The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 25

The SciCommer is a weekly roundup of the latest news in science communication from around the world. This free, UK-based newsletter is delivered to inboxes every Tuesday. A typical issue includes links to current news with a brief summary of each story, a Learning section spotlighting training and educational resources, audiovisual stories (Watch and Listen), upcoming events (SciComm Diary), and a section with (mainly UK-based) jobs and internships in communications and the sciences (Opportunities). For example, the issue from May 25, 2021 focused on language in science communication and linked to articles on multilingual science resources, misinformation on the internet, equity in ecology, and using the arts to engage the public with scientific research, among other topics. On the homepage, readers can enter their email address to subscribe or click "Let me read it first," to access past issues. On that page, users can find issues organized by date ("Archive") or popularity ("Top"). Readers can also keep up with the latest on Twitter (@TheScicommer). The SciCommer is a Substack newsletter created by Heather Doran. [HCL]

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The rise of AI, critiques of capitalism, and "tele-everything" are just a few of the topics that the Pew Research Center asked a panel of experts to weigh in on for this report. In all, 915 researchers, activists, business leaders, policy wonks, and innovators from a variety of sectors including government, technology, academia, nonprofits, and think tanks were asked to reflect on how the global pandemic will shape our relationship with technology and what our lives might look like in 2025. Readers can navigate the report with the Table of Contents at the bottom of the page linked above. In the section "Worries about life in 2025," readers will find a wide-ranging collection of direct quotes from respondents who predict greater economic inequality due to the "digital divide," the increased power and reach of big tech firms, and the proliferation of misinformation. Before readers despair, they should navigate to the section "Hopes about life in 2025," where respondents anticipate racial and social equity reforms, quality-of-life improvements due to telework and flex-work, and innovations that will ameliorate healthcare, education, and more. The full report is available in HTML and PDF formats, but busy readers can find the main points summarized near the top of the page linked above. The project was conducted by the Pew Research Center and the Elon University Imagining the Internet Center. Fans of this format may enjoy other installments in the "Future of the Internet" series, which is linked from the 2021 report. [HCL]

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This podcast for college and university educators explores how to facilitate learning more effectively, covering themes like instructional design, educational technology, open education, diversity and inclusion, and creativity in teaching. Most episodes are 30-45 minutes long and feature an interview with a guest who works in higher education. Some of the most popular past episodes highlight the cost of higher ed (Episode 258: "Paying the Price"), pedagogy (Episode 263: "Recipes for Effective Teaching"), and a highly relevant episode on using Zoom and Google Slides in virtual classrooms (Episode 324: "Teaching Effectively with Zoom"). The podcast is available on most listening platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher, but the website offers a few extra perks. On the homepage, listeners can browse episodes by category, such as Teaching Philosophy, Ethics in Teaching, or the host's personal favorite, Cultural Competence. Each episode page includes a transcript, links to resources mentioned in the episode, a guest bio, and further reading recommendations. Listeners can also find an archive of all resources, organized by theme, by clicking "Recommendations" in the menu bar on the page linked above. There is also a Blog about teaching and personal productivity. Teaching in Higher Ed airs weekly and is hosted by Bonni Stachowiak, Professor of Business & Management and Dean of Teaching and Learning at Vanguard University. [HCL]

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The young scientist Victor Frankenstein created his peculiar Creature in an unconventional experiment. Two centuries later, Frankenbook, a collaborative reading experiment, lets readers interact in unusual ways with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's novel Frankenstein, which explores the moral implications of science and technology. Visitors to this website can scroll through Shelley's original 1818 text with clickable annotations written by experts from a variety of fields and organized under themes such as equity and inclusion, health and medicine, and politics. Under the Media tab, visitors will find further resources, such as a series of animated videos (each under five minutes) that bring select annotations to life. For instance, the first video, "A Bolt of Lightning," illustrates how Shelley was inspired by lectures where scientists did live experiments and explores the novel's parallels to our modern-day relationship with technology. Adventurous readers will not want to miss Modern Monsters, a "choose your own adventure" game where players emulate Frankenstein's experimentation in an effort to defeat monsters like Blood Suckers (disease-spreading mosquitoes) and Body Snatchers (organ traffickers). Readers can create a free account to reply to annotations and submit their own to spark discussion. There is also a Teacher's Guide that helps educators integrate Frankenbook into the classroom and an Essays section with selections from science fiction writers. The project was developed by the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, in partnership with The MIT Press and MIT Media Lab, with a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. [HCL]

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An AIDS quilt for the digital age, The AIDS Memorial Instagram page remembers the people lost to AIDS using photos and captions submitted by those who knew and loved them. Each individual's story of joy, love, loss, or heartbreak gives insight into the emotional impact of the epidemic. Created in April 2017 and driven by personal submissions from around the world, the account serves as a globally accessible memorial and reminder of a crisis that still reverberates today, as reflected by the hashtag #WhatIsRememberedLives. On the Instagram account page, viewers can explore nearly 9,000 posts or submit their own stories and photos with the email address provided. The project seeks to preserve history and reach new generations of viewers on social media. The memorial is also on Facebook and Twitter (@theaidsmemorial on both services). Users will need an Instagram account to view The AIDS Memorial on that service. [HCL]

