Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has recently started publishing a series of posts on different mushrooming learning concepts. The below graphic is from one of these posts, it outlines the 7 most powerful idea shifts in learning today. Enjoy!

Last week, Edudemic had a great post: How To Choose The Best Mobile Device For Your School. Adam Webster lays out his thought process in the article; when it comes to mobile learning, there are pros and cons to each device. Selecting the best fit for your district is a big task. 

From the article:

Atomic Learning’s "Going Mobile" Atomic Catalyst course exposes teachers to a variety of tools and strategies to get the most out of mobile devices in the classroom.

The six-week online course focuses on developing strategies for including portable computing devices in classroom projects and lessons, including the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad™, and other cell phones and mobile computing platforms. Because these devices enable real time communication and feedback, as well as access to textbooks and reference sources, they open the door to educational innovations that take advantage of ubiquitous, "always on" computing and communication.

Using the iPod and iPad™ in special education is a growing trend. But how do you get started, what is the potential, and what strengths do students need in order to be successful users of this technology? This course will answer those questions and participants will walk away with an implementation plan for a student or classroom to ensure successful use of these technologies. Educators participating in this Atomic Catalyst course will specify the needs of students using iPads in their classroom; later classes will then focus on more specific disability areas (like autism) based on participant needs. If you are a special education teacher who wants to learn more about iPads in the classroom—this course is for you.

This article on techlearning.com is quite helpful, especially if your school or district has limited access to iPads. Check out the "29 Ways to Use the Only iPad in the Classroom."

Whether your access to iPads is limited or not, if you are interested in more ideas on how to use iPads in the classroom, check out the archived recording of the webinar "Help! My Students All Have iPads, Now What?" here.

Administrators: Learn how you can help support your teachers with using iPads in the classroom in the webinar:
"Help! My Students All Have iPads, Now What?". Here's a video preview where the webinar presenter, technology teacher Brad Flickinger shares how his students at Bethke Elementary in Timnath, CO use iPads in his lessons.

Have you done a school or district iPad implementation? Now that all the logistics are somewhat under control, are your teachers struggling with how to effectively utilize iPads in the classroom? Join this webinar to learn how to set your teachers up for success by providing them resources on:

Is your school going mobile? There are a lot of pros and cons when it comes to making choices that will work best for your school. Insider Higher Ed has a thought-provoking article which asks the question “Why Tablets?”  The discussion in the comments area expands on the topic to give a wide range of opinions and sources for going mobile in the classroom, at college, or in the workplace.

Want more information about planning a mobile initiative? Check out Atomic Mobilize. 

Photo Credit: bigstock-recycle-bin-filled-with-old-e-25927217 BigStockPhoto.com

This new Atomic Learning training series introduces you to the great new features of iOS 6 on the iPad, including Siri, your virtual personal assistant and Apple’s all new Maps app. You’ll also learn about the new features in Mail and Safari including offline reading lists and syncing with iCloud.

Educators are finding innovative ways to supplement their lectures with the newest technology, and students are beginning to see their devices as essential components of their college experience."

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.

Vacaville Christian Schools in Vacaville, CA recently embarked on a district-wide iPad initiative. While most of the educators grasped the transition to the tablets in their instruction, one teacher in particular struggled.

“She was one of the best math teachers on the planet,” Middle School Principal Maylene Ripley said, “But she said she couldn’t do it and she resigned. ”

Although the Middle School would miss the talented math teacher, Ripley didn’t want to force the transition on her. Over the few months after her resignation, her colleagues kept in touch with her and encouraged her that the training and support they were getting through the school’s Atomic Learning subscription would help her through. She decided to return to the school and used the school’s online training solution to become proficient enough in using the tablet that she now teaches other educators how to use their mobile device effectively in their classrooms.

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!

Recently posted on edudemic.com, this graphic, along with a list of the their top 20 recommended blogs related to mobile learning help educators learn the benefits of using mobile devices in the classroom. Learn more.

Atomic Learning's Atomic Mobilize solution helps school leaders and educators implement mobile learning initiatives with PD and planning tools, stories, examples and resources from fellow educators that illustrate how mobile devices can transform education and create highly personalized learning experiences for students. Request a demo.

Educators now have one-touch access to training and resources to meet district challenges and learning objectives with the Atomic Learning App – available for free download in the Apple iTunes store.

Users can search for training by a key phrase or browse by topic, application or category (projects, workshops, tutorials or custom training). Also available in the Atomic Learning App is a library of current professional development topics with the ability to activate push notifications to notify users of updates on featured and new resources.

