

Comment on or rate this resource

R is a software package and programming language widely used for data analysis by researchers in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. The materials offered in this resource provide instruction on using R for spatial data analysis and modeling. Readers who are unfamiliar with R should not fear, because the materials begin with an introduction to using R that covers everything from the installation and basic data types, to generating complex graphics like scatter plots. Once users are comfortable with R programming, they can move on to the spatial analysis instructions, which guide users through the basics of spatial data, remote sensing image analysis, and MODIS data. The site is easy to navigate by clicking the "Next" and "Previous" buttons to move through the materials in order. Each section of the instructions offers an introduction to the concept covered, programming language to apply and practice, and links to other materials for further reference. This resource was created by Robert J. Hijmans, a researcher at the University of California-Davis. [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

History buffs and teachers will love the entertaining and educational videos in this recent addition to the popular Crash Course YouTube channel (last featured in the 08-09-2019 Scout Report). In 50 tightly edited episodes hosted by novelist, vlogger, and podcaster John Green, viewers will learn about the big events, major players, and revolutionary ideas that shaped Europe (and the world) from 1450 to the present. Themes addressed in the series include commerce, cultural and intellectual currents, states and other institutions, identity, social organization, science and technology, and Europe's interactions with the rest of the world. Most videos in the series are less than 15 minutes in length, making them easy to integrate into the context of classroom discussions (or useful as a rainy day binge watch for bored kids on summer break). The videos are cleverly crafted, featuring humorous narration from the host, historical photos, and animations. The description under each video lists relevant sources, so educators can rest assured that the information is accurate. Each episode is numbered, so new viewers can watch them in order or dive into intriguing topics such as witchcraft (Episode 10), 18th century warfare (Episode 20), and decolonization (Episode 43). [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

Little Yarns is a weekly program designed for pre-school children listeners and their parents or teachers. Produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC, last featured in the 04-09-2021 Scout Report) as part the ABC Kids listen suite of programs, Little Yarns is dedicated to educating children about the unique languages and cultures of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations. Each episode introduces listeners to a word from an Australian Indigenous language through journeys to different parts of the continent and stories told by first language speakers. For instance, in the February 17, 2020 episode, listeners can learn the Yugambeh word for "mother" and reflect on how they can care for Mother Nature. Episodes are less than 10 minutes long, making them perfect for bedtime, naptime, or to break up other activities. Little Yarns and similar ABC programs are available on the page linked above. They can also be downloaded as MP3 files or accessed through ABC Kids listen app for easy listening on long car rides. Little Yarns is hosted by Rudi Bremer, ABC radio broadcaster and Gamilaraay speaker. [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

Middle and high school science teachers looking to stretch their students' gray matter will find plenty of material in these neuroscience lesson plans from the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT). The lessons were designed by science teachers for units lasting between one and five weeks, to be easily integrated into any biology, physics, chemistry, or computer science classroom. Students will be inspired by curricula on topics such as "Neural Engineering and Ethical Implications," "Traumatic Brain Injury," and "Building Artificial Neural Networks." Each unit plan includes complete lesson outlines (downloadable as PDFs), with detailed teacher instructions, outlines of necessary materials and preparation, classroom activities, and post-lesson assessments. Best of all, each unit has been aligned to national curriculum standards from Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Lesson plans are easily found by scrolling through the page linked above. For teachers who want more, each lesson page also links to additional resources from the teachers who designed the plans, including academic publications and news articles of interest. The CNT is an NSF-funded Engineering Research Center, located at the University of Washington in Seattle, and partners with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and San Diego State University. [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Dana Foundation (featured in the 09-25-2015 Scout Report), a private philanthropic organization dedicated to understanding the brain and health, sponsors Brain Awareness Week every March. It also provides this repository of handouts and resources for educators, students, kids, and adults to learn more about brain science. For instance, middle schoolers can read a fact sheet to learn how exercise affects the brain and then complete a brain health word scramble puzzle. Older visitors might benefit from reading the pamphlet "Successful Aging & Your Brain." These and other Fact Sheets, Puzzles, lesson plans (under Resources for Educators), and more can be found by scrolling from the page linked above or using the drop down menu labeled "In This Section." For each category, it is easy to navigate through popular resources by clicking on the left or right arrow buttons provided. Users can also click the "View All" button on the left side of the page which directs to a search page, where resources can be filtered by audience (e.g., educators, grades K-5, or university students), type (e.g., puzzles, brain basics, or fact sheets), and language (available in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or French). This page also offers readers a keyword search feature to explore the more than 150 resources available. All resources are available for download as PDFs, for convenient printing and use in science classrooms or as summer activities for kids. [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

Practitioners and students preparing for careers in brain science and health will find useful, readily applicable information on this YouTube channel from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), an association of more than 36,000 neurology and neuroscience professionals (last featured in the 07-06-2018 Scout Report). Highlights include "NeuroBytes," a series of short videos (most are less than five minutes long) covering topics of general interest (e.g., how sleep deprivation affects the brain) and specific to neurology practice (e.g., how to talk to patients about genetic testing). Students especially will benefit from "Inspirational AAN Member Spotlight Series," a playlist highlighting the work of association members, in addition to collections covering neuroscience career pathways (see the "Careers in Neurology" and "Navigating Your Career" playlists) on the Playlists page. A particularly timely series on "COVID-19 (coronavirus) and Neurology" features longer videos (around 30 minutes) discussing the ongoing effects of the pandemic on practitioner training, medical practice, and patient care. Viewers interested in more content from AAN can follow the organization on Twitter (@AANMember), Instagram (@aanbrain), or Facebook (@AmericanAcademyofNeurology). [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

