The Scout Report -- Volume 22, Number 7

Students at Harvard University who are interested in neurobiology have a number of resources at their disposal, including this joint online/on-campus class on the Fundamentals of Neuroscience. Lucky for the rest of us, the online version of the course is available here for free. Interested readers may like to begin by perusing the many course materials on the landing page, including two introductory videos to the course; featured trailers on the subjects of Optogenetics, MDMA + PTSD, and Deep Brain Stimulation; and module lesson excerpts about Excitation and Inhibition, The Synapse, and others. The full course is available after an easy sign-up and includes engaging lectures and assignments from some of the most qualified instructors in the world. [CNH]

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has created a fact-filled World Heritage Education Programme with many resources that can be accessed on this attractive and user-friendly site. For instance, educators can download the World Heritage in Young Hands Kit, which is available in 37 languages, and includes six chapters covering topics related to identity, tourism, the environment, and a culture of peace. For younger children, UNESCO has created 12 animated episodes that follow a "young heritage guardian" as he travels around the world to important natural and cultural sites, along the way learning about architecture in Russia, biodiversity in The Republic of Congo, and the Great Wall of China. [CNH]

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The Ashbrook Center at Ohio's Ashland University seeks to educate students, teachers, and citizens about the intricacies of American history and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship using conversation and primary source documents. Consider this list of 50 Core Documents of historical importance. Beginning with the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and George Washington's Farewell Address are also featured here, as well as more modern texts, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1944 State of the Union Address and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. For educators searching for primary documents related to important moments in American history, this site will be a welcome find. [CNH]

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Founded in 2007, Operants is a publication dedicated to the still-influential radical behaviorism of psychologist B.F. Skinner. While the early quarterlies follow a newsletter format, the publication grew into a magazine in 2014, providing readers with more complexity and depth. For instance, the first issue of 2014, which celebrates the B.F. Skinner Foundation's 25th year, features an interesting article by Jacob Azerrad entitled, "A Plea for a Science of Human Behavior," which proposes a "well-funded Manhattan Project for the study of human behavior." Other articles use the lens of behaviorism to look into the Arts, theories of learning, and culture. Subscription is free and current issues are emailed out quarterly. Alternatively, back issues of the magazine are easily downloadable in PDF format on the site. For educators teaching psychology, or for anyone interested in the current incarnations of Skinner's influential ideas, Operants provides a helpful overview. [CNH]

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The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies have created this informative set of educational tutorials that can be useful to high school and community college teachers, university professors, or anyone interested in the complex issues of nonproliferation in the 21st century. Readers may like to begin with the Introduction video, which provides a short overview of the site. From there, readers will find much to explore in the table of contents, which is divided into five broad categories: Nuclear 101, Missiles & Other WMD Delivery Systems, Nuclear & Radiological Security, Non-Proliferation Regime, and Non-Proliferation Treaty. Within each section there are brief, informative "modules," which often include text, image, and video explanations of core concepts. For instance, within the Missiles & Other WMD Delivery Systems category, readers may peruse modules about Understanding Missiles, Proliferation Challenges, and other topics. Quizzes conclude each section and a helpful glossary of terms make for a true learning experience. [CNH]

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For educators who are looking for engaging and relevant ways to present the events of the world to their students, the New York Times has created The Learning Network, a dynamic blog devoted to teaching and learning. With the above link, readers will find a compilation of blog entries and articles specifically created to assist instructors as they facilitate student discussion. Instructional items include lessons plans, syllabi, short videos, discussion questions, and other powerful teaching resources. Additionally, as all of the teaching items here are based on content from the New York Times, the topics are quite diverse, ranging from how to read "Macbeth" through the lens of Ferguson to lists of Great Free Resources for Teaching Election 2016. [CNH]

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The Teachers & Writers Collaborative publishes a magazine, offers writing workshops, hosts poetry readings, and also boasts a Digital Resource Center, making it easier for users to access its excellent collection of writing and composition aids. Searches can be conducted by Category, Source, or Keyword, and often turn up dozens of downloadable PDF documents, including lesson plans, classroom activities, and many other modalities. The various items have been sourced from the Teachers & Writers Magazine, Teachers & Writers Lesson Plans, and also from related programs, such as Houston Writers in the Schools. With a diverse variety of writing resources - from journalism, to poetry, to memoir writing - indeed, teachers of the written word will find much to explore within the T&W's collection. [CNH]

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As this Curriculum Collection on the American Museum of Natural History notes, the deep oceans really are Earth's last undiscovered frontier. The teacher resources available here are designed to perk up students' energy and galvanize their interest in the strangest of earthly environments: deep sea vents. Readers will find articles, activities, and reference lists on a host of sea vent-related topics. For instance, there is a deep sea vent reading list, a deep sea vent web list, and articles about several marine geologists, as well as the process and perils of deep sea exploration. Educators may find the activities - such as "Under Pressure," a classroom exercise that requires nothing more than a soda bottle and some water - especially engaging and helpful. [CNH]

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This report from the Pew Research Center focuses its attention on religious restrictions in the world's 25 most populous countries, where more than 5 billion people currently reside. Taking figures drawn from numerous reports between 2007 and 2013, the article traces which countries have increased in religious freedom, which countries have further restricted religious freedom, and why. Besides the well composed infographic, the article also showcases links to about a dozen resources around the web, many of them in-depth features on the U.S. Department of State website. Readers will read that England saw the greatest gains in religious freedom in 2013, mostly due to a supreme court ruling legitimizing Scientology, and that China's religious restrictions in Tibet are still brutal. [CNH]

