The Scout Report -- Volume 22, Number 17

As the introduction to this excellent collection of World War I propaganda posters explains, Americans of a hundred years ago were not at all eager to enter the conflagration that was spreading through Europe. It was in this context that federal, state, and local governments began to design and disseminate messages of military engagement through the use of bold art and patriotic slogans. For instance, one characteristically brazen poster depicts a giant, vicious gorilla making off with a half naked woman, and features the slogan, "Destroy this mad brute: Enlist in the U.S. Army." The gorilla, which wields the a war club inscribed with the word "kultur," is meant to represent Germany's threat on international peace and freedom. Also in the collection, is James Montgomery Flagg's now iconic poster portraying "Uncle Sam." With 23 posters in all, educators will find this collection from the LEARN NC Digital Archive to be fascinating and useful when discussing the history of World War I, advertising, and gender. [CNH]

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This lesson plan from ReadWriteThink, an organization that offers free reading and language arts instruction materials, is designed to be carried out over 10 periods in a 6th through 8th grade classroom. During the lesson, students are invited to attend a 19th century party as a character from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Along the way, they will come to understand not only Dickens' classic work, but also the social and cultural contexts on which the author is commenting. Instructors will find a preview section, which provides a general overview, as well as tabs dedicated to Standards, Resources & Preparation, Instructional Plan, and Related Resources. For educators who are looking for an engaging way to explore Charles Dickens and the Victorian context in depth, over a period of multiple classes, this plan will pay intellectual dividends. [CNH]

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Most journals hide their peer-reviewed articles behind an expensive paywall, making it virtually impossible for the average educated citizen to access their content. In the same liberating tradition as other PLOS journals, PLOS: Pathogens, publishes its groundbreaking articles in an open access format, so that anyone with an interest in the latest research on infectious agents can gain uninterrupted knowledge on the topic. Recent articles have included a reflection about the process by which prions (a particular kind of infectious protein) went from being a "scientific curiosity" to "public enemy number one" in the course of half a year; an opinion article in which one researcher presents a theory about how a better understanding of defensive microbes will lead to more advanced disease control; and a fascinating article on advances in RNA Polymerization. Articles range in depth, from opinion pieces that can be understood by anyone with a passing interest in pathogens, to research articles best understood by fellow pathogen scholars. [CNH]

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This history of the state of North Dakota, which begins in approximately 9500 B.C. and runs to A.D. 1988, provides an excellent overview of the climate, geographies, and cultures of this fascinating place. Designed and hosted by historians at the State Historical Society of North Dakota, the site is organized into two broad sections: Summary History of North Dakota and Chronology of North Dakota History. This first section provides readers with an introduction and then traverses topics such as First People, Fur Trade, Military Confrontation, American Settlement, and half a dozen others. The Chronology section, by contrast, uses a web-based timeline to explore images and objects from the history of this place, including photographs of a mastodon, a pre-Columbian ceramic container, and other artifacts, photographs, and drawings. [CNH]

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The Smithsonian website is brimming with educational materials. These activities and games, which are designed for classrooms ranging from elementary school to high school, seek to bring history and culture to life through engaging educational pursuits. For example, in one activity students learn about the Puerto Rican Carnival by designing and creating their own masks. In another, students imagine that they are settlers on the American prairie, designing and building their own sod houses. Other topics include African fashion, the Civil War, Mariachi music, and World War II rationing. Among the many games and activities here, readers will also find links to related Smithsonian blogs, such as AirSpace from the National Air and Space Museum. [CNH]

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While the homepage of EconEdLink encourages users to sign up for free unlimited access, there is plenty available on this economics and personal finance website without the creation of an account. Here educators will find such relevant lesson plans as "Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday," a story for kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders about a boy who receives a dollar from his grandparents. Though he plans to save the money, gradually he spends every penny. The story is chock-full of pecuniary precepts, as well as excellent math skills. Other lessons help high school students examine how they will pay for college, learn about the history of Medicare, and become familiar with the Federal Reserve system. With dozens of lesson plans available, educators interested in teaching everyday economics to their students will find much to inspire on this well organized site. [CNH]

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The Virtual Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) is designed to offer researchers - both beginner and advanced - the tools they need to make good use of manuscripts from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Here readers will find high resolution images of manuscripts from a variety of times and geographies. Educators may like to select the Learn button under Education to access resources that will bring the study of manuscripts to life for high school and college students. The section dedicated to Latin Scripts, for instance, provides an introduction to the basic terminology of Latin scripts and letters, as well as an introduction to papyrus, parchment, and codicology. Other sections cover topics such as Classical Antiquity, Christian Late Antiquity, and others. Each section includes an historical orientation to the time period, and then invites students into the exciting world of original transcripts with tools designed to give first hand experience of ancient writings. [CNH]

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BioDigital's interactive, medically accurate Human platform has been designed to educate the average person about human anatomy and their own health through the use of dynamic 3D graphics and simulations. Available as a web-based or mobile app, readers must first sign up for an account to begin. From there, the system opens up to an image of the human skeleton. Readers may then select from over a dozen options to show and hide the skeletal, ligament, digestive, urinary, reproductive, respiratory, endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, lymphatic, viscera/fascia, and muscular systems. The program also allows readers to explore in depth conditions related to various anatomical systems, including Blood, Heart, and Circulation, Brain and Nerves, Digestive System, and half a dozen others. The information here strikes an excellent balance between accessible and medically erudite. [CNH]

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The Annals of Botany and AoB PLANTS, journals published by Oxford University Press, have brought to professional botanists a reliable stream of groundbreaking peer-reviewed articles for decades. The expert authors at AoB Blog have been commenting on these developments since June 2010. Here readers will find a wealth of articles that address all that is new and innovative in plant research. Recent posts have examined carbon stores for spring growth in evergreen vs. deciduous species, asked whether or not greater specific-leaf-area plasticity helps plants maintain performance when shaded, and reviewed the interconnectedness of plant studies. Readers may scout the site using the excellent search function, browse the extensive archive by month and year, or link directly to Annals of Botany and AoB PLANTS to discover a wealth of original articles on topics from across the field. [CNH]

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Octavia Estelle Butler was born in Pasadena, California in 1958. She died in Lake Forest Park, Washington in 2006. In between, she published dozens of novels, short stories, essays, and speeches that critiqued contemporary American hierarchies, praised the strength of survivors, and effectively reinvented ideas of what it means to be human in a post-industrial society. She was the first science fiction writer to ever be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, and she won many awards, including the Hugo and Nebula awards. This online collection from the Huntington Library contains photographs of Butler, copies of her hand-corrected transcripts, and other fascinating artifacts. Delving into the rich material here, readers may begin to feel that they are introduced to Butler, not just as an author, but as a black woman living through the turbulence and promise of the late 20th century. [CNH]

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The Marin County Public Library (MCFL) hosts an excellent Research and Learning Blog. Penned by local librarians, the wide-ranging, book-centered blog has recently published articles about California Native Plant Week, The Top 10 Books Published This Month That Librarians Across the Country Love, and the Best Books of 2015, among others. For instance, fans of Downtown Abbey will find much to appreciate in the January 6, 2016 post that suggests additional reading and viewing material that will help develop the context and meaning around Masterpiece Theatre's critically acclaimed historical drama. Here readers will find novels, television specials, and documentaries, all dedicated to understanding the peculiar context of early 20th century England, with its concerns about propriety and decorum, as well as the sense that the world was rapidly changing. Other posts honor the death of acclaimed neurologist Oliver Sacks, link to an important veteran's resource center, and examine the recent winners of the National Book Awards. [CNH]

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The Library and Archives of Canada (LAC) is a great treasury of historical and contemporary knowledge. This page features a series of podcasts produced by the LAC, of which there are currently twenty eight. Detailing both the services offered by the LAC as well as highlights from its plentiful holdings, listeners will find much to enjoy. Recent episodes have examined the possibilities of ancestry research using the LAC's archives, a treatment of the fire that ripped through the vast complex on Parliament Hill on February 3, 1916, and a fascinating expose on the sport of curling, which was invented in late medieval Scotland, popularized in Canada throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and finally became an official Olympic sport in 1998. Other topics include poppies, the photographer Yousuf Karsh, comic books, and the Canadian flag, among others. Podcasts range in length from about 20 minutes to approximately 40 minutes and interested readers may subscribe with RSS or iTunes to automatically receive new episodes. [CNH]

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According to the Federal Reserve, there is approximately 1.39 trillion dollars worth of Federal Reserve notes (i.e. American physical money) in circulation worldwide. In addition, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) prints billions of extra dollars every year, which the Federal Reserve then releases into the monetary system. On this website, readers will learn about the mysteries of U.S. Currency. Start with the introduction, then move on to sections dedicated to the history and significance of each of the American bills, ranging from the $1 Note to the $100 Note to Denominations Above The $100 Note. There are also fascinating sections dedicated to a History of the BEP and U.S. Currency and How Money is Made. [CNH]

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This digital collection from the Duke University Libraries houses images from Alex Harris' 1971-1972 trip across North Carolina, in which he set out to document substandard housing and living conditions on behalf of the Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs. In addition to reading about the initiative, readers may view 56 original photographs from the trip, including a haunting shot of an overturned car, a photograph of migrant workers playing horseshoes, and other photos of homes, run-down federal buildings, and landscapes from the state of North Carolina. The collection may be sorted by Location (Halifax County, Camden County, Durham County, and more), browsed in its entirety, or experienced through a close look at the Featured Items, which reveal the photographic print displayed against a grey background, adding to the feeling of a gallery-like experience. [CNH]

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New York Public Library (NYPL) presents this digital version of John James Audubon's, Birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories. Although it's pretty easy to find digital copies of Audubon's Birds online, this NYPL edition has a number of advantages. First, the website includes an informative essay about the genre of books Birds falls into, that is pre-1920 illustrated zoologies from Europe and the Americas. As explained in the essay, these volumes are not only important as scientific records of species of animals that existed in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, they also serve as specimens of printing technology. Second, the digital version was made from a double elephant folio edition, which can be as large as 48 inches tall, producing high quality digital images. Visitors to the physical library would have to request this giant book from offsite storage; online visitors can see prints instantly on their computer screens. Finally, it's possible to view the digital Birds several ways - as a table of individual images, by searching for a particular bird, or as an e-book with the plates arranged as 2-page spreads. [DS]

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When UberConference came out in 2012, PC World called it the "best conference-call manager yet." The service has only improved since then, making ease of use its calling card and adding significantly more services for the same low price (free). UberConference can be accessed from a personal computer or by using its Android and Apple compatible apps. Readers may sign up using Google, LinkedIn, or email accounts. From there, the one minute tutorial tells users everything they need to know about, inviting conference call participants, scheduling calls, and how to use the service during a call. [CNH]

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Things have come a long way since the days of endlessly fiddling with PhotoShop, never quite getting the effects one wanted. In addition to improvements from Apple and Adobe, a host of free photo-doctoring websites have emerged. PicMonkey is one of the best. Put simply, PicMonkey does three things. It lets you Edit/Touch Up, Design, and Collage. Edit and Touch Up allow users to crop, resize, and add text to photos. The functions also allow users to change colors, whiten teeth, remove blemishes, and basically beautify any image of person, place, or thing. Design, meanwhile, allows readers to use all the above functions on a blank slate rather than a photograph. Collage, meanwhile, gives readers the option to mash pictures together, using dozens of malleable templates. In all, PicMonkey represents the future of image editing: free, easy, and accessible from anywhere. [CNH]

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