Spring-Summer 2005

Atomiclearning.com is a website that provides software training for various Windows and Macintosh applications. Some of the application tutorials for Mac are Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Illustrator, Final Cut Pro, GarageBand. Windows tutorials include Adobe Reader, Macromedia Flash, and Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. The list goes on and on. There are thousands of short tutorials on dozens of applications, focused on answering the common questions that teachers, students and other users might have when learning software programs.

What I like most about this website is its ability to break up the learning process into the basic need-to-know essentials. It sets you up with five or six 2- to 3- minute QuickTime tutorials and takes you through the process of setting up and starting a project. The only downside is you have to sign up for a membership ($79) if you want to get the full tutorial. In my opinion it is well worth the money, especially if you are working at a school, university, or CTC, and there is plenty of useful training available to all members, clients, students, and staff. They also provide you with lesson plans, curriculum tools, and workshop guides. As you can see, the free tutorials can be a tremendous help in providing training for staff, students, and faculty. This website is a very good resource for anyone working in the community technology field; I know I definitely will be using their tutorials more in the future.