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Tips & Tricks

Lesson Plan: Visual Representation of the Atom

Students will demonstrate their understanding of abstract concepts through the creation of a visual representation of the concept. In this lesson, students will create visual representations of the atom to illustrate their understanding of the atom and its elements.

Lesson Plan: A Person in Time Online

Using creative tools, students will conduct research on a historical figure and then design a web page based on how this person would want to be represented on the web.

Introduction to Digital Video

Have you seen the high quality videos that students are producing? They rival the skill of the pros at film festivals even though they are amateurs without funding. The tools are so sophisticated now that anyone can do it. Here's how to get started.

RSS 101: What, Why, and How

RSS technology simplifies and enhances your Web experience. This article explains what it is, why educators need it, and how to do it.

Five Tips for Combating Movie Mediocrity

streetperformerAn educator provides sound advice for using a videocamera and editing software to create a superior movie.


Ten Tips for Creating Online Communities

Tips from the corporate world are not always the perfect match for schools, but they can provide some pointers in our brave new world.

Rubrics for a New Century

Rubrics can be the key to assessing the "soft" skills vital to a 21st century learner.

Ten Tips for Making your Photos a Curriculum Hit

Want to impress your students? Enliven your lectures/presentations with your own digital photos.

Ten Tips for Digital Movie-Making

One of the most innovative and exciting instructional strategies is to have students create their own movies.

Adding Impact to Digital Stories

groupStudents can make their digital stories even better with these valuable professional-grade tips.

Say Goodbye to Red Eye

redeyeAhh, the gross red-eye...we've all seen it. You snap a photo of friends at night and they have red eyes. How does this happen?

Keeping Up-To-Date: Email Newsletters

So many new websites, so little time! Thousands of new websites come online each day but too many have little educational value. However, there are others that can provide helpful resources to teachers and students. How can we find those "nuggets" without wasting hours surfing the net?

Making a Movie Part 4 - Distribution

CamcorderYou have finished your masterpiece! You are ready to share it with others. In the digital world, there are many options for getting your movie out there.

Making a Movie Part 3 - Postproduction

camcorderPostproduction is where you will bring your masterpiece to life.

Making a Movie Part 2 - Production

camcorderCapturing action for a film is an art form. Four pointers will help you better capture the action on tape.

Making a Movie Part 1 - Preproduction

camcorderPreproduction is everything from thinking about a movie all the way to writing a script.

Making a Movie - Overview

camcorderThere are many types of movies, and each one is made differently. However, they all go through the same process. Follow along to learn the four basic steps in the process.

Keeping Track of Photos

ArchiveThe best thing about digital photography is that you can take lots and lots of pictures. But anyone who has a computer full of photographs knows that after a while it gets really hard to organize them so that you can find specific pictures.

Dealing with Copyright

Understanding digital copyright is a new literacy issue. Teachers are responsible for helping their students understand and follow copyright rules. Here's good advice on what to do.

Ten Tips for Creating Effective Surveys

Getting the right data from your survey means you have to create the right questions for the right audience. Here are ten tips to help you write more effective surveys in order to assess the issue more accurately.

Tips for Building an Online Community

Using technology to support virtual collaboration and establish an online community can serve as a useful tool to "keep the fire burning" among a planning group and help bring positive resolution to the task at hand.

Technology Funding: A How-To Guide

graphBelieve it or not, better teaching and greater student achievement does not end with merely acquiring hardware and software. It must be supported by an assessment of needs, not merely wants, and that must relate to the plans for school improvement.

Three Steps to Eliminating Teacher Technophobia

foldersWhy don't more teachers use technology in the classroom? Why do some jump in with both feet and look for any opportunity to involve students with digital media while others are still literally cutting and pasting quizzes together?

Video Editing: from Assembly Cut to Final Cut

CamcorderVideo editing is best done in stages where you put the footage together in an Assembly Cut, add in extras for the Rough Cut, and end up with a finished product called the Final Cut. Here's how to do it.

Ten Tips for 21st Century Professional Development

GroupAs teaching and learning involve integrating 21st Century strategies, professional development to make it happen has to be updated as well. By following these ten tips, you'll have a head start on effective professional development.

The Art of Cropping Digital Photos

CropJust like when you get a hair cut, you can make photos look better by cutting them. It's called "cropping." Knowing what and when to crop can make the difference between a good photo and a great one.

Six Steps to Managing Internet Access

School districts face a moving target when it comes to keeping students from inappropriate Internet sites.

Seven Steps for Digital Storytelling

StepsOur students are ready to read and write information beyond words — to use the media technologies of our era for effective communication. Here are the steps that will help them do it.

Nine Needs for Web Literacy

Teachers and students need new literacy skills as more and more of the resources they turn to are web-based. Here are tips on what to help them learn.

Photo Composition 101

CompositionAll great pictures have one thing in common: They are composed well. Composition is also called "framing" and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The only rule is that there are no rules. But there are a few tips to help you take better pictures or show teachers how to help their students develop an "eye" for well-composed pictures.

About Us

Beyond the basics, students will need 21st century competencies to survive and thrive in the future. They will have to know how to think critically, apply knowledge to new situations, analyze information, understand new ideas, communicate effectively, collaborate, solve problems, and make decisions. School districts are looking for ways to help students acquire these new skills while they also address NCLB mandates.

This 21st Century Connections site links students, teachers and administrators to the latest resources, creative tools and educational leaders behind digital learning. Provided by Lenovo, Adobe, Intel and Futurekids, the site is hosted by Technology & Learning, NewBay Media.

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