The Scout Report -- Volume 23, Number 49

From the University of California Santa Barbara's Early Modern Center (part of the UCSB's English Department) comes the English Broadside Ballad Archive. As explained on the history page, this digital archive was launched in 2003 "out of sheer frustration" when English professor Pamela Fumerton was preparing to teach a course on ballads and other forms of British street literature and found it difficult to access such materials online. Since then, the team behind this collection has digitized a number of broadside ballads held at other institutions. These include Samuel Pepys's collection of over 1,800 ballads, held by Magdalene College in Cambridge, England; the British Library's Roxburghe Collection (which numbers around 1,500 ballads); ballads from Harvard University's Houghton Rare Book Collection; and much more. As of this write-up, the collection contains almost 8,000 titles. Visitors are invited to search this collection by title, date, author, keyword, and more. Not sure where to start? On the homepage, one will find a few collections based on fruitful keywords searches. Visitors looking to learn more about broadside ballads and their role in early modern England will find some helpful essays in the resources section. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers this collection of resources designed to engage K-12 learners with all things bird-related. Here, educators, youth workers, and parents will find eight hands-on activities. In an activity called Investigating Evidence, lessons are designed to take place over a series of classes or sessions and allows learners of all ages to formulate their own research questions and investigations regarding birds and bird behavior. Another activity, Bird Communication, is designed to help upper-elementary school students learn more about birdsong and other forms of bird communication. To access these resources, educators will need to complete a free registration. Many of these activities align with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

K-12 educators may be interested in this collection of lesson plans from the Walters Art Museum of Baltimore, Maryland. These lesson plans were developed by K-12 educators who participated in a workshop hosted by the Walters Art Museum in 2007-2008. Many of these lessons center on items in the museum's extensive digitized collection. For example, in the lesson Warhol Stained Glass, students examine "Stained Glass Window with Scenes from the Life of Saint Vincent," which is a French piece dating from the mid-thirteenth century. In another lesson named Mascot Maps, middle-grade learners examine Leo Belgicus' sixteenth century "Map of the Low Countries," in which Belgicus presents the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium in the shape of a lion. Students then create their own mascot. Each lesson is this collection is organized by grade level and subject for easy browsing. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The National Center on Disability and Journalism (NCTJ) is a non-profit organization based at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. NCTJ aims to provide, "support and guidance for journalists as they cover people with disabilities." These resources include the Disability Style Guide, which provides context and recommendations for vocabulary related to disability. Each entry in this style guide provides a history of each word and phrase along with recommendations from the NCTJ and the AP Style Guide. While aimed specifically at journalists, this guide may also be of interest to grant writers, educators, and individuals who write internal communication or newsletters. Visitors will find a few additional resources in the resource tab, including a list of individuals with expertise in various issues relating to disability. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Hosted by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the History Hub is a place for history researchers of all stripes to connect and collaborate. The Hub offers a number of community forums, hosted by NARA research staff, that will appeal to a broad range of historians. For example, in the genealogy group, researchers can pose questions or research challenges and receive feedback from NARA staff as well as community members. Other discussion pages focus on specific research areas, including American Indian records, African American records, military records, and presidential records. Not sure where to post a research question? Visitors are also invited to post in the researchers help program. To assist in answering research questions, NARA staff draw on their own expertise and also reach out to other research experts. The History Hub provides a valuable service for professional and amateur researchers, librarians, and educators. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

