Resources

     We will post a variety of resources from this page that can help you to understand our products, UDL, and how to apply for a local grant to get the funding to purchase our products.

Tradeshow Materials:

     Often teachers pick up our tradeshow materials and then cannot find them when they need them.  We have made some of them available here.

Visual Microscopy Learning Kit Lesson Plans

Cell Zone posters are also classroom activities. When paired with these available lesson plans, the posters are Visual Microscopy Kits. Download the lessons you need through the links on the Visual Microscopy Learning Kit Lesson Plan page!

Web Resources

• The UDL Center:  This website is excellent for learning more about UDL.  It includes tutorials that step through the theory of UDL.
• The National Science Foundation website.  There are a lot of really cool resources at the NSF, from wallpaper and screen savers for your computer to videos.
• If you enjoy podcasts, the Think UDL podcast is terrific. This podcast started through a federal grant, but has continued because the demand has remained high. To listen to the specific podcast episode by Cell Zone's founder, you can view the biology UDL podcast directly.
• Daily science news from Science360.  This is a website put together by the NSF, so it has trusted content.  There's a cool image each day and a radio news program.  You can sign up if you want to receive a daily e-mail from Science360 from this page if you want.  There's usually something good every day.
• The American Biology Teacher journal.  This peer-reviewed journal supported by the National Association of Biology (NABT) teachers is full of ideas of how to teach biology concepts.  Many articles are free, and all are free to NABT members.  It also published a classroom materials review of our Mitosis Sequencing Kit in May of 2011 and a classroom materials review of our Molecular Puzzles in April of 2012.

Video Links

Sample grants

Many school districts have parent organizations that accept grant applications from teachers for materials they need.  We know that it can be difficult to juggle all the work of teaching along with writing a grant, especially if you have never written a grant before.  Therefore, we have posted a sample grant that you can use toward your own application.  Certainly, every school district has its own rules, regulations, and formats for grants, but you can always reformat what we provide and add whatever specific requirements your district requires.

• Some journal articles or books you can use as references about the importance of active and universal design for learning:
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2014 article on the value of active learning over traditional lectures.
  • National Education Organization 2008 policy brief on the importance of UDL.
  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine book from 2021 entitled Call to Action for Science Education: Building Opportunity for the Future; this details the importance of ensuring diversity in understanding science.
  • AERA Open article on active learning from 2017.
  • From the International Journal of STEM Education in 2019, an article on perception of instructor caring and active approaches improve learning.

Other companies & programs that have innovative classroom materials, UD materials and/or support Cell Zone:

• Nasco: Nasco offers a wide variety of classroom products, geared for traditional or home classes. They are now also a distributor for all of our Cell Zone products, as well as family and home versions of kits.
• Fisher Science Education: Fisher Science Education also carries a wide range of biology education products and materials. They are a distributor for many of our Cell Zone products.
• Project Lead the Way:  This privately-funded program is working to increase interest in STEM for middle and high school students.  They include our Molecular Puzzles in their high school curriculum.
• 3D Molecular Designs:  This company offers many options for students to learn about how biological molecules, especially proteins, fold into their 3-dimensional shapes.  They are also the only source for buying Toobers (like the membranes and cell walls in the Dynamic Cell Models) for your teaching needs.  This company is run by teachers for teachers.
• Science Take-Out:  Science Take-Out science kits provide hands-on science activities that are ready-to-go for the classroom.  This company is run by teachers for teachers.
• Diversified Woodcrafts:  This lab furniture company has developed a Universal Design lab bench add-on.  This UD table, called the ARM (for Adjustable Rotating Mechanism), reconfigures any lab to accommodate students with disabilities or students with a range of heights.