Week Three of the Challenge.

This week I'm learning about something called Learning Express Library. This will be another new experience for me and I'm excited to find out what it's about.

I set up my account and started with Adult Learning. I decided I needed some math tutorials, boy was I right. Yikes – It looks like I need to go back to relearn fourth grade math. Since I did so poorly I started a lesson and liked the explanation and the quick response to my answers (which were correct, so I am teachableJ).

 In exploring the Job Search and Workplace Skills learning center I was happily surprised to find there are a number of courses available as well as ways to prepare for different exams. I think this is a valuable tool for someone looking for a career or changing careers.

I chose to browse through green careers. I never thought about “green” careers before. This was interesting to see everything from how to build a green resume to networking and  even green conferences. There is a lot of good information in the Learning Express Library. I’m glad I had the chance to explore what’s available.

Week two, here we go!!!

I started off this week with the ChiltonLibrary. I never knew this existed and this is the first time I've been to the site. I found a lot of information about automobiles.

Basic Discovery Exercise

1. Look up the maintenance schedule for your vehicle. View the whole chart and list 3 things that should be done at 30,000 miles. My vehicle didn’t have 30,000 miles as an option. It had 25,000 miles and 50,000 miles so I went with the 50,000 since that is closest to my mileage. 1) replace the air cleaner filter, 2) replace the passenger compartment air filter and 3) inspect the fuel system.

2. What was the most recent Technical Service Bulletin or Recall notice on your car about and when was it issued? A Clunk or Thump type of noise from  the front suspension was the most recent technical service bulletin.

3. Click to the Repair tab and note some of the information about brakes for your car.  I found under the Anti-lock braking system a lot of information such as: description and operation procedures, diagnostic information and procedures, repair instruction, special tools and equipment and the specifications.

Next I went on to explore Mango. I thought this would be exciting when I saw the posters up on the doors of the library and was excited to try it out. Here's my Basic Discover Exercise.

Basic Discovery Exercise

1. In Mango, choose a language. Before you click “Launch,” read about the language and culture. What did you learn?  I learned that German is spoken not only in Germany, but also in Austria and Switzerland.

2. Click“Launch” and try out a lesson. How helpful would this program be to help you learn a language? What did you like? What didn’t you like? Why? I loved this. I took German in high school and boy have I forgotten a lot. It is easy to use and the lessons are short. It is free, which is always great. I also am wondering if I can use the translate tab in my genealogy to translate some German language that I don’t know.

Lesson 1 - World Book Online

Things have definitely changed since I was a kid and spent time reading our World Book encyclopedias. What a great resource for not only students, but everyone who loves to learn. I checked out the World Book School Edition and did the basic discover exercises listed, but I also checked out the World Book Advanced Public Library edition and found easy access to newspapers.

 

Using World Book Kids, I searched for information on the Giant Panda which lives in the forests of China. Giant Pandas eat Bamboo, but the Panda’s in the wild are losing their habitat.

Next I viewed the World Book Student edition where I compared the amount of information it showed when I looked up Giant Pandas. There is at least twice the information in World Book Student and it goes into more detail as you would expect.

Then I went on to check out the World Book Advanced edition and I searched for Germany. I like that the left hand side bar has the contents neatly laid out and easy to scan, while the right side has related information and the content standards.

My last exploration was to use the browse function in the World Book Discover and find an article on American government. It is great that the articles can be translated into different languages and it is very helpful that there is a read-aloud function available.