The Scout Report -- Volume 23, Number 17

Martians of Tomorrow is an engaging series of educational activities for upper elementary school and middle school learners. This interactive website is hosted by the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, a non-profit organization created by the families of Challenger crew members and dedicated to engaging young learners in STEM education. The title of the website refers to the fact that current middle school learners are potentially "martians of tomorrow" - individuals who may one day develop the technology to visit and explore the red planet. On this website, young learners are invited to take a fun (and somewhat cheeky) quiz to assess which of the nine potential "roles" is best suited to their skills and interests. The website then offers nine different interactive lesson plans that align with each of these interests, possibilities include Navigation, Robotics, and Communications. Each lesson plan presents middle school learners with hands on, collaborative activities. For example, the Navigation activity invites students to identify where the rover should land, then successfully communicate that information to classmates. Meanwhile, the Biology lesson invites students to discern where certain mythical species - or extremophiles - could successfully live on Mars. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Over the past several years, more and more history scholars have created digital history projects that present archival material, historical data, and narrative prose in new and innovative ways. From the American Historical Association (AHA) comes Teaching with #DigHist, a series of resources designed to help history instructors easily incorporate digital history into their classrooms. Each month, a high school or college history teacher highlights a new digital history project and provides general reflections about the site (including direct links to parts of the site that may be of special interest to teachers) along with suggested classroom activities and learning outcomes. As of the write up, there are seven featured sites with topics that range from ancient Rome to the 1960s. Stay tuned as Teaching with #DigHist continues to grow. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Journalists and journalism students of all stripes may be interested in the Nieman Journalism Lab, "an attempt to help journalism figure out its future in an Internet age." Established in 2008 by veteran journalist Joshua Benton, the Lab is part of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, which was founded in 1938 to provide fellowship to innovative journalists, of whom Benton was one such honoree. On this frequently updated website, visitors will find a number of new stories about journalism, social media, and technology, three areas that are becoming increasingly intertwined. Recent news stories include a feature about how STAT, a publication that focuses on health news, will now have a print section in the Sunday Boston Globe, and an investigation of the Argentine newspaper La Nacion, which has become a major proponent and actor in the open data movement. Readers interested in receiving daily email updates from the Nieman Lab will want to sign up for The Digest. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the CDC Foundation, comes the 500 Cities Project, an interactive map that allows researchers to quickly access and analyze health data from the 500 largest cities in the United States. Visitors can browse this information, which is drawn from census and city data, in a number of ways. Researchers interested in learning more about data by region can select an individual state on the map. From there, select from three categories (Health Outcomes; Prevention; Unhealthy Behaviors) to view a variety of specific data measurements for cities in that state. Measurements include rates of high blood pressure, smoking, and health insurance coverage, to name just a few. Alternatively, visitors may also chose to simultaneously view all data in the United States for a particular measurement (e.g. prevalence of arthritis). Data is color coded, allowing visitors to compare cities at first glance, or visitors may hover their cursor over any individual city to view available data. In addition to this map feature, researchers can also request a comparison report for two cities, download a PDF copy of 28 data maps, or download all available data. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

