The Scout Report -- Volume 22, Number 21

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has gathered together this collection of Earthquake Topics for Education, which consists of over a dozen learning links to USGS resources. Popular items include an Animations for Earthquake Terms & Concepts, A Comparison of Two Bay Area Earthquakes: 1989 v. 1906, and This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics, among others. While elementary school, middle school, and high school teachers will find excellent enhancers of all kinds for earthquake related lesson plans and activities, general readers will also find much to appreciate. For instance, anyone fascinated by the drama and history of geophysics will find much to admire in the Other Earthquakes Websites link that suggests such sites as the American Geophysical Union, the California Geological Survey, and the Center for Earthquake Research & Information. Readers may also note that the entire collection of resources is easily searchable when using the Search Learning Links function, found at the bottom of the page. [CNH]

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This writing guide from Bowdoin College professor Patrick Rael focuses its intellectual vigor on "Reading, Writing, and Researching for History." Designed for undergraduate students, the material covered here may also be helpful for advanced high school students, graduate students, and lifelong learners. The depth and breadth of the guide is noteworthy; Professor Rael guides his readers through sections on Reading, Historical Arguments, Research, Structuring Your Paper, Writing Your Paper, Working with Sources, Editing and Evaluation, and the Writing Model. Each section is broken down further into subheadings that can be downloaded as freestanding PDFs. For instance, readers will find a handy Paper-Writing Checklist within the Editing and Evaluation section or suggestions for How to Read a Primary Source in the Reading section. Whether browsing the guide in its entirety or selecting specific sections of interest, the material here may provide a handy tool for students and teachers alike. [CNH]

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For the physical education teachers who are on the look out for fresh perspectives and new activities that will engage their students and liven up their days, the Utah Education Network has provided dozens of resources that can do just that. On the site, lessons plans are organized by grade, starting with third grade and moving one grade at a time up to the eighth grade (for Kindergarten, first, and second grades, readers may click on a link to navigate to a separate page). Along the way educators will find fun and educational exercises. For example, PE with a Hint of History uses large pictures of famous people, inventions, and countries to combine learned history/social studies facts with PE activities and skills. Shark Island, meanwhile, uses scooters, balls, bean bags, or whatever materials are on hand to institute an advanced game of tag with an emphasis on team building. [CNH]

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For educators who would like to integrate Hip Hop music into their lesson plans, the WISE (Working to Improve Schools and Education) program at Ithaca College has assembled this list of Hip Hop resources. General readers and educators alike might like to begin by selecting The History of Hip Hop, where they can read how Hip Hop got started, how it developed, what it means, and where it's going. Readers may also like to scout other links, such as Hip Hop History 101, Hip Hop: Today's Civil Rights Movement?, and The Hip Hop Classroom. Other fascinating links include bell hooks Discusses Rap, the Poetics of Hip Hop, and the Evolution of Rap Music in the United States. Both educators and general readers who would like to understand Hip Hop and harness its cultural power for educational purposes will find much to appreciate in this comprehensive list of resources. [CNH]

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PBS LearningMedia has designed this detailed lesson plan to help students understand the role of vibrations in interpreting and experiencing sound. Assembled with elementary school students in mind, the lesson, which has been viewed nearly two hundred thousand times, begins with a clear Overview. From there, it outlines the Objectives of the lesson, suggests the appropriate time needed to complete the lesson (approximately three class periods), and then offers readers links to nine different Multimedia Resources. While the lesson requires specific materials, such as plastic drinking straws, scissors, and large balloons, most of them are easily acquirable and inexpensive. [CNH]

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The Classroom Resources section of the National Science Foundation website is extensive and impressive. Take, for instance, this collection of Earth & Environment Classroom Resources. Here educators will discover links to 16 different resources, most of which have been culled from the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). Notable resources include the Earth & Environment Research Overview, a site that explains the important work that scientists are doing on the feedback loop between how humans impact the environment and how the environment, in turn, affects human communities. The material here ranges from K-12 to higher education. For instance, while college instructors may be interested in the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College, an organization that works to improve undergraduate science education through projects that focus on faculty support, elementary school teachers may prefer Geography4Kids, which helps younger children explore the earth through engaging activities. Indeed, this list of more than a dozen resources has a little something for everyone. [CNH]

