Students FAQ

  1. What is the Internet Science and Technology Fair (ISTF)?
    • The ISTF is a national technology literacy program.
  2. What is the purpose of the Internet Science and Technology Fair (ISTF)?
    • The ISTF's goal is to encourage students in grades 3 through 12 to explore real-world science, engineering and technical career opportunities that lie ahead.
  3. Is there a cost to participate?
    • No. There is no fee to enter the competition.
  4. Where do I begin if I am interested in participating?
    • Read the Team Members section of the ISTF site for Students. This information will help you get started. Students can also refer to the Teachers section to better understand the students’ role. NOTE: If your teacher does not already plan to participate, you would want to talk to him or her about forming a team and entering the competition. You need a teacher or another educational coordinator to facilitate your participation.
  5. When do teachers enter their student team(s) in the ISTF?
  6. Why did my teacher enter only the students’ first names and last initials?
    • This limited requirement is simply a safety precaution. The fact is that the students’ full names are not necessary, and as an educational institution, UCF-CECS wants to protect students. NOTE: Please check over your final project website to make sure that you and/or members of your team have not accidentally included your full names anywhere. Your team must include copies of various emails, and this is one way that your names might become part of the site.
  7. What should we do after we choose a project topic?
    • Next you should try to find a technical advisor who can help you focus your ideas and guide your research and development.
  8. How do we think of project ideas?
    • That will probably depend on your teacher. Some teachers have allowed student teams to identify problems in their community or nationally, and then select solutions from the list of National Critical Technologies (NCT’s). Students can also work in reverse, choosing an NCT and subcategory and then applying the technical application to a problem. Other teachers have identified NCT technical applications that align with their curriculum and offered students a short list of project topics.
  9. How will our teacher group us into teams?
    • That will definitely depend on your teacher. But some teachers group students based on: 1. Project ideas, 2. Learning styles, or 3. A shared class (the whole class is a team).
  10. How many of us should be on a team?
    • A minimum of three with no maximum limit.
  11. Why do we have to find our own technical advisors?
    • If you locate your own technical advisors, you will be more likely to ask your advisor(s) for help.
  12. How do we find a technical advisor?
    • You can ask your teacher(s) to advise you on what he or she thinks is the best way to find a technical advisor. If the parent of a team member has knowledge that relates to your topic, you can ask him or her to act as your advisor. You can also e-mail federal research laboratories, corporations, local governments or institutions of higher education. As you do research on your topic, you will probably find organizations that relate to your project focus. These are excellent places to contact.
  13. Why is it important to have a technical advisor?
    • The technical advisor will help you and your team better understand how your problem and technical solution relate, where there are useful Internet resources to locate information, and whether or not the project will work.
  14. What do we do once we find a technical advisor?
    • First, let your teacher know you have found someone who is interested in becoming your technical advisor. Next, make sure the team technical advisor accesses the "My ISTF" link and sets up an ISTF Technical Advisor Account. Then, the technical advisor can officially link to the project.
  15. How will my students know what the judges will expect of their final project website?
    • Both you and your students should refer to the guidelines (according to grade level) for final project website content and format requirements: Elementary (grades 3-5), Middle (grades 6-9), or High (grades 10-12).
  16. Can we use Geocities, Tripod, or some other free web-builder to host our final project website?
    • This method is obviously not a preferred option, as the pop-up advertisements negatively affect the patience of most judges.
  17. How does the ISTF reach its goal?
    • Student teams use information and communication technology tools to research solutions, communicate with experts in the field and present their findings in a website format.