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Social media allows scientists to connect across the globe and across disciplines, share research, discuss innovative ideas, find opportunities, and offer moral support in the form of memes, but the fluid social media landscape can be intimidating and overwhelming for the uninitiated. Scientists and academics looking for an entry point into social media will appreciate this handy PDF guide published in 2020 by the American Chemical Society (ACS) in ACS Central Science, written by Emory University Associate Professor of Chemistry Jennifer M. Heemstra. After a brief explainer on the different platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, the guide focuses on accessing academic Twitter, which one scientist described as "a huge multidisciplinary, international science meeting that never ends." Aspiring Twitterati will be walked through the process of setting up an account, following other users, and navigating the neverending feed. Ready to engage with the Twitterverse? The guide also covers commenting, posting, retweeting, and other basic engagement functions. Before long, readers' days as Twitter amateurs will be nothing but #TBT (Throwback Thursday). [HCL]

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Can social media make a math problem go viral? Ask Presh Talwalkar, a Stanford-educated mathematician, economist, and author who runs the popular Mind Your Decisions channel on YouTube. The channel teaches viewers how to solve tricky math problems and tackle delightfully maddening logic puzzles, riddles, and brain teasers. Popular videos on the channel address math challenges posed to Amazon interviewees, MIT admissions test questions, and those viral "IQ tests" everyone shares on Facebook. In the menu bar at the top of the channel page, viewers can click "Playlists" to access videos grouped by topics like mental math, solving a Rubik's cube, and game theory in the TV show Breaking Bad. The channel is a prime example of how social media can be used to engage the public in topics many might find intimidating or dull. Puzzle-solvers looking for more content can find it on Talwalkar's Twitter (@preshtalwalkar). [HCL]

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For businesses or individuals looking to create content and do graphic design on a budget, Desygner will have them cropping it like it's hot. Designed for non-designers, this free tool enables users to create content like social media posts, ads, presentations, business cards, flyers, and more. A vast library of ready-made Free Templates with drag-and-drop usability makes the tool intuitive and friendly for beginners. Automatic image resizing (under the Features tab) lets users quickly generate the correct image sizes for various social media platforms and print formats. Another of Desygner's indispensable Features, the PDF Editor, solves the common problem of un-editable PDFs. Users can upload a PDF and edit images, text, and other elements for PDFs up to ten pages long. Finished assets can be downloaded or shared directly to social media platforms. A built-in presentation viewer lets users present slides directly from Desygner. With a free account, users have access to many design templates and royalty-free images and icons. There are also subscription accounts for users who want more. Design newbies can click "Learn," then "Tutorials," on the page linked above to see how everything works. [HCL]

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Content creators want everyone to be able to access their work, and businesses want their products available to as many people as possible. This useful web accessibility checklist, created by Vox Media, outlines specific criteria for designers, engineers, project managers, quality assurance, and editorial teams to build accessible content. Experienced readers can use the checklist with their teams to ensure no one misses out on what they create. Readers with less experience in accessibility will learn from the brief explainers under each item, which summarize the how and why of each criterion and link to sources of further information. At the bottom of the checklist, users will find markdown and plain text formats to copy and paste into documents, Slack, Trello, or other project management tools. Users who scroll to the Tools section will find several resources to help complete the items in the checklist, such as color blindness simulators and a color contrast analyzer. Readers looking to learn more about accessibility should scroll to the Resources section for websites, courses, newsletters, and book recommendations on the subject. [HCL]

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Social Media Examiner acts as a guide through the jungle of marketing on social media. The site features how-to articles (under the Content tab) updated daily to cover new trends in social media marketing. In addition, the team contributes two weekly podcasts (available under the Shows tab): Social Media Marketing, which highlights interviews with experts in the field, and the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, which explores the latest industry news. Under the Content tab, users can link to a YouTube channel with video tutorials that illustrate advertising on social media platforms from Pinterest to Tik Tok. Popular videos cover topics such as how to use Instagram hashtags and how to identify cold audiences for Facebook ads. Readers can also download the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, a free annual report examining how marketers use social media (note that users must enter an email address to receive the report). Scroll down the homepage to Worth Exploring for links to quick-start tutorials for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook, as well as the report. Social Media Examiner's founder and CEO is Michael Stelzner. [HCL]

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Originally featured in the 08-16-2019 Scout Report, Later began as a tool to schedule posts on social media. Since it was last highlighted, Later has added additional features that make it a multifunctional marketing tool for brands. A new feature helps social media branders find and share user-generated content. Later also now gathers and analyzes Instagram analytics, which users can view and download from a handy analytics dashboard to understand performance, engagement, and the best time to post.

Later describes itself as a "visual marketing program for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest." It allows users to schedule posts on supported platforms via their computers for a later date. The upcoming scheduled posts can be edited on Later's drag-and-drop Visual Content Calendar. Later can post photos from your phone, desktop computer, Google Drive, or Dropbox. The Help Docs item located under More on Later's site leads to detailed instructions including Getting Started guides, video tutorials, an FAQ list, and more. Under Training, users can locate materials to help them make more effective use of their social media (especially Instagram), including free courses, training guides, downloads (such as templates, worksheets, and flowcharts), as well as case studies. Later's free tier allows users to schedule 30 posts per month across all supported platforms. Additional monthly posts and other premium features are available with a monthly subscription. [CRH] [HCL]

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