TeachEngineering offers a rich library of K-12 STEM curriculum materials that align with Common Core Math Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. This unit on new surgical tools, created by the University of Colorado Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science, is designed for high school students and may also be of interest to college instructors. In this unit, which is designed to take place over the course of five lessons, students learn about human anatomy and the science behind laparoscopic surgery. This lesson also includes an exploration of Hooke's law and the characteristics of viscoelastic materials in the human body. To print all lessons and activities in this unit, visitors can select "Print this unit overview: print entire unit" in the drop-down option of the quick look box. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Online Books Page is almost 25 years old and continues to offer a valuable and ever-expanding index for finding books (and other materials, including speeches and periodicals) that are freely available online. In fact, as of this write-up, the index lists over 2 million books, including books made available by HathiTrust, Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and a number of other sources. The Online Books Page was launched in 1993 by John Mark Ockerbloom. Since 1999, the site has been hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, where Ockerbloom works as a digital library planner and researcher. Visitors are invited to search or browse the "Books Online" page by categories, such as authors, titles, or serials. Frequent visitors will want to regularly check out the new listings page to see what titles have been recently added. As of December 1, 2017, recently added titles include Catherine Parr Strickland Traill's guide to Canadian Wildflowers (originally published in 1868); The 1903 collection Folk Tales from the Russian by Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal; and The Life of John Thompson, a Fugitive Slave: Containing His History of 25 Years in Bondage, and His Providential Escape, Written by Himself, published in 1856. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Developed by the University of Rochester Medical Center's Life Science Learning Center, Medicines and Me is a series of lesson plans about safely using over-the-counter (OTC) medications. These lessons are designed for young learners and intended to be incorporated into science, health, or family and consumer science classes. These lessons may also be of interest to Adult Basic Education (ABE) instructors leading Life Skills classes. Individual lessons address topics including reading and understanding medicine labels, choosing medicine safely, and knowing what to do in the case of an accidental overdose. Each lesson, which can be downloaded for free, includes a detailed lesson plan along with links to additional resources. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Jane Addams Digital Edition began in 1975 as the Jane Addams Paper Project, under the leadership of historian Mary Lynn Bryan. More recently, historian Cathy Moran Hajo of Ramapo University has relaunched the project with the aim of digitizing Addams' papers written between 1901 and 1935. These papers include letters, speeches, articles, and more. Best of all, this website is designed to allow visitors to explore these papers with ease. For example, under the documents tab, visitors can explore the collection by subject, including Jane Addams and African-Americans, Education, Hull House Residents, and World War I. In the publications section, visitors can explore articles published in Chicago Daily News, Chicago Record-Herald, The Atlantic Monthly and more. These articles include pieces authored by Addams as well as those that mention Addams. The Jane Addams Digital Edition is a work in progress, so be sure to check back for updates. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Reading Lists is a website authored by Phil Treagus, a self-described "reading list hunter." Treagus has a simple mission: interviewing individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise about their work and asking them to offer some book recommendations. On the homepage of the website, visitors can browse these recommendations under the interviews tab, which includes the categories of art & design, education, science, and writers. This website includes an especially robust collection of interviews with philosophers and also includes two featured lists about the best books for people interested in reading about philosophy. Fans of The Reading Lists can sign up to receive updates via email. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Naked Scientists Podcast is a weekly podcast dedicated to communicating the latest scientific news and research to members of the general public. First aired in 2001, (making the show "one of the first podcasts to exist"), each podcast features interviews with scientists and discussion about a range of scientific issues. Some episodes of these hour-long podcasts feature multiple science stories and interviews, while others center on a single issue in great detail. For example, one recent episode (Forever Young: Can Science Reverse Ageing, released 11/28/2017) examines recent scientific studies into the science of aging. Another recent episode, (Paleo Ponderings 11/14/2017), features interviews with scientists and archaeologists about a variety of issues related to ancient and prehistoric history. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Film Noir Foundation (FNF) is dedicated to preserving and restoring film noir and, "to ensure that high-quality prints of these classic films remain in circulation for theatrical exhibition to future generations." In addition, the foundation offers a number of resources that will appeal to film noir fans, available under the resources tab. These resources include a video archive featuring interviews with actors and directors, select audio recordings (including a BBC Radio clip about Robert Mitchum's poetry), and the foundation's podcast Noir Talk. Topics of these hour-long podcasts have included film noir scores and the legacy of actress Marsha Hunt, who recently turned 100. Another highlight is the mailbox page, which features interesting pieces of FNF correspondence. In addition, visitors will find links to other websites dedicated to film noir that may be of interest. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The European Literature Network (ELN) was founded by Rosie Goldsmith, formerly of the BBC show "Europhile." While working on this show, Goldsmith interviewed a number of writers across continental Europe and "quickly realized how hard it was for even the best writers to become known in the UK, in a country which reads so little in translation." This experience inspired her to launch the European Literature Network. The ELN website offers reviews of books authored across Europe that have been translated into English, offering a wonderful way for book lovers to discover new titles. Under the reviews tab, visitors can browse dozens of reviews by month and download free copies of The Riveter: a compilation of reviews of works that originate from a single nation or place. As of this write-up, readers can check out editions of The Riveter dedicated to literature and nonfiction works from Russia, Poland, and Nordic countries. In addition, visitors will find some short pieces of translated literature and poetry in the extracts section, under the translation tab. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Matthew Conlen created this multifaceted visual essay about satellites for The Pudding, an online magazine that features visual essays and data visualizations. In his essay, Conlen traces the history of satellites from early attempts to capture such images (including early attempts to strap cameras to pigeons) to the present day. Best of all, this essay allows readers to explore satellite images in a number of ways: hovering links in the texts; by exploring a collection of some of the most famous satellite images taken over the past five years (this collection appears toward the end of the essay); and through an interactive feature at the end of the essay that also provides a helpful explanation of how different satellites work. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Atlantic recently launched You Are Here, a series of short videos dedicated to "the incredible science behind everyday life." Each video, narrated by The Atlantic staff, offers a short synopsis of new research illustrated by animations. In one recent video, science writer Julie Beck explains how our memories and present emotions shape the ways in which we think about the future and make predictions. In another video, producer Leah Varjacques discusses what scientists have been able to learn from solar eclipses over the years. For viewers interested in learning more, many of these videos accompany articles previously featured in The Atlantic. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

A collaboration between art and science, Dada-Data is a digital project created in early 2016 by Montreal creatives Anita Hugi, David Dufresne, and Akufen Studio. Dada-Data celebrates the 100th anniversary of Dada through a series of live events called Dada Hacktions. Events such as Connected Readymades, held February 5, 2016, to March 4, 2016, was an event that installed 3-D printers at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, the birthplace of the Dada movement. One printer created Duchamp's Fountain; the second, Sophie Taeuber's Dada Head; and the third, The Gift by Man Ray. Online features are aimed at freeing users from surveillance in the spirit of Dada. Additionally, there's GAFA, which aims to "free yourself from Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon," and Block, a browser plugin that replaces ads with images of Dada artworks (not compatible with Firefox Quantum). There's also Tweet Poetry - anyone with a Twitter account can contribute. [DS]

Comment on or rate this resource

Web Scraper is a tool for extracting data from websites. Users provide a sitemap that specifies which pages on a site to visit and what elements on each page to extract data from. Web Scraper is able to extract data from dynamic and interactive pages that often confuse other tools. It can also simulate button clicks and scroll pages to make them load additional data. Detailed documentation on setting up Web Scraper is available on the website, including a series of tutorial videos. The collected data can either be exported in CSV format or shipped off to a CouchDB server. Web Scraper is available as a free Chrome extension. A Cloud version of Web Scraper, optimized for bulk data extraction, is also available for a fee. [CRH]

Comment on or rate this resource

QOwnNotes is a multi-platform notepad and to-do list manager that leaves users in control of where and how their data is stored. Notes are stored in a designated folder as a set of markdown files. While QOwnNotes includes an integrated editor, users may also modify their files by using their text editor of choice. When this happens, QOwnNotes will detect that a file has been changed and simply reload it. Optionally, it can highlight what has changed when this happens. Users can keep multiple instances of QOwnNotes synchronized using their preferred synchronization tool - the QOwnNotes documentation mentions ownCloud, NextCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, Seafile, and BitTorrent Sync as popular options. Users may also opt to use the MyOwnNotes Android app or the CloudNotes iOS app to access their notes on a mobile device. QOwnNotes itself is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. [CRH]

Comment on or rate this resource