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NBC News has been reporting on national and international events for more than 80 years, and NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, has assembled a stellar collection of stories, images, and source documents for educators, parents, and students. Typically, videos on display are less than six minutes long, yet they are produced as complete stories and feature famed journalists, including Tom Brokaw, John Chancellor, and Tim Russert. For quick browsing, the video resources may be narrowed into four broad categories: Language Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, STEM & Innovation, and Others. Within the STEM & Innovation category, for example, features include such entertaining and educational subtopics as Science of the Olympic Games and Science Behind the News, each of which features a number of streamable videos. [CNH]

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Once home to prolific artists and writers such as Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston, early 20th century Harlem was a rich African American cultural hub. But this site, developed by historians and arts researchers at the University of Sydney, does more than document the characters and events of note during this period, offering instead a glimpse into the lives of ordinary Black New Yorkers living in the Harlem Neighborhood between 1915 and 1930. Using records drawn from newspapers, legal sources, and other archives, this resource uses a map interface to provide a way to explore and visualize Harlem's rich history. Readers can use the search features on the left of the website to create their own maps of people, places, or events, or use the sidebar on the right to explore already created maps on different themes, such as gambling arrests or the life of seventeen-year-old Fuller Long. Tabs at the top of the site provide even more information on how the site can be used and understood to research the rich history of Harlem and its everyday people. [MM]

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The Forum Network is an online public media service provided by WGBH, Boston's premier public broadcasting company. On the Network, readers will find hundreds of video and audio lectures from scholars from around the world, as well as talks by authors, artists, scientists, policymakers, and community leaders. All content on the website is free, thanks to a grant by the Lowell Institute. After perusing the landing page, which usually features new and popular content, readers may like to scout according to the three available tabs: Lectures, Speakers, and Events. For instance, within Lectures, readers will find 154 possibilities, including talks on Deep Sea Volcanoes, All About Bees, The Mystery of Whale Eyesight and (Big) Things that Go Bump in the Night, and What To Know About Geoengineering. Readers may also narrow the search by Topic (Art & Architecture, Culture & Identity, Health & Happiness, Literature & Philosophy, and others); Time Period (Prehistoric, Ancient & Classical, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and more); and Series, such as the African American Culture Series and the American Experience Series. [CNH]

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The International Polar Foundation, which is housed in Brussels, Belgium, founded SciencePoles in 2005 to better communicate the exciting developments of polar research to the wider scientific community and the public at large. The website presents many fascinating findings from the iciest spots on the planet. For example, readers may enjoy an interview with the director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Karin Lochte, as she speaks about EU-PolarNet, an initiative that aims to foster greater synergy between different European polar research institutions. Or they may like to read the words of Professor Michael Tipton from the University of Portsmouth as he discusses how to deal with cold injury and cold immersion in extreme environments. Readers who are interested in the science and logistics of arctic exploration will find much to appreciate on this excellent site. [CNH]

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Founded in 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut as a vocational institute for returning World War II veterans, the Culinary Institute of America boasts a long history of excellence in cuisine, including top alumni chefs like Anthony Bourdain, Cat Cora, and Hari Nayak. On this section of the Hudson River Valley Heritage website, interested readers may peruse a host of digitized menus that relate to both the region's culinary history and the school's illustrious history. Items from the collection include a 1976 Easter Sunday Dinner at the St. Regis-Sheraton in Manhattan that featured Prosciutto Pate de Campagne, Little Neck Clams, Supreme of Fresh Fruit, Consomme Double Rennaissance, Cream of Asparagus, and many other delicacies for a set price of $15.50 per person or $8.75 for children under 12. Other menus include a Lake Mohonk Mountain House Menu from 1932, a 2007 St. Andrew's Cafe beverage list, and many, many others. For readers interested in the Culinary Institute of America or the history of American food, these digitized menus will provide great entertainment. [CNH]