According to the Purdue Owl, a "white paper" is "a certain type of report that is distinctive in terms of purpose, audience, and organization." The term originates from early twentieth century Great Britain, where it was used to describe to an official government document designed to outline a particular viewpoint and provide supportive evidence and information. Today, the term is used more broadly in the business and nonprofit world to describe similar publications that are intended not for commercial use, but to advocate an official position or solution. Like all forms of writing, white papers come with their own established norms, and Purdue Owl offers this website that outlines these norms and expectations. In Organization and Other Tips, visitors will find a brief, one-page summary of the major components of white papers. This section also includes a detailed PowerPoint presentation that provides information about the purpose and mechanics of white papers in greater detail. This presentation, 25 slides in length, is free to download and might easily be incorporated into a meeting or professional development session. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Brown Center on Educational Policy, part of the Brookings Institute, recently released this 38-page report entitled "How Well Are American Students Learning?" The report is divided into three sections, each focusing on a distinct issue in contemporary American education. The first section examines the performance of U.S. students on two international tests: the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Society (TIMSS). The second section explores the experiences of foreign exchange students in the United States, following up on a 2001 Brookings Institute report on the same subject. Finally, the third section investigates racial disparities in U.S. public school children receiving disciplinary suspensions from school. This section also identifies shared characteristics of schools with unusually high suspensions. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum offers STEM in 30, a series of half-hour webcasts designed to "engage middle school students in STEM topics ranging from WWI airplanes to rovers on Mars." Each webcast highlights a different STEM topic via engaging interviews and presentations by scientists, astronauts, museum educators, and other experts from around the world. During the live air date of each webcast, instructors and students are invited to participate in interactive activities online; student questions and comments are then integrated into the episode. Episodes are then archived, allowing science instructors to use them in the classroom at any time. On this website, educators can learn about upcoming broadcasts and access all archived episodes. Recent episodes have explored the central role of women astronauts and scientists in space exploration; how space travel impacts the physical body; and the impact of the Wright brothers' original Flyer on future aviation developments. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Historian Peter Carmichael of Gettysburg College, with the support of the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, developed this series of 10 lesson plans designed to engage advanced high school or college students with the history of medicine and healthcare during the U.S. Civil War. These powerful interdisciplinary lesson plans center on primary document analysis and facilitate student exploration of such themes and topics as racism, nineteenth-century ideas about psychology, wartime amputations, and the role of women nurses and the sexism that they experienced when serving in the Civil War. Each lesson includes detailed descriptions of how to implement the lesson along with all accompanying lesson materials, including primary source material, secondary readings, and links to additional web resources. This series is also highly interactive, incorporating role playing alongside discussion and analysis. These lessons may be of interest to not only history teachers, but also instructors of health or science. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

While the exact date of William Shakespeare's birth and death are disputed, historians believe that this past week - April 23rd, to be exact - marked both the 453rd anniversary of his birth in 1564 and the 401st anniversary of his death in 1616. For Shakespeare aficionados, the Folger Shakespeare Library hosts Shakespeare Unlimited, a thirty-minute podcast dedicated to all things related to the playwright and his enduring legacy. On this website, visitors can listen to all current and past episodes of Shakespeare Unlimited (as of this write up, 70 episodes in total) and also check out the transcript for each episode. The show is produced by public radio veteran Richard Paul, edited by Shakespeare experts Esther Ferington (who has penned articles for Folger Magazine) and Gail Kern Paster (former editor of Shakespeare Quarterly), and hosted by Barbara Bogaev, Neva Grant, and Rebecca Sheir. Episodes frequently incorporate interviews with other experts and explore not only Shakespeare's work, but also topics related to Shakespeare's world and his impact on the world today. For example, one recent podcasts explores Shakespeare's depictions of girlhood and the realities of female adolescence in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Another episode explores Othello, sixteenth-century portrayals of blackness, and new insights about the play. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Established in 2012 Aeon is an online, non-profit magazine "committed to big ideas, serious enquiry and a humane worldview." Aeon publishes a variety of essays, authored by scholars and journalists with a wide variety of backgrounds. In addition, Aeon features an engaging Video section, which features a variety of videos on a number of subjects. Many of these videos are curated from other publications and media companies, and the collection includes short films from award winning documentarians and independent film companies. As a result, the Aeon video collection is remarkably diverse, featuring films on topics ranging from continental drift to the Coen brothers' movies to the impact of China's one child policy. Each film is accompanied by a short description and information about the filmmakers, including (if applicable) a link to the video's original place of publication. Films range in length from a few minutes to 40 minutes, and include pieces that have garnered nominations from the Academy Awards. These videos have a wide appeal, and many could also be useful resources for classrooms and informal education settings. (Instructors, youth workers, and parents should note that some videos in this collection contain mature content.) [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

From geographer Cooper Thomas of Esri's Story Maps team, An Atlas of Electricity provides visitors with a fascinating, multimedia glimpse into how electricity is created and distributed in the United States. This eight part story map opens with a description of the 2003 Northeast blackout, an incident that signaled the fragility of the North American power grid. From here, the story map portrays American electricity usage, production, and transmission through a series of interactive maps. Next, utilizing a number of graphs and more interactive maps, the exhibit explores the different natural resources that Americans have turned to for energy throughout history and today. Finally, the story concludes by turning to the future of electricity in the United States, focusing on recent upgrades and innovations in the world of electricity. As a whole, this story serves to demystify electricity production and transmission in the U.S. in an engaging, accessible manner. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

What role did the belief in religion and magic play in ancient medicine? How have medical instruments changed throughout time? What role did medicine play in Renaissance art? The Kelsey Museum of Archeology and the University of Michigan Library recently put together this website that traces the history of medicine in Europe and the Middle East, from Ancient Greece and Rome through the Renaissance. The exhibit is divided into five sections: Religion and Magic, Graeco-Roman Medicine, Islamic Medicine, Medieval Medicine, and Renaissance Medicine. In each of these five sections, visitors can browse multiple topics to view interesting artifacts and manuscripts related to these topics. For example, visitors can examine ancient Egyptian amulets; look at a fourteenth century "Arabic Treatise of Potable Medicaments" (and read the English translation); or view detailed sixteenth century medical illustrations by anatomist and surgeon Girolamo Fabrizio. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

What makes mathematics beautiful? The National Museum of Mathematics asks that question to a number of famous mathematicians and records their answers in this delightful series. Bryna Kra, professor of mathematics at Northwestern University, speaks of the beauty she sees in discovering and understanding patterns between two mathematical problems that, at first glance, appear to be unrelated. Kra then goes on to discuss the role of Schur's theorem in combinatorics. In another video, Manjul Bhargava talks about the uses of pi outside of geometry and discusses the beauty in the unity of mathematics: subfields that appear disconnected are, in fact, intertwined. These short videos will appeal to math scholars as well as those more casually interested in math, and offer an enjoyable way for anyone, regardless of their previous mathematics education, to learn something new. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Daily Heller is an insightful blog from Steven Heller and Print, a magazine that has been covering design history and culture since 1940. On this blog, Heller writes about everything from typography to textiles to vintage men's fashion and features tidbits of both recent design history as well as design history far into the past. These short entries - updated, as the title suggest, daily - occasionally incorporate interviews and always incorporate visuals. One recent entry highlights a new exhibit at the Chicago Design Museum about the late artist Dan Friedman. Another recent entry, "Life as it Once Was," features a number of illustrated covers of Life magazine from the year 1909. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

While Google Earth has been around for well over a decade, Google Earth Version 9 now comes with Google Voyager. This new feature allows visitors to take a number of trips around the world, all from the comfort of their home. In one such voyage, Revealing the Center of Life, The Ocean Agency guides an interactive tour through Raja Ampat, a location in the Coral Triangle (just north of Australia) that contains more biodiversity than any other marine area in the world. Visitors are taken to a series of seven related Google Earth locations - both above and below water - to view three-dimensional images of Raja Ampat. Each location is accompanied by a short description to enable visitors to learn more about their travels. Other Google Voyager tours include a journey through Natural Treasures (in collaboration with BBC Earth) and Amazing Urban Gardens. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Brackets is a text editor designed especially for web design. Compatible with HTML, CSS, and Javascript, this free open-source tool boasts a simple, no-frills design. The idea behind Brackets is to make coding simpler without a cumbersome tool bar. Instead, Brackets offers shortcuts with key commands. The text editor also works in one's web browser and allows users to work on web design while simultaneously testing the final product (including formatting and colors) in real time. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Liner has a simple purpose: it allows users to highlight text as they read. Want to highlight or annotate interesting sections of a research article? Give Liner a try. The Google Chrome extension and iOS application automatically syncs across multiple devices, allowing users to select a specific text or piece of information in an article or PDF. In addition, Liner also works with screenshots. This feature may appeal to anyone wanting to highlight a specific piece of text on a website during a presentation or as part of a social media post. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource