Atomic Learning vs. Lynda.com

I've checked out both Atomic and Lynda.com for some video tutorials of common technology applications and wondering what CR2.0 members have noticed as a difference between the two?

Atomic seems to be more application-specific and with greater detail about how-to-do many different items in that application. Lynda.com appears to have some of the how-to "stuff", but not nearly the fine-grained detail. (I'm looking at the Microsoft Access part in particular - and that's a longer story :)

Any thoughts, feedback, or advice - I'm wondering which subscription would be better to "spring" for, and am wishing that Atomic Learning had a monthly price instead of just a yearly price :(

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Permalink Reply by Brad Kamradt on November 6, 2008 at 11:13am

I went through the same kind of process and thinking not long ago. (I'm also going to pilot an asynchronous PD program this year.) In the end, we decided to go with Atomic due to their comparatively low pricing and, just as important, their exclusive focus on the K-12 market.

There may be some lag-time when new products come out, but, as Deb mentioned, that may not be important for you depending on how quick your district is to adopt upgrades. For us, it was a non-issue. (We're generally standardized on Windows XP and Office 2003 right now, and we MIGHT roll out Office 2007 during the second half of the school year.)

When evaluating the products, I would encourage you to consider the AVERAGE user. Think about what your typical teacher or secretary might need and want and determine which product will suit those needs, as opposed to your own needs, those of private-sector professionals, and those of content-development and design professionals.

Please let me know if I can answer any specific questions you may have about Atomic. (Our pilot program is going to start with 100 hand-managed accounts -- probably 25 for independent-study coursework, 25 for library-style checkout, 25 for our training lab, and 25 for special projects.)

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Deb White Groebner on July 28, 2008 at 9:20pm

I've had limited exposure to Atomic but I found Lynda to be excellent for my own needs (Acrobat, Excel...). There seems to be a lag time between when new versions of programs come out and when training is available on Atomic, whereas Lynda adds them almost simultaneously - they are always announcing new titles in their training library. (The delay probably doesn't make much difference if you are looking on behalf of a school district - most aren't exactly quick in implementing cutting-edge software.)

Are students going to use the training modules? If so, I'd ask a few kids to try them out by comparing what's offered for a specific program in both Lynda and AT. They'd probably provide some valuable feedback.