The Scout Report -- Volume 23, Number 11

In early twentieth-century Europe and North America, journals and magazines played an important role in both literary and political life. Brown University and the University of Tulsa have teamed up to digitize many of these influential journals, including the short-lived Vorticist literary magazine BLAST, the NAACP's The Crisis, the muckraking McClure's Magazine, and Robert Graves's edited poetry magazine, The Owl. Visitors are invited to browse these publications by issue (the collection includes 26 journals as of this write-up) or conduct a text-search. In addition, the Modernist Journals Project offers a number of accompanying resources for literature and history scholars, teachers, and enthusiasts. In the MJP Lab, visitors can explore a variety of graphs, tables, and visualizations relating to specific journal entries. Another feature of this website is an extensive biographical database, which provides short snippets about various journal contributors. Those interested in situating this rich source collection may want to check out the Books and Essays sections for works about these journals, including historical and contemporary articles. Finally, educators can explore classroom assignments that utilize this collection in the Teaching with the MJP section. [MMB]

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Originally featured in the March 3, 2001 edition of The Scout Report, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) continues to allow "anyone, anywhere to access data about all types of life on Earth, shared across national boundaries via the Internet." Created in 1999 on the recommendation of an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development panel, GBIF functions as a one-stop shop for data from a number of institutions around the world. In the Data section, researchers can access information in a number of ways, including by Country, Dataset, and Species. As of this write up, GBIF includes over 30,000 data sets and data from over 200 countries. While researchers may be most interested in the Data section, members of the general public and science teachers may be most interested in the News section. Here, visitors will find Featured Data Use, which highlights recently published studies that draw on GBIF data. [MMB]

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Numeracy refers to the ability to use and interpret numerical data in one's life and work. The National Numeracy Network (NNN) is an organization headed by a rotating team of mathematics, science, and social science scholars and educators from across the United States and based out of the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. The NNN aims to promote "education that integrates quantitative skills across all disciplines and at all levels." On the Teaching Resources page, college-level instructors will find a variety of resources to aide numeracy instruction. These resources, developed by college professors across the country, include materials for mathematics and statistics classrooms, as well as materials for integrating numeracy into other subjects. In Pedagogical Approaches, visitors can explore seven different models for incorporating numeracy into instruction (including Teaching with Data and Teaching Quantitative Reasoning with the News). Meanwhile, in the Resources section, instructors will find a variety of classroom activities, curriculum, and assessments. [MMB]

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Born in 1866 in North Carolina, Monroe Nathan Work established the Department of Records at Tuskegee University in 1908. Here, inspired by the pioneering journalism of Ida B. Wells, he collected and preserved information about the horrors of lynching. This website, created by Auut Studios, provides information about lynchings and the heroic activists who worked to publicize and stop lynching. The centerpiece of this powerful website is its Map of White Supremacy Mob Violence, an interactive map and timeline feature that allows visitors to observe the prevalence of lynching across time and region and learn more about each act of violence. As this map illustrates, lynchings, while especially common in the deep south, occurred in all areas of the United States, targeting black communities, Native American communities, Latin@ communities, Chinese communities, and Italian communities, among others. This map is accompanied by a thorough Ask Questions section, which explains how the data was compiled, notes the limitations of the map, and encourages viewers to ask critical questions. These two resources would make a strong addition to any American history classroom. [MMB]

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Thingiverse, created by the three-dimensional printing company MakerBot, is an online community for "discovering, making, and sharing 3D printable things." For K-12 and university level instructors with access to 3D printing technology, this website also provides a large collection of free lesson plans for incorporating 3D printing into the classroom. These lessons can be browsed by grade level and subject (including Science, Math, and Engineering, as well as Art and History), or by compliance to national standards (including the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards). Each lesson includes detailed instructions, and many also include accompanying videos to aide in incorporating these resources into the classroom. These engaging, hands-on projects would also make great additions to out-of-school educational settings, including libraries and enrichment programs. [MMB]

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Anyone who has ever conducted archival research knows that the field includes a variety of specific vocabulary terms, including words relating to material preservation, copyright law, and more. Fortunately, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) has created this free, extensive glossary of archival and records terminology. On this website, visitors can browse hundreds of terms alphabetically or conduct a text search for unfamiliar terms. The glossary, over 400 pages in total, is also available as a free PDF download. The guide includes a helpful Preface, authored by archivist Robert Pearce-Morris, that outlines how archival vocabulary has shifted over time. In addition, those interested in learning new archival terms one week at a time can sign up for a free Word of the Week email. [MMB]

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Georg Hegel's Phenomenology of the Spirit, in which the German philosopher details his conception of the dialectic, is one of the most influential philosophical texts in modern history. Gregory B. Sadler, who holds a doctorate degree in philosophy, is the host of Half Hour Hegel, a series of thirty-minute video lectures designed to help viewers understand, interpret and explore this text. Designed as an aide to those reading this text on their own (or for a course), each video corresponds with one or two sections of the Phenomenology of the Spirit. As of this write-up, Sadler has posted 165 videos in total and plans to continue to create videos until he has covered the entire manuscript. Sadler accompanies his explanation of the text with chalkboard diagrams and explanations of how Phenomenology will influence future philosophers. [MMB]

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The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has created DataPoints, a collection of printable snapshots that highlight data that may be of interest to higher education professionals, from student service staff to instructors to administrators. These DataPoints cover a range of topics, including degree completion rates, enrollment trends, student attitudes, and projected demographics of high school graduates over the next fifteen years. For instance, one recently published snapshot reveals how well students felt their experience in higher education prepared them for the workforce. Another Data Point provides data about student completion rates for remedial coursework. In another, visitors can see that, between 1979 and 2013, the percentage of tuition at public two-year institutions covered by a Pell Grant has plummeted from 99% to 53%. Easy to read and attractively presented, these DataPoints provide a useful resource for meetings, presentations, grant applications, and more. [MMB]

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Arcade games from the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s continue to be popular among both the nostalgic as well as younger players drawn to these games' aesthetics. On this website, courtesy of the Internet Archive, visitors can explore and play a number of these classic games from the comfort of their personal computer. As of this write up, the collection includes over 600 games, complete with their signature arcade music. Each game is accompanied by information about its creator and original release date, and gamers are invited to add their own reviews. Visitors can browse games by creator (e.g. Sega, Atari), by title, or by publication date. Visitors with a certain favorite game in mind can also conduct a quick search of the collection. [MMB]

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The Library of Congress is home to thousands of graphic art prints created between 1700 and 1900, many of which have been digitized and are available for browsing on this website. Those familiar with the history of graphic arts may be interested in conducting a text search or browsing the collection by Creator, where prints are organized alphabetically by the artist or design company. Alternatively, visitors can browse this collection by Subjects (which include almost 10,000 tags, such as Advertising, Ice Skating, and Emiliano Zapata) or by Formats (which include Allegorical Prints, Maps, and Woodcuts). This diverse collection highlights the many uses of popular graphic arts over two centuries of printing technology. [MMB]

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Why do crows travel in groups? What's the difference between a crow and a raven? How do crows mate? If any of these questions pique your curiosity, you may want to check out Kaeli Swift's engaging website, Corvid Research. Swift is a doctoral student at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington where she specializes in examining the rituals of Corvids, a family of birds that includes crows, ravens, and magpies. Swift is particularly interested in crow thanatology, or their practices associated with death. As she explains, in contrast to most animals, "Crows have long been reported to respond to their dead," adding that a number of people have "filmed or observed large, loud or quiet gatherings of crows around the body of a deceased individual." On this website, Swift shares her research with members of the general public while also providing general information about crows. Swift's frequently updated blog is available via the Current Research Tab and will appeal to fellow science students and nature enthusiasts alike. Visitors can also check out Swift's published work and links to news stories about crow research. [MMB]

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In 1840, Stanford "Sandy" Faulkner penned a folk narrative, to be performed with the aide of a fiddle, about a man traveling through Arkansas who stops to ask for directions. In 1856, Edward Payson Washbourne painted The Arkansas Traveler, a tribute to Faulkner's folk tale. In addition, Faulkner's tale, always presented with musical accompaniment, eventually acquired an established tune and national recognition. In 1869, the story was even turned into a play which was performed in Buffalo, New York and New York City. On this website, created by the Historic Arkansas Museum, visitors can learn more about the many artistic renditions of the Arkansas Traveler and how the tale was interpreted and perceived by audiences within the state, as well as in other regions of the country. Perhaps the highlight of this exhibit is the Interactive Painting, where visitors can explore an annotated print of Washbourne's painting. In addition, visitors can read the full "dialogue" of various iterations of the performance and listen to a sound recording of the tune that eventually accompanied the tale. [MMB]