Open Mind is an open-access journal featuring innovative cognitive science research. The scholarship featured in the journal is drawn from a wide range of disciplines (including psychology, behavioral anthropology, linguistics, and neuroscience) and addresses content areas of broad interest, such as learning, memory, early childhood development, language learning and processing, reasoning and decision making, and philosophies of the mind. For example, recent installments cover interesting topics such as infant language learning (Volume 5) and the coordination of improvising jazz musicians (Volume 4). Readers can easily navigate the journal's full offerings from the page linked above by clicking the "Issues" tab to find past installments, searchable by year (from 2017 to present) or volume number. Under Latest, visitors can locate the most recent issue, while the Most Read tab houses popular content. Open Mind is a publication of MIT Press Direct. The Editor is Edward Gibson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and the Managing Editor is Jill Gallipeau (University of Rochester). [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) is a professional society of scientists, clinicians, and medical professionals involved in research, treatment, and education about Parkinson's disease and related movement disorders. To further its mission, MDS offers online educational opportunities for both members and non-members. Neurologists, health professionals, neuroscientists, and advanced students pursuing careers in these fields can access free courses by clicking "E-Learning Modules." There users will find an archive of past offerings, which can be filtered by area of interest (e.g., genetics, therapies, or movement disorders), series type, region, level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), and intended audience. Alternatively, readers can easily explore Recommended Courses on that same page by clicking the right and left arrows buttons. The course search results briefly summarize the topic, instructor, CEM Credit units, release date, and level of instruction. For further details, including a summary of learning objectives and hardware and software requirements, users can click on the title of the class of interest. Readers wanting to learn more should not miss out on offerings such as Huntington's Disease: Genetics and Pathophysiology, Genetic Testing 101, and Drug-induced Movement Disorders: Tardive Syndromes. All courses are taught by university faculty and medical practitioners. Note that archived courses are free for non-members (although users will have to create an account), but upcoming offerings may require membership or a registration fee. [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource

Hexo is a static site generator designed for blogging, with an emphasis on speed. The developers state that sites comprising hundreds of files "take only seconds to build." Entries are written in GitHub flavored Markdown. There are more than 330 themes included in a default installation. Users may also create their own custom themes. Numerous plugins are available to add still more themes, provide support for additional markup formats (e.g., MathJax, LaTeX, or Haml), and add other features. In the Docs section of the Hexo site users can locate installation instructions that cover Windows, macOS, and Linux computers, a brief Getting Started guide, and detailed usage instructions. Also included are instructions covering how to publish a Hexo-generated site on GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, Heroku, Netlify, OpenShift, or on any hosting provider that supports rsync, SFTP, or FTP. Developers can locate technical documentation on how to extend Hexo in the API section of the site. [CRH]

Comment on or rate this resource

Diffuse is a visual diff/merge tool that can be used to view side-by-side comparisons of different versions of a file and optionally merge multiple sets of changes together. In addition to viewing old versions from a different folder, with Diffuse readers can also fetch previous versions from a number of revision control systems including Git, Mercurial, Apache Subversion, and multiple others. Unlike many similar tools, Diffuse provides users with a way to manually adjust the matching of lines between different versions of a file. In addition to simply merging changes from disparate versions of a file, users may also edit the resulting merged version in-line within the tool itself. The Quick Start section on the Diffuse home page gives a brief introduction to the tool. Detailed instructions can be located on the Manual page. Windows users can install Diffuse using Chocolatey, macOS users can use MacPorts, and most Linux distributions include it in their package repositories. [CRH]

Comment on or rate this resource

Middle and high school science teachers excited by World Brain Day can get a jump on planning for the upcoming school year with the resources available in BrainU, last featured in the 08-03-2018 issue of the Scout Report. The project continues to be an excellent repository of lesson plans, engaging classroom activities, and resources to help busy educators.

Science educators may be interested in BrainU, an educational neuroscience project for teachers directed by Janet Dubinsky, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota. BrainU offers material for K-12 teachers to begin teaching about brain science and to aid their students' learning processes. Under the Lessons tab, readers will find more than 50 well-developed lesson plans that are organized by grade level, length, and learning situation (e.g. classroom, laboratory, or experiential station). At the top of the Lessons page are links to BrainU's Neuroscience Concepts and Activities pages, which are curriculum planning aids accessible by clicking the appropriate grade level (e.g., "Pre-3" or "9-12"). Under the Cool Stuff tab, viewers will find links to curated collections of animations, images, and other visual materials available for classroom use. The Neuroscience tab leads readers to a collection of supplementary teaching materials, such as activities for review, a suggested reading list for teachers, and a glossary of neuroscience terms. BrainU offers a unique way for science teachers to enhance their curriculum and their students' learning. [JDC] [MJZ]

Comment on or rate this resource