The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 35

Students, teachers, families, and nature nerds can pay a virtual visit to the San Diego Natural History Museum (previously featured in the 05-01-2009 Scout Report) with an array of distance learning offerings, including live presentations, video content, and curriculum resources. There are monthly, 45-minute Live Programs on topics like birds of prey, tide pools, and Tyrannosaurus Rex (recordings of past events are available on the same page). The museum's current (as of this writing) live series focuses on the impacts of climate change on oceans, pollinators, wildfires, and more. Virtual Field Trips in the form of narrated videos are available for 3 exhibits about the natural history of Southern California: Fossil Mysteries traverses 75 million years of fossil history, Coast to Cactus showcases the region's biodiversity, and Living Lab uncovers creepy-crawly animal and insect life unique to the region. Standards-aligned Virtual Classes include videos and accompanying activities on topics like arthropods, fossils, and the earliest human inhabitants of the San Diego area. Educators and parents should also check out the Lesson Plans and Guides section for standards-aligned lesson plans designed to be accessible for remote learning, most of which are available in both English and Spanish. Those dreaming of working in natural history or museums should not miss the Career Spotlights, which are 2-3 minute videos highlighting careers from herpetologist to museum curator to zooarchaeology lab director. [HCL]

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We make a choice with the language that we use, and that choice can negatively impact others. This digital campaign from Pacific Lutheran University aims to help people better understand the context and meaning of the words anti-racist, anti-Blackness, decolonize, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). For each word, readers will find a brief written definition and a 1-2 minute video explanation, as well as a recorded 30-40 minute roundtable discussion featuring university faculty and alumni with expertise in racial equity. The campaign also provides Discussion Questions and resources to learn more, including a reading list (References) and links to related academic and co-curricular programs (Want To Learn More?). For background about why the digital campaign was created, readers can scroll to the bottom of the page and click "View Story." [HCL]

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Vintage Soda Collector celebrates the history of bottled soft drinks, particularly the period dating from the 1930s-1980s, when returnable glass soda bottles were printed with Applied Color Labels (ACLs) - painted labels that were silk-screened onto steaming hot bottles. The website can be browsed by using the hamburger menu in the upper right corner, which is organized around a variety of themes: "ACLs A-Z" is a visual index of bottles by brand, from Aurora to Zep-Up; "ACL Conditions & Cleaning" is a guide for collectors on the quality of collectible bottle labels (e.g., Mint, Color Fade/Sun Exposure, Recycle Wear) and how to safely clean bottles; and other sections such as vintage soda advertising and collectors' conventions. Readers may also want to dive into the blog, "Let's Talk Soda," which has interesting content about soda history and the bottle collecting hobby. For instance, the August 29, 2020 blog discusses African-American soda moguls. There's also a library of soda collecting resources and price guides ("The Library"), and helpful links for newbie collectors ("Links"). And yes, there's even a section on printed soda cans ("Kick the Can"). [DS]

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Chartbuilder is designed to turn numerical data into polished, ready-to-publish static charts in just a few steps. The tool was originally developed by the financial news site Quartz for its journalists to easily create charts for their articles. Chartbuilder can create an XY chart or a chart grid with a number of options to customize formatting and appearance. A helpful preview window shows how the chart will look on mobile as well as desktop. Users can input their raw data as plaintext or import a JSON file, and they can export the final product as a PNG image, SVG, or JSON. Chartbuilder's interface is designed for functionality, but there is a steep learning curve for beginners since there are no instructions or tutorials on the page. [HCL]

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Dive Against Debris is a citizen science initiative through which divers collect data to be used by marine researchers and policymakers to contribute to ocean conservation efforts. To participate, divers are encouraged to collect marine debris during their dives and log information about the debris into a global database. On the page linked above, interested divers can learn how to participate by clicking "Become a Citizen Scientist" in the top menu, which links to prerequisites and a step-by-step guide to joining the effort. Data can be submitted either through the Dive Against Debris app (which is undergoing maintenance as of this writing) or through an online submission form. Full details can be found in the "App FAQ" page (note that users will need to create an account to participate). There are also many conservation tools available on the site (click "Toolkit" in the top menu), such as course guides for diving instructors, manuals of responsible tourism best practices for dive managers, and even resources for kids to get involved in marine conservation. Dive Against Debris is a project of the PADI AWARE Foundation, a public non-profit whose mission is to foster ocean conservation through local action. Readers can follow the foundation on Facebook (@ProjectAWAREFoundation) and Instagram and Twitter (@projectaware on both platforms). [MJZ]

