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The clearest evidence for the value of an ATOM as a resource was found for the ATOM on CSCLN: computer supported cooperative lecture notes. In this ATOM, the class was divided evenly into teams, with one team assigned to each of the 20 lectures on that module plus one team for the index. Each team had to produce lecture notes for their assigned lecture in the form of a web page, structured as a set of key questions addressed by that lecture and answers for those questions, while the index page maintained a table to these other pages both by timetable (when the lecture was given) and by question (merged from the content of the pages).
The main evidence came from a short questionnaire which, since lecture notes find their main use when revision for exams is being done, was administered directly after the exam. Of 59 students, 98% responded; and of these 84% said they had referred to the communal lecture notes, 76% said they found them useful, and most important of all, 69% said they found them worth the effort of creating their share of them. They also, as a group, rated these web notes as the third most useful resource (after past exam questions and solutions, and the course handouts). This shows that, while not the most important resource for students, nor universally approved by them, this exercise had a beneficial cost-benefit tradeoff in the view of more than two thirds of the learners.
By 28 April (week 1, term3) out of 20 lectures, there were 17 available; and in fact one more available but not in the main index. It is also true the the 2 lectures with missing notes were not only the last two (so students may not have worked on these in the vacation), but were largely Q&A revision type sessions.
A problem I had, probably worse than on most courses, is that students on that course are not required to commit at all to the course until week 3, and even then may not in the end take the exam. This uncertainty meant that two of the lectures ended up without notes, as the assigned students dropped out at the last moment. this in fact shows up a tension between allowing students to act as irresponsible consumers (more control for them), or as members of a community that will take some responsibilty for dividing up work among them.