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Originally a project between KALW public radio and the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco, 99% Invisible is a brainy online radio program that investigates all the design mysteries that are hidden just below the surface of the everyday world. For instance, how did inflatable men end up flopping around in front of car lots? Or where did the fortune cookie come from? Or who invented the revolving door? All of these questions (and more) are answered on 99% invisible. On this website, readers will want to scout the Episodes section, where they will find more than 200 entries dedicated to topics like the Wonders of The Urban Wilderness and The White Elephant of Tel Aviv. Notably, a handy playlist feature lets users compile a stash of items of interest, simply by selecting "Add to Queue" when browsing episodes. The site also features excellent Articles, which explicate topics ranging from Olympic Architects to The Catastrophic Collapse of the World's Tallest Tower. In addition to browsing the plentiful archives that date back to 2010, interested readers may sign up for the email newsletter to receive notifications about the latest episodes and articles. [CNH]

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There are few blogs in the wide and tangled landscapes of the web as unapologetically highbrow as Crooked Timber. The name itself derives from Immanuel Kant's maxim, "Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made." Founded in 2003 in an intellectually vigorous merger of several academic blogs, Crooked Timber has since been lauded by the Guardian, New York Times, and others. Regular contributors include political philosophers, cultural studies professors, bankers, economists, political scientists, sociologists, and classicists. It is not unusual to find an academic book chapter posted to the site for critique and comment. For example, the respected Australian economist John Quiggin recently posted a chapter from his forthcoming book, Economics in Two Lessons, asking for reader feedback and comments. [CNH]

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The Ganges has existed at the heart of Indian culture for millennia. Long considered the mother of the subcontinent, it gave rise to one of the greatest early civilizations, with vast hubs of learning and culture that rivaled contemporary equivalents in China, Egypt, and Greece. But India's great river is in crisis, severely polluted by the 450 million people that live in its catchment area, and by the unfiltered human and manufacturing waste that runs daily into its waters. This in-depth portrait by the BBC's Justin Rowlatt uses images, video, audio, and narrative text to examine the current state of the Ganges, from its origins in the Himalayas to the leather factories of Kanpur to the burning ghats of Varanasi. Along the way, readers will enter the cities and farms through vivid photography and hear the stories of the people who make the banks of the River Ganges their home. [CNH]

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Ever since pinback buttons were patented in 1896, buttons have been produced and worn for a plethora of reasons, from supporting a politician (e.g. the iconic I LIKE IKE buttons), to commemorating an event, to just showing off the pinner's sense of humor. The Busy Beaver Button Museum exists to document this unique item of cultural expression. Readers may visit the museum in person, in Chicago, or browse the comprehensive online collection here. Categories include Ask Me, which includes the classic "Ask me about..." buttons, Self Referential, which includes buttons that reference the fact that they're buttons, and Sports, Advertising, Political, Innovative, and other descriptive options. There is also a Fan Museum, which allows users to submit their own buttons, as well as browse the buttons of other fans. The News section features blog posts on the history of buttons, such as a great post on the history behind the right to vote, as depicted through buttons. Finally, readers will also find a wonderful book, A Very Brief History of Buttons, which can be viewed for free as a PDF. [MM]

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When it comes to visually presenting and understanding key dates and events in one's personal life or in world history, timelines can be very useful. Online tools to facilitate their creation, however, are not always easy to come by or intuitive to use. With a free "Lite" version, Preceden allows readers to make timelines in minutes, using a number of adjustable templates. Signing up is easy and versions are available for educational, business, or personal use. Timelines are private by default, but may be freely shared on the web for those who would like to publicize their information. Whether used for a student project or as a teaching aid, one can imagine many innovative uses for this web-based timeline maker. [CNH]

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For readers who reach the data limits of what they are able to send by email or other file sharing services, DropSend is one free, effective, and easy-to-use service that can resolve the problem. DropSend comes with much wider bandwidth for sharing files in its free service (and unlimited bandwidth for its "pro" upgrade), meaning that a user could share large video, image, audio, or other files without hitting the usual boundaries of internet sharing. Simply select "Send Your File" from the homepage, then enter an email address for the sender and the receiver, select a file, and send the file. There is no software to install and no other account registration necessary. [CNH]

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