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The African Activist Archive Project is a collaborative effort of the African Studies Center and MATRIX, the Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online at Michigan State University. Here readers will find am impressive archive of primary materials drawn from 50 years of U.S. citizens organizing in solidarity with African Activists in their anti-colonialist struggles. The archive features documents, photographs, artifacts, and written and oral memories. Readers may like to begin by searching the media galleries, which are divided into Posters, Buttons, Documents, and Photos, as well as the smaller categories of audio, video, and t-shirts. The Browse function allows for easy navigation to comprehensive lists of all the archive's holdings. Finally, the Advanced Search allows readers to search by keyword, title, and other headings as they explore archival material related to popular organizing for social justice. [CNH]

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For the 13 years between 1920 and 1933, the manufacture, distribution, or sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States carried with it serious legal consequences. This 2013 exhibition from the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of prohibition and brings to life the reasons for and consequences of the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The introduction is a perfect place to start for a general overview and pertinent background information. Readers may then like to move on through a collection of themes: Early Alcohol Consumption, Brewing of a Temperance Movement, The Nation Dries Out, Quenching the National Thirst, Unintended Consequences, and Legacy. Along the way, there are fascinating tales and zoomable photos; in all, the site provides an excellent documentation of the life and death of the temperance movement. [CNH]

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This freely downloadable PDF booklet contains the World Health Organization's annual compilation of health-related data for its 194 member countries. The report focuses on nine indicators: life expectancy and mortality, cause-specific mortality and morbidity, selected infectious diseases, health service coverage, risk factors, health systems, health expenditure, health inequities, and demographic and socioeconomic statistics. Readers may like to start with the Introduction, which provides an overview of the report. Part I covers the Health-related Millennium Development Goals, and Part II outlines the Global health indicators. Along the way, charts and tables help make the complex information digestible and relatively easy to read. [CNH]

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While it is difficult to describe the nuances of this innovative site from the Guggenheim, one can say with confidence that it is both original and worthwhile. Created alongside an insitu exhibit, ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow, 1950s-60s, this site is dedicated to the history of the experimental German artists' group Zero (1957-66) and ZERO, an international network of artists aspiring to redefine and transform art in the aftermath of World War II. Readers should be prepared for both auditory and visual stimulation. The site is designed to be viewed, and probed, with the sound on. From the haunting introduction, readers may want to simply scroll their mouse around the clock-like image on the landing page, where each point in the circle represents a different piece of artwork. Selecting any piece of art navigates to minimal information about the artist, materials, and year of the work. However, the site is clearly designed for evocative viewing rather than narrative understanding. Selecting View All Artworks will take readers back to the original interactive circle. [CNH]

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Founded in 1961, the Sleep Research Society (SRS) has been gathering experts together for half a century to explore the mysteries and possibilities of the human sleep cycle. This page features a dozen historically significant papers on the nature of sleep, from E. Pfluger's 1686 paper (in German) on Dyspnea and Apnea to four groundbreaking 20th century papers by A.R. Morrison and O. Pompeiano. Readers may simply select any title to view or download the paper in full. For readers fascinated by the complexities of sleep, and for those who love to go back to original source material, this site from the SRS is a virtual treasure trove of free knowledge. [CNH]

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Libraries, museums, and archives in California have been building digital collections for twenty-plus years. Calisphere provides a unified gateway to this digitized cultural heritage, which currently stands at 400,000 and counting images, texts, and recordings. The Free Speech Movement (FSM) is one of a number of themed collections within Calisphere, consisting primarily of photographs from Bancroft Library at UC-Berkeley and documenting the 1964 FSM demonstrations, speakers, and crowds. Examples include Joan Baez singing on the steps of Sproul Hall, and Mario Savio speaking at the Greek Theater. There are also a few images from a 1984 FSM 20th anniversary event. After exploring the FSM collection, it's worth a trip to the main page of Calisphere, to view additional materials contributed by 10 UC campuses and over 100 statewide partners. Since the Oscars are coming up, a quick test search on academy awards retrieved 480 images, dating from the 1920s to the 2000s. [DS]

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For readers who are continually searching for the perfect web browser, Yandex could be a welcome find. The transparent interface will likely appeal to minimalists who like less visual stimulation, while built-in security functions are a boon to most users, providing automatic warnings about dangerous sites. In addition, the dual facts that Yandex does not collect statistics on its users' browsing habits (which means more browsing privacy) and a special Stealth mode that does not allow websites to collect your usage statistics, will likely put users' minds at ease. [CNH]

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There are many useful distraction blocking apps available on the market. Cold Turkey is unique for two features. First, the app allows users to block websites and apps at prescheduled times (for instance, from 9 to 5 on Mondays a user could block Facebook). Second, once that time comes, Cold Turkey freezes the settings. In other words, once the time comes to block that Facebook account, Cold Turkey doesn't allow users to circumvent the embargo through the task manager or uninstall while it's running. Users are then left to do the work they set out to do, without the possibility of distraction. The basic version of Cold Turkey, which will satisfy most users, is free. While the app is only available for PC users at the moment, a Mac version is just around the corner. [CNH]

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