This week the ed tech world lost an evangelist. Unless you were one of his students, co-workers, or many friends or family, you likely have never heard of William Bierden. Those of us who had the honor of knowing him are forever changed by knowing such a great guy. The memorials on his Facebook page remember him as a husband, spouse, and grandfather.  A friend. A jogging partner. An educator. An inspiration.

Jim Norwood, the man who had the big idea to start our company had this to say:

What's in a Tech Integration Project?

Each project provides:

•     Project activity guide
•     Copy of the completed example project
•     All the resources needed to recreate the example project
•     Step-by-step tutorial movies that walk students through the project
•     Assessment rubric

Most Tech Integration Projects' subjects can be easily modified to relate to any subject under study.

Plagiarism has always been a challenge for teachers to address. Technology has presented new tools for finding plagiarism, but it has also provided inventive ways for students to skirt around the rules. This edudemic infographic gives some interesting stats on the current state of plagiarism in education today. 

Want to learn more about what Atomic Learning can do to help students learn about plagiarism? Check out these workshops:

Avoiding Plagiarism 

APA Research Paper Basics

MLA Research Paper Basics

Atomic Learning recently added four new tech integration projects featuring both Microsoft® Excel and Powerpoint® 2010 software. The online training library offers over 120 of these classroom-ready projects for educators. These projects can be used as-is to quickly integrate technology into the classroom, or easily adapted to a particular subject-area or skill level. Atomic Learning has also expanded its training collection to include tutorials on software features ranging from learning management systems to photo editing with this release.

A brief description of the new projects follows.

Family Connections – PowerPoint 2010 (http://www.atomiclearning.com/la_fam_ppt10)

Have you seen our new look? Check out this overview video to get the inside scoop on our clean, fresh updated user interface.

Are you following Atomic Learning on Pinterest? If your answer is no, why not? Did you know we just passed 500 pins? Join us and share your favorite Atomic Learning training with your Pinterest followers. Not sure what Pinterest is? We have a tutorial to help you. Check it out!

A recent article in ISTE's Learning and Leading magazine entitled “Stop, Drop, and Roll” discusses Standard 5 of the NETS for Coaches, focusing on digital citizenship. We are especially fond of the author, former ISTE Board of Director member, Kara Gann, now a member of the Atomic Learning family. Kara has over 26 years in public education and is passionate about ed tech. Here are some thoughts from the article worth sharing:

Edmodo members now have an opportunity to collaborate with their peers in the Atomic Learning Edmodo Community.

Edmodo is a social networking site for teachers and students--and so much more. This free resource provides teachers and students a safe environment to communicate, collaborate, and have fun. If educators are not familiar with Edmodo, they are invited to view the Atomic Learning Edmodo training series at http://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/en/edmodo where they'll learn how to sign up, how to set up an account, and how to use the many features, such as posting assignments and quizzes, populating a library of content, and even awarding recognition to students.

A recent blog post on wired.com discusses from a parent perspective why iPads (or mobile devices in general) are positively impacting education.

It is not what the technology can do that makes it important, it is the way it has re-ignited passion and ideas in teachers.

In this inspirational video, Torrence Temple—Teacher, Professor and Technology Innovator—encourages educators to work for what they believe in when faced with the challenges that come with school or district mobile initiatives.

Atomic Learning's Atomic Mobilize solution offers resources for school leaders and educators to succeed in reimagining the classroom with mobile devices. For information on how the Atomic Mobilize solution can help your iPad initiative, 1:1, or mobile learning program, visit http://www.atomiclearning.com/mobilize.

Today’s students must know how to interact with others online in social networking sites, in chatrooms, and when instant messaging and texting. Knowing how to protect themselves online from cyberbullies, online predators, and scams is important to ensure their safety and well-being while learning and interacting online.

A recent article on the Open Colleges InformEd site discusses "15 Strategies Educators Can Use to Stop Cyberbullying." It states:

Everywhere you look someone is using a mobile device. So, it's no surprise that educators are needing to embrace these technologies as tools to impact teaching & learning. The "Going Mobile" course will expose teachers to a variety of tools and strategies to get the most out of mobile devices in the classroom.

There's still time to join the Atomic Catalyst course starting on October 29!

We at Atomic Learning echo U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's statements posted on the ed.gov website, recognizing World Teachers' Day:

World Teachers’ Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of teachers across the globe. Education is recognized worldwide as the most important driver of economic growth and social change, and teachers are the ones leading the way."

Read more.

Thank you to all educators!

As easy as Atomic Learning is to use, you may have some questions about specific functions within the system and where to get started if you're new to Atomic Learning.

Try these tips to get you started on the right foot:
 

• View the Getting Started Guide.
• Watch this video to help you understand the user interface.
• Search for and focus on a workshop that fits your curriculum goals. Here are a few recommendations:

    Web Resources Workshop - Search, Evaluate & Use
    Internet Safety Workshop
    Blogging Workshop

Do you have some great back-to-school ideas for spreading the word about Atomic Learning that you've used in your district? Collaborate with your peers in the Edmodo Atomic Learning User Group! Here's an example shared by Brooke Mulartrick of Methacton School District in PA.

"Integrating technology" is often talked about, but not always taught about... what are effective strategies for integrating technology, where's a good place to start, and how can Atomic Learning help?