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From Late Night Library, a Portland, Oregon-based organization "dedicated to sustaining book culture, promoting literature in schools and communities, and supporting a diverse array of writers early in their career," comes the Late Night Debut podcast. Hosted by short story writer Amber Keller, each forty-minute episode features three "acts." In the first act, Keller chats about newly published books that may be of interest and other book news. Next, two invited authors talk to each other about a debut novel. In the final act of the show, one invited author interviews the author of the featured book. In this way, listeners are able to hear multiple perspectives about a new book while also learning about each writer's creative process. All current and past episodes are available on this website; new episodes are released approximately once per month. [MMB]

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The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History is home to over a million items related to the history of currency and medals. On this website, visitors can browse a significant digitized portion of this collection which includes over 50,000 items dating back to colonial North America. This numismatic collection can be filtered by date, location (most items in this collection are from the United States and can be searched by state; the collection also includes items from Russia, Mexico, and a handful of other countries), Object Type (including coins, sketches, medals, and paper money) and more. A few of the many highlights of this collection include a 20 shilling note from late-seventeenth century Massachusetts; a Russian medal crafted to commemorate the death of Nicholas I in 1855; and a tajedero used as currency by the Aztecs circa 1500. [MMB]

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From Oregon State University comes A Short History of the Seed and Nursery Catalogue in Europe and the U.S., an extensive online collection of agricultural catalogues from 1832 to 1966. The collection was assembled by agricultural librarian Laura Kelts during the 1960s and 1970s and, more recently, digitized by Alice Krinsky Formiga of OSU's Department of Horticulture. On this website, visitors can learn more about these catelogs, easily navigable by time period. As site explains, "Rather than offering merely seeds and plants, catalogues offer garden tools, kitchen gadgets, gardening clothes and furniture. Recipes, personal notes from company owners, and evidence of companies' charitable works are all common elements in modern retail catalogues. The study of older seed and nursery catalogues makes it possible to trace how and when these developments occurred in response to available technology and the demands of gardeners in changing times." In each time period denoted on this website, featured catalogues are accompanied by thoughtful commentary about the history of farming and gardening during this time. [MMB]

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Starting in 2012, the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) began a program of what Digitale Inventarisierung, or digital cataloguing, to digitize, describe, and make available online all of the Museum's approximately 500,000 artifacts. Currently a little over 10,000 items are available online, primarily photographs. To see all digital items simply place the cursor in the search box, and press search. For English speakers wishing to refine a search, it's best to select from the facets listed on the left: Collection; Object type; Artist/Maker; Material; Technique; Date; Place; Classification; and Further Use (e.g. rights information such as public domain, copyright, or CC-by). This is because although the site can be translated into English, the majority of the artifact metadata is in German. For items that originally appeared in print, such as the work of early photographers Julia Margaret Cameron, David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson, which appeared on Alfred Stieglitz's "Camera Work," links are provided back to the Deutsche National Bibliothek, the German National Library. [DS]

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Do you have a photograph that you'd like to sharpen? Adjust the brightness? Add a filter? Polarr is a photo-editing tool that can be used on a wide number of devices: visitors can download Polarr for iOS or Android devices; for Mac, Linux, or Windows computers, or as a Google Chrome Extension. Users can also use Polarr on their web browser. Polarr's basic account is available for free; with a paid Pro account, users have access to additional filter options and editing tools. [MMB]

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Zoho Writer is a cloud-based word processor with most of the bells and whistles of a traditional word processor, but without the price or hassle of installation. The user interface is clean and simple, spell check is included, documents are auto-saved, and users can easily see document history. There is also the ability to chat with others while using Zoho Writer, similar to Google Docs, which helps when using the tool for collaborative projects. Zoho Writer has been designed with easy integration with MS Word in mind, making it easy to share and upload documents in popular formats. Getting started is especially easy for users who already have a Facebook, Google, or LinkedIn account. [CDR]

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