The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 21

Many of our resources this year focused on various responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a diverse field of lesson plans, online exhibits, and boredom busters, the COVID-19 Health Literacy Project left a lasting impression. The project disseminates evidence-based and equitable COVID-19 healthcare information in a variety of languages. Filling a critical need for multilingual health literacy materials amidst a public health crisis, this resource climbed to the top of our list.

During COVID-19, access to accurate healthcare information is more critical than ever. The COVID-19 Health Literacy Project is an excellent resource for those seeking information on how to curb the spread of and seek treatment for COVID-19. What makes this project special is its focus on disseminating information in multiple languages "to help all patients know when, and how, to seek care." Currently, materials are available in more than 30 languages. New materials are added daily, so be sure to check back frequently. All info sheets are fact-checked and vetted by Harvard Medical School faculty, with assistance from Harvard Health Publishing. Harvard Medical School student Pooja Chandrashekar launched this project, and it has grown "into a national coalition of over 150 medical students representing over 35 institutions and 34 languages." The project also partners with several state and national organizations, including Feeding America and regional healthcare centers.

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In addition to its clever name, the A11y Project garnered praise for its user-friendly web accessibility primers. Especially notable is the site's fillable checklist based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Here, readers can self-audit their web-based content and find ways to improve accessibility in the digital sphere. And, all of the site's materials further an important mission; after all, "accessibility helps everyone."

The A11y Project is named for the numeronym for "accessibility" (the 11 designates the letters between the "a" and "y"). The name encapsulates the project's mission as "a community-driven effort to make digital accessibility easier," which is especially important because accessibility is "often overlooked in traditional digital design and development education." Readers looking to make accessible and beautiful digital projects can do just that with help from A11y's resources. The site's content is divided into three main sections. The Posts section resembles a traditional blog, with tips, guides, and general information. The Checklist section follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to provide guidance for increasing the accessibility of websites. The Resources section has copious content, and the left-side panel will be very beneficial to users looking to narrow down the materials. For example, users can find books and podcasts in the Media section, or browse design apps and advice in the Tools section. The A11y project was launched in 2013 and redesigned in 2020. More information on the creators and contributors is available on the Team page (linked at the bottom of the site).

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Choosing a favorite STEM education resource is always especially tricky for Scout staff, as many of our favorite sites often fall under this category. However, Science News for Students immediately stood out. The award-winning publication invites readers to explore various science-based news stories, covering everything from morphing algae to mini helicopters on Mars, and is geared towards young scientists or future scientists. After giving it a read, perhaps subscribers will also want to forward the link to a young person in their lives.

Publishing daily news stories for young science enthusiasts, Science News for Students is a celebrated resource bringing "age-appropriate, topical science news to learners, parents, and educators." Written by veteran science journalists, the site's stories make research accessible to readers of all ages and technical backgrounds. Pieces are organized into broad science categories (for example, Earth and Space), and some of these categories are further sorted by sub-topic (e.g., Animals, Plants, and Fossils are all under Life). Readers can filter stories by these categories under the All Topics tab or scroll through the home page for the latest scoop. Designed for use in science classrooms, stories are accompanied by resources such as discussion questions, "power words," and follow-up readings. More information about these tools is available on the Education Resources page. In addition to science stories, the site hosts other supplemental materials (available under the Explore tab) such as experiments, career resources, and a "word of the week." The nonprofit organization Society for Science launched Science News for Students in 2003. Janet Raloff serves as the publication's current editor.

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"Great resource!" "Fantastic!" "Invaluable!" These are just a few examples of the high praise given by Black History in Two Minutes (or so) listeners. Scout Report issues strive to highlight various media forms, including a wide array of podcasts, and we were hard pressed to find a podcast more treasured than this. Though first featured during Black History Month, the resource reminds listeners that Black history is not "extra" material reduced to one month; rather, it is an integral part of history, period. Tune in to learn about everything from Black feminism to baseball all-stars.

The Black History in Two Minutes (or so) podcast is a wonderful resource to learn the full scope of U.S. history. The award-winning show explores important people and events from the past and present. These episodes create more accurate depictions of well-studied events such as the Civil War and school integration, while also highlighting prominent figures left out of most history books (for example, a recent episode discusses Oscar Micheaux, the first Black indie filmmaker). The resource is well suited for educators, too; as the name implies, episodes are short and accessible to a general audience. Plus, the Teaching Guides section has several lesson plans and activities to accompany episodes. The podcast is executive produced by an impressive team: Robert F. Smith, (Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners); Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University); Dyllan McGee (an Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of McGee Media); and Deon Taylor (film director and founder of Hidden Empire Film Group). Professor Gates also narrates the series. Listeners can subscribe on their favorite podcast platform, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Android, and Stitcher. While fans anxiously await new episodes, they can tune into the channel's various social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube).

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The Scout staff has always valued open educational resources, but as educators and learners adapted to online learning and other challenges brought about by the pandemic the value of these materials became even more apparent. Among an impressive array, OpenSciEd rose to the top of the list for its bevy of free materials ensuring that all students can thrive in science classrooms. Educators looking to preview the resource may want to download and browse the Teacher Handbook (available under the OpenSciEd Approach tab).

OpenSciEd will be music to the ears of any open educational resources enthusiast. The project "seeks to ensure any science teacher anywhere can access and download freely available, high-quality, locally adaptable full-course materials." Developed with and for classroom educators, OpenSciEd has a variety of units covering chemistry, physics, health, and more. Though the current focus is on middle school curriculum, the project plans to expand to provide resources for K-12 educators over time. New content is released periodically, and readers can find the Unit Release Schedule under the Instructional Materials tab. To learn more about the development process itself, visitors will want to navigate to the OpenSciEd Approach tab. In addition to the wealth of instructional resources available, readers will also have access to professional development tools. Users must create a free account to access many of the materials throughout the site. Registrants will join the ranks of more than 21,000 educators currently enjoying the resource.

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Inviting users to click their way through the cosmos, The Size of Space wowed readers. Designed by "creative coder" Neal Agarwal, the resource makes complicated astrology concepts a bit more tangible. Readers who enjoy this piece will also want to check out Agarwal's entire Neal.fun website, home to a variety of equally impressive data visualization projects (including two other previous Scout features, Life Stats from the 05-01-2020 issue and The Deep Sea from the 03-20-2020 issue).

While the enormity of the universe is hard to conceptualize, this visual graphic created by computer scientist Neal Agarwal helps provide some context. The Size of Space allows users to click through a series of images that categorize elements of space and space exploration by size. The site begins with an astronaut, and sizes-up from there, taking users on a journey through space shuttles, stations, asteroids, planets, black holes, nebulae, and galaxies, concluding with the end of the observable universe. The interactive methodology and clear visuals provide an engaging way for users to interact with space themes, making it a desirable supplemental tool for teachers completing space related units. The site concludes with a quote from Carl Sagan: "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." This quote encompasses the theme of the site, an invitation to explore mystical aspects of space in an effort to better understand beyond what we can directly see.

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Subscribers looking for culinary companionship during COVID-19 isolation delighted in Home Cooking. After a brief hiatus, the award-winning podcast is back with new recipes and jokes to spice up your kitchen. Readers who have yet to tune in will want to check it out. As Episode 15 alludes to, the show is as good as finding extra French fries in the bottom of the bag ... so, really, really good.