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Next Gen Personal Finance is a nonprofit that provides teachers with free curriculum and professional development for financial education. Educators will find everything they need to teach full courses or individual lessons on personal financial literacy, including syllabi, lesson plans, activity packets, and assessments. In the Curriculum dropdown menu in the page header, teachers can click "Units" to browse a subject library featuring topics such as Budgeting, Investing, Taxes, Insurance, Managing Credit, and Paying for College. Also in the Curriculum menu, teachers can check out the ready-to-go "9-Week Course," "Semester Course," "Full Year Course," or "Middle School Course," and math teachers can head to the "Math Collection" for activities to integrate finance problems into math lessons. Educators looking for professional development opportunities should navigate to the Teacher PD dropdown menu in the page header. Clicking "NGPF Academy," teachers will find live classes (Virtual PD), self-paced modules (NGPF On-Demand), and even a multi-week course to earn certification (Certification Courses). Teachers may also get gift cards and other swag by completing professional development courses. In the page header, users can also check out the "Arcade" for educational games for students and the "Advocacy" menu for resources to learn about and advocate for financial education, including the film The Most Important Class You Never Had, and a "School Search" of financial education offerings in different U.S. states. A free teacher account is required to access some parts of the site. [HCL]

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Employers can help their employees to pursue financial stability and literacy by signing on to free turnkey programs offered by America Saves. The different programs can be found by clicking "About Us" in the header menu. The "Split to Save" program enables employees to automatically deposit part of their direct-deposit paycheck into a savings account. Employees also have access to no-cost tools and resources to help set short-term and long-term savings goals and learn best practices for saving. "America Saves for Young Workers" is a similar program designed especially to enable young employees to build their financial confidence and address their financial needs. For individuals, America Saves also offers a variety of resources to learn about saving and setting goals. In the Resource Center dropdown menu, users can click "Downloads" to access resources such as a "Homeownership Checklist" for first-time homeowners, a "Child Tax Credit Decision Tree" to help decide whether to opt in to the child tax credit, and a Budgeting Worksheet, as well as informational articles about how to navigate taxes, debt relief, and more. The America Saves campaign is coordinated by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America and is supported by corporate and foundation partners listed on the "About Us" page. [HCL]

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A city simulation game meets an expense tracking app: As the Mayor of Fortune City, keep your citizens happy by recording your day-to-day spending in order to create a growing, prosperous city. Users record their spending in categories such as food, transport, entertainment, and shopping. As they use the app, they can construct buildings and transportation, assign jobs to each citizen, complete missions throughout the city, and do more activities to help Fortune City thrive. The app also provides easy-to-read charts to help users see where their money goes on a weekly, monthly, and seasonal basis. Users can also set goals and earn awards for achieving them. For tutorials on how to use the app, readers should click "Support" at the top of the page and navigate to the "New Mayor Crash Course" section. The app is free in the App Store and Google Play Store, with optional in-app purchases and a premium subscription to unlock extra features such as detailed expense tracking and analyses. [HCL]

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By the end of this one-hour project-based course, learners will be able to create a basic budget in Google Sheets and customize it to their needs. Along the way, learners will build their financial and spreadsheet skills and learn to create budgets for personal use or professional reports and presentations. A split-screen video tutorial walks learners step-by-step through the project from start to finish, beginning with a Google Sheets template and practicing deleting and populating rows, formatting charts, adding conditional formatting, using a summary tab, sharing sheets with others, and turning everything into a file for presentation. The course is open to users of all skill levels and no previous experience is necessary. For more project-based courses using Google Sheets, visitors can scroll to the Instructor section of the page linked above and click the instructor's name, "Jamie Schroeder." The link leads to more courses taught by Schroeder, including an in-depth course in budget creation and courses for making Gantt charts, project timelines, and financial statements, all using Google Sheets. The course is designed for desktop so that users can follow along in Google Sheets, which unfortunately makes it incompatible for mobile. Coursera, which hosts the course, suggests that it works best for learners based in North America. [HCL]

