Using Digital Content
We believe students should be creators with technology and not just consumers, so FCIT provides a wide range of digital assets for students to build their projects and, consequently, their understanding. But with well over 100,000 pieces of free digital content for the classroom, FCIT’s collections can be a bit overwhelming. The purpose of this blog is to highlight important areas of digital content and provide suggestions for using these digital “building blocks” in the classroom. Expect to find posts featuring FCIT’s clipart, photo, audiobook, and map collections among others. Your guide for this blog is Dr. Roy Winkelman.
Hidden Gem: Historic Hurricane Maps
For the last few days, we've been thinking about hurricanes as Idalia was about to make landfall in Florida. A typical class activity is to track hurricane positions on a blank map. Younger students experiencing a hurricane warning or watch for the first...
Using Primary Sources from FCIT
The FCIT digital collections contain thousands of primary source documents, photos, illustrations, and maps. These "windows into the past" can engage students, help to develop critical thinking skills, and provide opportunities for students to construct...
Hidden Gem: Varsity Letters
Hidden away in FCIT's Presentations ETC website is a handy collection of "varsity letters." These letters are great for newsletter mastheads, headlines, banners, school websites, TV graphics, and more. Each letter and numeral is available in five sizes...
How To Use Lit2Go Audiobooks in Your Classroom
FCIT’s Lit2Go audiobook website contains an amazing number of books and passages at all reading levels. The variety of recordings and the possibilities for using them can be a bit overwhelming, so we’d like to share some suggestions for finding the...
Photo of the Month: It’s Water over the Bridge
Your students have probably heard the expression, "It's water under the bridge," but this is a photo of water flowing over a bridge. If it isn't apparent to your students that the structure is the top of a bridge, you may want to share these additional...
44 Writing Prompts To Use with FCIT Photos
FCIT hosts over 25,000 photos from various locations and time periods. Many of the images make excellent writing prompts. You'll find most of our photos either in ClipPix ETC or Exploring Florida. If you happen to have a set of 3D glasses for your class,...
Photo of the Month: O’Shaughnessy Dam
The O'Shaughnessy Dam is a breathtaking construction feat. Although built a hundred years ago, it is still an amazing structure. The thundering waters and rising mist add to the drama. Perhaps even more dramatic was the Hetch Hetchy Valley that was...
Hidden Gem: Lots of Bots
Usually in this space, I share a digital content collection from FCIT's ClipArt, ClipPix, or Maps ETC websites. This month, we'll look at a collection of robots I created for the Technology Integration Matrix website. The collection includes...
Spooky Stuff
Take advantage of your students' fascination with spooky stuff this month. We've collected our favorite Lit2Go stories and poems along with some spooky images from FCIT websites. The items in the collection will probably give you many ideas for classroom...
Ancient Digital Content: Presentation Backgrounds
2004 is reasonably ancient in Internet Time. That's when I started creating Presentations ETC, a website of resources that students and teachers could freely use to individualize their Powerpoint or Keynote presentations. At that time, I was visiting many...
Using Digital Content
Teaching and Learning with Technology