Atomic Learning customers are invited to this free online training session to learn more about the key features of Atomic Learning for professional development, how-to training, and classroom tech integration. This session will cover:

-  How to access just in time training
-  An overview of professional development tools
-  Resources to integrate today’s technology into your curriculum with one easy search

Learn how our resources can assist with all curriculum areas at each grade level, and share with you tools to enhance and build your classroom into a 21st century-rich learning environment.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Wed, May 2, 2012 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CDT

Thank you to all who stopped by the Atomic Learning booth at the recent ASCD Conference. As promised, we wanted to share with you the video featuring highlights of the I AM [ an educator] photos. You can view the the highlight video below and all the photos we captured here.

Were you or some of your friends at the eTech or TCEA conferences? Check out the I AM [an educator] photos from those too:

eTech 2012 I AM [an educator] photos
TCEA 2012 I AM [an educator] photos

Who are YOU? Share your "I AM" story with us by emailing your photo to iam@atomiclearning.com.

Atomic Learning introduces Atomic Catalyst, instructor-led PD courses. Atomic Catalyst courses provide educators the flexible fit of an online course paired with the peer connection of traditional professional development sessions.

Cyberbullying has become a topic of concern for all digital citizens and in honor of the recent National Cyber Security Awareness Month, we created this webcast to help educators like you bring awareness to your students. By teaching critical online safety and security skills, your students will become more cyber aware, both at school and at home.

This on-demand webcast walks you through all you need to know about internet safety. In only 10 minutes, learn how you can do your part to protect your students.

These Atomic Learning projects will help you integrate these concepts into your classroom:

The I AM [ an educator ] sharing project was created by Atomic Learning to acknowledge educators (as well as all those who inspire, encourage and support them), and honor all that they do to ensure today's students receive the best education.

Here is a video compiled of a few of the educators who stopped by our booth at ISTE 2011 to share their "I AM" story. Looking for your photo and don't see it in the video? Check out all the photos here. Share your "I AM" story with us by emailing your photo to iam@atomiclearning.com.

"Integrating technology" is often talked about, but not always taught about... what are effective strategies for integrating technology, where's a good place to start, and how can Atomic Learning help?

Atomic Learning customers are invited to this free online training session to learn more about the key features of Atomic Learning for professional development, how-to training, and classroom tech integration.

We are offering several sessions throughout the summer, you're sure to find one to fit your schedule. Click here for the dates and registration information.

Does your district provide access to Atomic Learning, but you haven't explored all of the resources yourself? Atomic Learning customers are invited to this free online training session to learn more about the key features of Atomic Learning for professional development, how-to training, and classroom tech integration. This session will cover:

-  How to access just in time training
-  An overview of professional development tools
-  Resources to integrate today’s technology into your curriculum with one easy search

Learn how our resources can assist with all curriculum areas at each grade level, and share with you tools to enhance and build your classroom into a 21st century-rich learning environment.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Wed, May 25, 2011 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM CDT

Tue, May 31, 2011 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM CDT

The ISTE Awards program recognizes the best of the best in ed tech each year, honoring exceptional educators who advance the field, demonstrate vision and innovation, and unlock student potential. ISTE recognizes all winners at its annual conference and exposition.

Consider applying for one of the awards or nominating an exceptional colleague. The nomination session is currently underway and runs through March 1, 2011.

To learn more, visit iste.org/awards.

Little Falls Superintendent Curt Tryggestad and Mark Diehl, the district's technology coordinator share how having iPads in the hands of students helps get the students more involved in their learning. Read more.

Does your district provide access to Atomic Learning, but you haven't explored all of the resources yourself? Atomic Learning customers are invited to this free online training session to learn more about the key features of Atomic Learning for professional development, how-to training, and classroom tech integration. This session will cover:

-  How to access just in time training
-  An overview of professional development tools
-  Resources to integrate today’s technology into your curriculum with one easy search

Learn how our resources can assist with all curriculum areas at each grade level, and share with you tools to enhance and build your classroom into a 21st century-rich learning environment.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM CST

Tue, Mar 1, 2011 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM CST

"Integrating technology" is often talked about, but not always taught about... what are effective strategies for integrating technology, where's a good place to start, and how can Atomic Learning help?

Atomic Learning customers are invited to this free online training session to learn more about the key features of Atomic Learning for professional development, how-to training, and classroom tech integration. This session will cover:

-  How to access just in time training
-  An overview of professional development tools
-  Resources to integrate today’s technology into your curriculum with one easy search

Learn how our resources can assist with all curriculum areas at each grade level, and share with you tools to enhance and build your classroom into a 21st century-rich learning environment.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Thu, May 23, 2013 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CDT

Does your district provide access to Atomic Learning, but you haven't explored all of the resources yourself? Atomic Learning customers are invited to this free online training session to learn more about the key features of Atomic Learning for professional development, how-to training, and classroom tech integration. This session will cover:

-  How to access just in time training
-  An overview of professional development tools
-  Resources to integrate today’s technology into your curriculum with one easy search

Learn how our resources can assist with all curriculum areas at each grade level, and share with you tools to enhance and build your classroom into a 21st century-rich learning environment.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Mon, Jan 10, 2011 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CST

Fri, Jan 14, 2011 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM CST