The design of many common (and some uncommon) objects is something that most people don't think about on a regular basis. Even very successful designs can go unnoticed, and only a few industrial designs have been elevated to iconic status. Creating better design is the focus of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), and their work takes place in over 50 countries and...

MIT's OpenCourseWare program has been a hit over the past few years, and people from around the globe have written in to praise the high-quality and free educational materials offered on the site. One of the more recent offerings is this introductory course on electrical engineering and computer science. After conversations with colleagues and OpenCourseWare users, MIT decided to create a course...

MIT's OpenCourseWare initiative has garnered favorable mentions from educators around the world since its inception several years ago, and new material is added to the site every semester. One recent addition to the site was this particular set of materials for an introductory course on electronics. Under the direction of Professors Manos Chaniotakis and David Cory, this course is designed as a...

There aren't many free online resources for learning about the world of video game design, so it was nice to come across this insightful podcast series on that very subject. Designed by a team based in Finland, the site contains over twenty podcasts and vodcasts that visitors can view directly from the site, or they can download them for use at another time. The two creators of this site are Janne...

The goal of the Indiana STEM Network (ISTEM) is to help Indiana become a national leader in student academic achievement in STEM disciplines. This section of their well-thought out website provides a wealth of information on excellent lesson plans crafted by their team of experts. Currently the site has over 300 of these plans, organized by intended audience, target grade level, and subject. The...

The American Library Association (ALA) has created the LibraryCareers.org site to get out the good word about becoming a librarian. The site contains four sections, including "Me, A Librarian?" and "What You Need to Know". The "Me, A Librarian?" area contains information about the skills needed to be an effective librarian, along with information about the profession's core values. Moving on, the...

Some Scout Report readers might be wondering: "What is a light source?" It's a valid question, and the short answer is that these light sources in question are "accelerator-based sources of exceptionally intense, tightly focused beams of x rays and ultraviolent radiation." This helpful website is billed as the place for news, information, and educational materials about the world's synchrotron and...

In recent years, community and technical colleges have quietly been developing a number of curriculum and instruction centers designed to provide a number of excellent resources for their faculty. The Maricopa Community College District has its own Maricopa Center For Learning and Instruction (MCLI) and their website is real find for those teaching at community colleges as well as those generally...

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Chicago emphasizes the interdisciplinary aspect of materials science. This Website is a metapage with links to all of the departments involved in the MRSEC, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, geoscience, and bioscience. A special feature of the MRSEC page is its Research Nuggets section that gives...

A multimedia production company in New Zealand has website that offers free tutorials, references, resources, and forums on electronic media production. There are lessons on "Video", "Audio", "Photography", "Graphics", "Computer", "Internet", a "Glossary", and "Equipment" that offer operating manuals from 18 different brands of equipment. There are a number of free downloads, including a "Talent...