The Scout Report -- Volume 26, Number 42

Launched in 2013 by sisters Sarina Peterson (a self-taught cartoonist) and Brianna Rapini (a former biology teacher), the Amoeba Sisters is geared toward high school biology teachers looking to bring creativity to their science classrooms. Their platform provides several resources for educators, including the Amoeba Sisters YouTube channel. Linked on the Videos page (under Creations), this channel features a "series of short, free science videos that demystify science with humor, relevance, and a lot of comics to help students connect to the content." Most of these videos are short, usually under 10 minutes in length, so they are a perfect tool to introduce a new science topic or unit. On the Handouts and Resource Links page (found under Educators) is also a great place to browse. Topics are categorized alphabetically and links to a free video and free accompanying resource are provided. Instructors should note that most resource answer keys are only available via Teachers Pay Teachers (which will require a fee to access). Looking for additional guidance on how to incorporate these materials into a remote classroom? The "Distance Learning During COVID-19" post, first published on Pinky's EdTech Blog (under Educators) in March 2020 and updated in July 2020, offers insights. [EMB]

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The term "middle class" is frequently referenced, yet the exact meaning is often unclear. As this August 2020 data visualization essay from The Pudding highlights, "for many people, the 'middle class' is just as much about your education, job, resources, and aspirations as it is about your paycheck." To better understand this socioeconomic metric, this story tracks 11,172 families from the years 1968 to 2018. All of these families "spent at least one year in the middle class." However, their specific economic position changed over this time period. This concept of "mov[ing] between income quintiles," is known as economic mobility. Just how much did families' economic positions change over time? Most "move[d] at least one quintile during their lifetimes, with nearly half moving two quintiles." Interactive charts throughout the project explore other aspects of income mobility, including racial disparities. Overall, the project illuminates the importance of examining income changes over time to see a "more nuanced picture of how the middle class is doing," and understand how "economic conditions" shift over one's lifetime. The data used in this story comes from the University of Michigan's Panel Survey on Income Dynamics (PSID), and more information on the data analysis process is available in the Methods section at the end of the piece. [EMB]

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The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) "support[s] faculty, staff, and administrators in finding, adopting, and developing high-quality open educational resources to enhance student learning outcomes in courses and entire degree pathways." As the world adapted to increased online learning this year, CCCOER was at the forefront of the transition, drawing on their expertise to guide educators. Their summer OER Tutorials series, a five-week webinar program for open educational resources beginners, is a great example of these efforts. Designed for instructors and support staff, the program tackled best practices "for student-centered instruction in fully online courses or face-to-face courses, augmented with online components," creative commons basics, and how to select trustworthy and accessible classroom resources, among other key topics. Readers who missed the live presentations will find recordings, slides, and resources from each at the link above. Additionally, a plethora of other open educational resources can be found on other sections of the CCCOER's website (readers may remember seeing the full site featured in the 07-12-2019 Scout Report). [EMB]

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Maps do more than point people in the right direction; "geographical maps are a mirror of what we, humans, know about the world around us." Few individuals contributed more to the map-making field than groundbreaking cartographer Gerardus Mercator. This project examines Mercator's map-making breakthroughs and mistakes, while also recognizing his lasting legacy. After all, "Mercator's projection is still used for making nautical and aeronautical charts." The information is divided into four sections: Here Be Monsters, Mercator's Map, Flat Earth, and The Legacy of Atlas. Each section contains background information accompanied by interactive images and charts. The menu icon in the top left-corner allows users to skip to a chapter, rather than scrolling down the page. Additionally, readers can view the site in English or Russian (the globe icon at the top of the page makes this switch). Mercator: It's a Flat, Flat World was created by a team including authors Daria Donina and Timur Fekhretdinov and illustrator Anastasia Zotova. The project is also available in Russian (found under the globe icon in the top-left corner). [EMB]

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Readers may be somewhat familiar with the Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) from sections of the site that were previously featured (for example, the Encyclopedia section was featured in the 03-08-2019 Scout Report). As "the world's largest collection of information on Jewish women," the JWA provides a wealth of information on Jewish history and identity. The archive's This Week in History section highlights prominent Jewish women's success and contributions, such as the birth and work of influential photographer Annie Leibovitz and the day Caroline Klein Simon was sworn in as Secretary of State for New York (the second woman to hold this position). The page defaults to historical events that occurred during the present week, and history teachers may find that this is a fun way to start each week in their classroom (by noting important moments that occurred on that day in the past). Additionally, the box on the left side of the page allows users to select a date, or a range of dates, to locate important historical events. Clicking on the "Read More" button by each entry pulls up a synopsis or biography with sources. Readers can also subscribe and get updates sent directly to their inbox. [EMB]

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Bare bookshelves be warned, The Lesbrary has plenty of suggestions to restock reading lists. The site is primarily "a book blog about bi and lesbian books," though it does sometimes cover other current events relevant to the LGBTQ community. Danika Leigh Ellis, a teacher based in British Columbia, Canada, launched the blog in 2010. Since then, it has expanded to include several other routine contributors and guest bloggers. The site prioritizes reviews where "the main character is a queer woman or the main subject matter is queer women," as well as books written by authors of color and transgender authors. Recent reviews are visible on the Home page, and a comprehensive compilation can be found on the Browse By page. Here, posts can be sorted by genre (for example, historical fiction or poetry), rating (on a scale of one to five stars), and representation (including disability representation and authors of color). Readers may also want to check out Danika's Recommendations List, highlighting some of the founder's favorite books. [EMB]

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Queer Words welcomes listeners into "conversations with queer-identified authors about their works and lives." Wayne Goodman hosts the podcast, which features a variety of authors from all different backgrounds and locations. Listeners will find themselves immersed in conversations with Jim Provenzano, "Lambda Literary award-winning author, playwright, photographer, journalist, editor, and activist," (see the August 18, 2020 episode) and Arisa White, "poet, Cave Canem fellow, community event organizer, and professor of Creative Writing at Colby College," (see the April 22, 2020 episode), among many others. At least one new episode is released each week, and most installments are short (around 20 minutes in length), so prepare for binge-listening. Each episode begins with Goodman asking guests "what qualifies you as queer," which opens up conversations on identity, acceptance, and community. While episodes are upbeat and good-humored, they still cover substantive topics such as restorative justice and advocacy. Listeners can tune in at the link above or on popular podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts. [EMB]

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UK readers are likely aware of the award-winning Glasgow Women's Library, and readers around the world may delight in this opportunity to become acquainted. The library champions women's achievements and contributions, and also seeks to dismantle gender inequalities that continue to persist. The library's LGBTQ Collections Online Resource draws on this mission by highlighting some key resources from the physical Lesbian Archive in an accessible, online format. This online resource is composed of several collections: Early Lesbian and Gay Publications, Feminism and Lesbian Politics, We Recuit!: Campaigns and Organisations, The Personal is Political: Lesbian Life, and LGBTQ Life in Scotland. These collections feature various media, including art and clothing, but a bulk of the materials are publications, pamphlets, and other snippets of literary work. For additional information readers may want to explore the Bibliography page, which lists other materials used in developing the LGBTQ Collections Online Resource. Additionally, readers on Twitter can stay up-to-date with new additions to the Lesbian Archive by following the hashtag #gwllesbianarchive. [EMB]

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World-renowned writer Audre Lorde was a "Black lesbian poet and feminist writer," whose work explored "intersections of race, sexuality, gender, poverty, and politics." This lesson plan uses her writing as a platform to discuss intersectionality and identity. Specifically, it guides students to reflect on the question: "How do power and privilege impact the relationships people have with each other as well as with institutions?" Instructors will find guiding questions, learning goals, links to multimedia materials, and a PDF of Lorde's essay "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference." The curriculum is well-suited for upper-level high school history classrooms, and it meets several history and reading Common Core State Standards. The lesson plan was created by UCLA's History-Geography Project, a group collaborating with "educational researchers, historians and practitioners to design and lead professional development programs that enrich K-12 history-social studies instruction." Educators may enjoy the project's other curriculum offerings, including an entire unit of LGBTQ History Lesson Plans. [EMB]

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The Bi-bliography, an online catalog of bisexual books, was created because "too often bisexual stories are erased completely or hidden under the LGBTQIA umbrella, making them difficult to locate." This database houses more than 1,000 books, spanning multiple genres, including: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and other "queer anthologies of various types." Various tags at the top of the page allow readers to easily search the database. For example, those looking for "historical fiction" will find more than 80 books under the tag. These book listings are organized in a chart with background information, including commentary on each book's general themes and notations if a book has won any awards. Users should note that this database "makes no judgement on the quality of works included," rather, it focuses on cataloging "all books containing bisexual content in one database." Kerri Price, who identifies as "a bisexual librarian who works in a non-library-yet-library-related setting," created and maintains the database. It is housed on LibraryThing (last featured in the 2010-05-07 Scout Report), a free service that allows individuals and organizations to create unique book cataloging projects. [EMB]

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This extensive collection was last featured in the 10-19-2018 Scout Report. It continues to curate engaging content connecting LBGTQ history and the present day. Readers may especially enjoy browsing the collection's manuscripts and anthologies.

The British Library has created this excellent resource that "charts the struggles for love, identity and legislative change faced by LGBTQ communities in the UK" going all the way back to the 1500s. Here, readers will find a well-organized selection of articles, items from the library's collection, people, a timeline, and works of literature, all relevant to British LGBTQ history. Visitors can browse these materials via the tabs at the top, or they can use the search tab to explore all the items in the LGBTQ Histories site by keyword or by fields such as theme, date range, and format. One of the featured items is the original manuscript of "De Profundis," Oscar Wilde's famous letter to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, written during 1896-1897 while Wilde was imprisoned. Another example is a 36-minute sound recording of a January 2018 conversation and interview between three transgender activists and Steven Dryden, the British Library's Sound Archive and Humanities Reference Specialist. Readers will also find some of the British Library's relevant blog posts relating to LGBTQ history featured at the bottom of this site's main page. [JDC] [EMB]

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