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From the award-winning Planet Money podcast, this six-week Summer School series gives listeners a crash course in economics and finance through entertaining stories and lighthearted conversation (with no homework required). The summer 2021 session is all about investing, from the stock market to 401Ks to cryptocurrency. For instance, in the first lesson, host Cardiff Garcia learns how stock prices are determined by guessing the weight of a cow and comparing the cuteness of kittens versus polar bears. There are 6 lessons this summer, each lasting 30-40 minutes, and listeners can even take a final quiz to earn a "diploma" for completion. Educators can also use Summer School in the classroom with accompanying lesson plans (click "For Educators" in the menu) on 20 economics topics geared towards high school and college students. Listeners can also check out the summer 2020 session by clicking "Season 1: Microeconomics" in the top menu. That season explored principles of microeconomics using examples such as pickles, Santa, cocaine, and Donald Duck. Planet Money is produced by NPR. [HCL]

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GnuCash is a full-featured double entry accounting application. While initially designed to provide personal accounting features similar to the popular Quicken program, it has since grown to support accounting for small businesses and nonprofit entities. For personal accounting, the software includes features for budgeting, forecasting, automated scheduled transactions, bank and credit account statement reconciliation, and check printing, among others. For business or non-profit accounting, the software includes features for invoicing, accounts payable and receivable, and sales tax tables. New users can take advantage of "The Tutorial and Concepts Guide" (found by clicking "Documentation" in the Support menu on the left hand side of the page linked above), which provides a friendly introduction to the concepts of double-entry accounting and how to apply them with the software. On that same page, the "Help Manual" gives an overview of the software's user interface and operations. For Windows and macOS users, installers are available in the Download section of the page linked above. For Linux and BSD systems users, GnuCash is located in their package repositories. [CRH]

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Ledger is a command-line accounting tool designed for technical users who have a love of plain-text formats. Creator John Wiegley describes Ledger's approach as "the Bran Muffin of accounting tools." Rather than providing a user interface and integrated set of tools to manage accounting data, Ledger is designed to be used as one in a set of small, composable tools in the spirit of the UNIX philosophy. It defines a simple, text-based format for transactions and then allows users to create and manage account files in that format using the tools of their choice. From this data, users can generate a variety of reports using the "ledger" command. Reports can be generated for a subset of the data selected based on date range, payee, account transaction amount, and other attributes of the transaction. Ledger also supports budgeting and forecasting features, automated repeating transactions, and accounts in multiple currencies. The ledger manual (available by clicking "Docs" in the menu at the top of the page) provides an introductory tutorial and a detailed reference guide. Users can click "Download" for installers for Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD systems. [CRH]

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Since it was last featured in the 03-22-2013 issue of the Scout Report, this educational resources website has undergone a total revamp. Updated resources are now easier to search using filters for age, topic, and format.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City offers an array of educational resources for teachers, bankers, and consumers of all ages. Lesson plans, videos, activities, and articles cover a range of personal finance and economics topics such as credit, banking, income, employment, and college and career readiness. For kids, popular resources include the "Financial Fables" stories that teach lessons about personal finance, the interactive "Jay Starts a Business" activity about entrepreneurship, flashcards for economic terms ("Fifty Nifty Econ Cards") and higher-level concepts ("Core Concept Cards"), and "The Money Circle," an eight-lesson series to teach high schoolers about money. In the "Filter Education" toolbar, users can filter resources by age ("Audience"), "Topic," or "Format." Visitors can scroll the page for featured resources organized by theme and content type, such as Role Plays, Recession Lessons, and Infographics, or use the Education drop-down menu. [KMG] [HCL]

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