Launched in March 2020 amidst COVID-19 shutdowns, Home Cooking provides a tasty silver lining, helping listeners "figure out what to cook (and keep[ing] you company) during the quarantine." Samin Nosrat (writer and chef) and Hrishikesh Hirway (maker of music and podcasts) co-host the show, which dedicates a significant portion of its content to answering listeners' questions. And Nosrat, the James Beard Award-winning author of the New York Times Bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, is more than qualified to provide expert advice. While the clever episode titles lure listeners in (for example, "Kohlrabi: Turnip for What?" and "Cod Save America"), the recipes and tips keep audiences enchanted. Those new to the cooking scene may also enjoy some of the pair's recommendations on the Resources page. Here, readers will find advice on everything from cookbooks to Creole mustard. Readers can tune in to Home Cooking at the link above or on a preferred listening platform (all available platforms are linked on the site's Subscribe page). Though, it is worth noting that following the link above allows for the added benefits of accessing episode transcripts and embedded recipes discussed on the show.

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Each month, two Scout Report issues include a Tech Tools section, highlighting a pair of free programs, browser extensions, or apps. Readers especially enjoyed Joplin, a nifty organizational tool that streamlines and synchronizes users' notes. The open-source app is continuously improved and updated, with several new features introduced since its original feature last May (for example, added support for media players).

Joplin is a note taking and to-do list application similar to Evernote. It is designed to handle large numbers of notes organized into notebooks. Notes are stored in Markdown format and can be modified using either Joplin itself or with the text editor of your choice. Similarly, all of Joplin's metadata is stored in plain text formats that can be easily inspected and modified with standard text editing tools. Joplin is able to import Evernote's .enex export files. The application also supports synchronizing notebooks across devices, using a number of cloud services including: Nextcloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive. Joplin is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. Joplin is free software, distributed under the MIT license, with source code available via GitHub.

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Book-based resources tend to catch our readers' eyes. No exception, The Atlas of New Librarianship Online stood out for its fresh take on the evolving role of libraries and librarians. As this intro (and the name) suggests, the resource is especially useful for our librarian readership, providing a self-described mashup of "topical map, scholarly theory, practical example, persuasive argument, textbook, and inspirational sermon."

What is the goal of a library? What is the work of a librarian? Perhaps, "a new librarianship" has emerged, an expanded role "based not on books and artifacts but on knowledge and learning." To facilitate this, librarians must embrace an expanded role, too: "to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in their communities." R. David Lankes, an award-winning scholar and director of the University of South Carolina's School of Information Science, makes these claims in The Atlas of New Librarianship, a book he published in 2011. The next year, the book won the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature. Now freely available under a Creative Commons License, readers can download the book as a PDF or ePub file. Its in-depth insights encapsulate "input from hundreds of librarians and professors from 14 accredited library programs, 25 formal presentations to more than 50 conferences, and 14 publications." And, since its initial publication, the Atlas added new indexes (highlighted in the Expanding the Atlas section).

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Data visualization projects are popular with Scout staff and subscribers alike. This light-hearted data viz project struck a chord with readers for its exploration of questions surrounding beloved pets. The lovable subject is only rivaled by the impressive display of coding and design, so even animal-averse readers will have plenty to gain by giving it a click.

It is a question that has divided people for centuries: Are you a cat person or a dog person? Whether you prefer felines or canines, many questions surround both species. For example, Nadieh Bremer, a data visualization designer and long-time cat owner, wondered, "Why does my cat go crazy for my sweaty gym clothes?" Recognizing that many people turn to the internet for answers, Bremer created Why Do Cats and Dogs, a project using Google Trends data from 2014-2018 to examine the "most asked questions about cats and dogs that start with the word 'why' in Google Search." The project's landing page welcomes users to choose a track: dogs, cats, or "Surprise me!" (which randomly selects one or the other). After making this selection, readers can explore the popular inquiries people Googled for each animal. Questions are grouped topically (e.g. Likes and Dislikes and Licking, Biting & More) and visualized by the popularity of search terms. Users can toggle over search terms for additional backstory, or click on them to generate the Google search for themselves. Scrolling to the bottom of either dataset, readers will find a query bar to free-form search the data, as well as additional content comparing cat and dog searches on a global scale. Whether visitors learn something insightful (such as why dogs bark) or silly (such as why cats are scared of cucumbers), this data visualization project is definitely worth checking out.

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