Areas of Interest

Images of the Natural World

ClipArt ETC

This site has tens of thousands of high quality images, painstakingly digitized from beautiful 18th, 19th, and early 20th century books and magazines. Students and teachers can download images of plants, animals, and natural scenes. In addition, detailed diagrams of physical structures, such as the bones of the human hand or the parts of a flower, are available for classroom use.

Exploring Florida

ExFL serves up thousands of photographs of Florida’s plants, animals, and natural environments for free use by teachers and students.

Reading Passages

Exploring Florida

FCIT’s Exploring Florida website includes reading passages on topics such as the Everglades, hurricanes, the history of Florida’s land and land use, the natural water ecosystem of our state, and famous Florida residents, like naturalist John James Audobon and inventor Thomas Edison.

Floripedia

The Floripedia offers historical accounts of the climate, land, and agriculture of Florida that can be contrasted with modern data.

Lesson Plans

No Strings Attached

NSA includes dozens of science lesson plans with a video of each lesson being implemented in a Florida classroom. All NSA lesson plans include effective technology integration, Sunshine State Standards, and NETS Profiles.


Classroom Resources

ClipArt ETC

For your bulletin boards, newsletters, presentations, and activity sheets, ClipArt ETC has tens of thousands of high quality images, painstakingly digitized from beautiful 18th, 19th, and early 20th century books and magazines. Science Clipart is divided into Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Physics. Clipart ETC also includes drawings of many influential scientists, such as Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and Johannes Kepler (http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/sitemap/famous_people.htm)


Presentations, ETC

Have you ever gotten tired of the same old presentation backgrounds that came with your software? FCIT’s presentation site can open up your creative vistas with over 20,000 Powerpoint templates and Keynote themes, all free for classroom teachers.


Professional Development

Exploring Florida Science modules

The Exploring Florida Science modules are designed to help teachers improve their content knowledge and more effectively communicate science concepts to their students. The modules focus on technology-rich science content and teaching materials that allow educators to simultaneously address multiple strands in the Sunshine State Standards for Science. Suggested lesson plans offer ideas for how teachers can incorporate these concepts in their classrooms. Simulations, diagrams, and video interviews with science professionals make this site a useful tool for any science teacher.

Classroom Assessment

Free online course materials help classroom teachers learn about how to effectively design and use different kinds of assessments.

Tech Ease

Tech Ease is a collection of tech support articles and videos specifically designed for classroom teachers. The site includes printable tutorials and desktop videos on topics such as podcasting, managing your files, and printing.

Sunshine State Standards Search

Navigating the Sunshine State Standards has never been easier. Search by subject area, keyword, and grade level.

Technology Integration Matrix

This site is a self-assessment tool for professional development in technology integration. Here, you will find example videos of technology in use at various levels.

ESOL Tapestry

Tapestry provides professional development resources for those teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This is a series of video lectures by experts in the field.


Recent Blog Entries

Science
Just another Starting Points site

  • NAEP Webinar for Science Analysis
    The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is teaming up with NSTA to conduct a web seminar on January 25, 2011 for people interested in learning more about NAEP data and the recently release...
  • Google Science Fair
    Check out Google’s spin on Science Fair by viewing this video! Details about entering the fair can be found on the website. It is really exciting to see science fair merge and embrace technology! ht...