With the rapid growth of mobile initiatives, Atomic Learning recognized the need for easy-to-access, high-quality digital training resources,” said Dan Meyer, CEO at Atomic Learning. “The app fulfills this need—for teachers and students alike. ”

A recent blog post entitled "Best Practices for Deploying iPads in Schools"  gives advice to schools embarking on an iPad initiative. While the article gives some great ideas for a successful implementation, the resounding conclusion prevails:

Without professional development and a set plan in place, educators in individual classes might be stumped by how to set up iPads for different uses.

This is why Atomic Learning created the Atomic Mobilize solution, a repository of online professional development resources and planning tools focusing on helping educators realize the full potential mobile devices provide in the classroom.

What Atomic Mobilize Includes:

Most successful initiatives are fueled by strong planning and implementation, but rooted in inspiration. The Success Stories section of the Atomic Mobilize solution shares key reflections from successful mobile programs to inspire school leaders and teachers to embrace mobile learning as an important part of a contemporary education.

For example, Atomic Mobilize subscribers can follow the journey of a junior high math teacher as he embraces technology and empowers himself and his students through incorporating iPads into his classroom lessons.

It has almost become an addiction, I'm always looking for new strategies, new things I can throw into the classroom to make the class more interactive.

In the new Atomic Mobilize training series, teachers will learn strategies for differentiating instruction through the use of mobile devices - powerful tools to help meet the unique needs of all learners.

Not an Atomic Mobilize subscriber? No problem! Find out more and request information here.

Planning for an iPad Rollout? The Journal just published “5 Things Not to do During an iPad Rollout.”

Here’s what you need to remember:

1. Go into it without first organizing classroom materials
2. Expect students to ignore Angry Birds
3. Assume that sharing information and files is easy
4. Forgetting to budget for apps
5. Ignore the fact that the device can be a distraction

Want more help preparing for a mobile initiative? Check out Atomic Mobilize!

Our post yesterday referred to the recent UNESCO Working Paper Series on Mobile Learning.

KQED has an excellent overview of the paper highlighting the “Essential Conditions for Mobile Learning” in this article. What are the conditions?

1.    Visionary Leadership and Commitment

2.    Robust Technology Capacity

3.    Professional Development

4.    Scalability

5.    Policies that Promote and Support the Initiative

The article and the working papers provide insight into how mobile learning is being applied worldwide. Want to learn more about how Atomic Learning can help you with your mobile learning goals? Check out Atomic Mobilize.

The recently released "Turning on Mobile Learning in North America" paper is one of a series of papers by UNESCO and provides a survey of mobile learning initiatives in North American schools and school districts.

In a recent article on edutopia.org, experienced administrator Ben Johnson shares how he feels the iPad can transform classroom learning.

Computers allowed students to word process rather than type, to do media presentations instead of show and tell, to find information on the Internet instead of encyclopedias, and to graph data electronically instead of with magic markers. Teachers depend on computers to do the same, as well as using interactive whiteboards to increase the effectiveness of presentations. The iPad can do all these things, along with many other capabilities, and it is super portable, and that might make all the difference."

A recent survey done by Blackboard, Inc. and Project Tomorrow® shows school district administrators endorse online classes and would even consider requiring students to take an online course prior to graduation.

However, despite growing momentum and interest in online learning, the survey results also showed principals had reluctance to bringing mobile technology into the classroom.

The Atomic Mobilize solution was developed for this very concern, to help bridge the technology-curriculum gap by sharing not only PD and planning tools, but also stories, examples and resources from fellow educators that illustrate how mobile devices can transform education and create highly personalized learning experiences for students.

What is your role in education? Stop by Atomic Learning booth #2623 at ISTE 2012, to share what motivates you. The I AM [an educator] sharing project was created  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.

When you stop by, not only will you get a free t-shirt, we'll also show you what's new at Atomic Learning. As you know, technology is constantly changing, so we're introducing some exciting new solutions to help you continue your quest to bridge the technology and curriculum gap. Come check out our new solutions to help you with mobile and Common Core initiatives (as well as learn about our new app!)

Atomic Learning has expanded its training collection to include a Spotlight on internet safety, as well as several new training series.

The Keeping Kids Safe Online Spotlight provides professional development for educators and helps students learn how to navigate the Internet safely, in addition to helping administrators meet E-rate requirements of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act.  The training can be found at: http://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/spotlight/Keeping-Kids-Safe-Online.

Other training added to the Atomic Learning library includes Edmodo and Evernote, both exclusive to the new Atomic Mobilize solution.

The following training series have also been added to the Atomic Learning training library: