The technology-training program, Atomic Learning, continues to benefit and improve the skills of students, professors and staff almost two years after it was introduced to Baldwin Wallace University.
The program offered from the Educational Technology Services is a valuable source, free for students and educators alike. However, due to the expensive cost of the program and little usage, the program may be taken away.
According to BW’s Atomic Learning page, the instructive program is an “online technology training and professional development tool for educators (and students).”
The program offered from the Educational Technology Services is a series of video tutorials that helps to educate the user on many computer programs, career and interviewing skills and software. The tutorials or videos are fast but informative on all the important features of that topic of the video.
Atomic Learning includes more than 60,000 tutorials on various items, and even includes a chance to win a prize from a weekly giveaway offered to anyone who watches the tutorial of the week.
Some tutorials include tips for researching and formatting in different citation styles, tips on how to avoid plagiarizing, videos on how to use and understand programs like Photoshop and Flash and tips on emailing.
Introduced September 24th of 2013 for the BW community the program was aimed to create an easy way to learn about new programs. The videos on the site are updated frequently with the changes in technology. The user will consistently be learning the newest versions of any program along with new tips and tricks.
The site is open 24/7, and can be accessed at bw.edu/atomic. All that is needed is a BW e-mail and their regular network password. The program is also “fully responsive” which means it is easily viewable on all mobile devices with no download required.
Teachers can also use the program for lessons. There is an assigned training tab that shows assignments the professors may have given for the class. It can also be imbedded into different sites and programs like Blackboard and PowerPoint to act as a teaching tool.
The user can even receive training on certain pre-requisites for courses, and print out a certificate showing they are educated in that field. These learned skills can then be added to their resume.
The program also tracks what videos the user has viewed and recommends others that may benefit them further, and saves the place of wherever the user last left off.
Along with that, there are also videos just designated to programs frequently used on the BW campus like how to use VoiceThread, Adobe Connect at BW and many more.
One of the most beneficial sections to Atomic Learning is the Career Skills Training that according to the site “provides training on a variety of topics that aren’t necessarily covered in course textbooks or workplace orientation. This training is designed to help learners gain the confidence and traction that is needed in today’s workplace.”
The career training section is divided into 22 different videos that include learning Effective Listening, Navigating Relational Conflict, Resume Creation and Goal Setting.