I like it! I had fun looking at different classes and resources that are available. I took a math test because I knew that would be more challenging for me than a reading test. I read through most of the lesson and then jumped to the test. I was surprised to see that I actually answered the questions correctly because I am really not good at math so I must have retained some of the info that I read.
I start looking at the job searching and resume writing section. This section took a little more time to become familiar with. I didn't feel like it was as easy to find things. I don't have a problem just clicking through things till I find what I am looking for but I didn't feel like I could just spot what I was looking for. I actually used the search option to find the info about resumes. I did like how the info was provided once I found it. I browsed through the Learn More About a Career section and the Prepare for an Occupation sections. I looked at what was available and messed around with the courses that were offered.
I searched for the career Vet Technician. There was an E-Book available about the degree and the exam. It had a lot of great information in it. My sister is a Vet Tech and I recognized a lot of the things that she talked about when she was going through her classes.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
Lesson 2 - Chilton Mango Tumblebook
Chilton Library
2001 Chevy Impala because my 2013 Chevy Malibu didn't provide enough info to do the whole lesson!
Three things that need to be serviced at 30,000 miles: pretty much everything! spark plugs, throttle linkage, suspension components.
Most recent Technical Services Bulletin and Recall was issued on 12/5/14 and it was about the Unintended Ignition Key Rotation. To much weight on the key in the ignition can cause the key to move away from the "run" position which basically means no engine power, no power steering, and no power braking. So for people like me, who have a fistful of keys and keychains this could become a problem!!
Repair tab about brakes....wow...there is a lot of information about brakes! I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Hydraulic Modulator Solenoid or Wheel Speed Sensor Rings. I did know there were brake pads but I didn't know there were brake drums and brake shoes...I love shoes! J/K but there is a lot of information here...I might be able to try to fix something on my own with all of this...or I'll let the trusty mechanic do it but do my research so I don't get talked down to because I'm a girl!
Mango
A lesson in Spanish. My grandma was from Mexico and one of my biggest regrets was that I didn't take the opportunity to learn Spanish when she offered. I would sit in the kitchen eating homemade tortillas and beans and listen to her talk on the phone to her family back in Mexico. So I gave a lesson in Spanish a try on Mango.
This is hard! I know some generic verbiage in Spanish but there is so much to learning another language. I went through the first lesson about greetings and I knew some of them but not really the difference between formal and informal ways of saying things. I did like that you can keep hitting the replay button on how to say something and that you can go back very easily to review. I also liked that it went through things several times. I would still need to take notes on what the words are in both Spanish and English. I liked that there were explanations about why things are said a certain way. I didn't really find anything that I didn't like because I don't think you know what not to like in one lesson. I guess that is motivation to keep going thru the lessons and see how it really works.
I'm not really sure that I fully understand what #2 is asking but here is what I get out of it. If I had a Vietnamese student come in looking for a way to improve their English I would direct them to Mango....specifically to the section on English. From there they have the option to pick English for Vietnamese speakers. It is great...it takes their language and teaches English.
I can honestly say that I am jealous of those that are multi-lingual. I do think they are one up on those of us that only speak one language.
TumbleBooks Library
I listened to Scaredy Squirrel in the story book section. I like this E-Resource. The voice was pleasant but engaging and there was enough going on that I believe it would keeps the kids attention. I like that the main page giving all of the books description has so much to offer. It took me a minute to figure out that to exit the book I just needed to close that browser. I didn't realize at first that when I selected the book it opened in its own page. I thought it would be more of a "back to main menu" option but it works. There are a lot of great books to choose from in all of the categories.
I played a couple games/puzzles. I liked them and I think they would be good for the kids. After I finished a game my next thought was to click the HOME button or Back to Games button but there isn't one. It actually took me a minute to process that I needed to close that screen and go back to the main page that was still open. Not a problem once I figured it out but I just feel that the flow would be a little easier if the option was right there on that game/puzzle page.
I would promote this to all of my home school moms for sure. I think they would really like this...but really I would promote it to all of my parents. There are so many games out there now for electronic devices and many don't have any sort of educational benefit. These are fun and educational.
2001 Chevy Impala because my 2013 Chevy Malibu didn't provide enough info to do the whole lesson!
Three things that need to be serviced at 30,000 miles: pretty much everything! spark plugs, throttle linkage, suspension components.
Most recent Technical Services Bulletin and Recall was issued on 12/5/14 and it was about the Unintended Ignition Key Rotation. To much weight on the key in the ignition can cause the key to move away from the "run" position which basically means no engine power, no power steering, and no power braking. So for people like me, who have a fistful of keys and keychains this could become a problem!!
Repair tab about brakes....wow...there is a lot of information about brakes! I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Hydraulic Modulator Solenoid or Wheel Speed Sensor Rings. I did know there were brake pads but I didn't know there were brake drums and brake shoes...I love shoes! J/K but there is a lot of information here...I might be able to try to fix something on my own with all of this...or I'll let the trusty mechanic do it but do my research so I don't get talked down to because I'm a girl!
Mango
A lesson in Spanish. My grandma was from Mexico and one of my biggest regrets was that I didn't take the opportunity to learn Spanish when she offered. I would sit in the kitchen eating homemade tortillas and beans and listen to her talk on the phone to her family back in Mexico. So I gave a lesson in Spanish a try on Mango.
This is hard! I know some generic verbiage in Spanish but there is so much to learning another language. I went through the first lesson about greetings and I knew some of them but not really the difference between formal and informal ways of saying things. I did like that you can keep hitting the replay button on how to say something and that you can go back very easily to review. I also liked that it went through things several times. I would still need to take notes on what the words are in both Spanish and English. I liked that there were explanations about why things are said a certain way. I didn't really find anything that I didn't like because I don't think you know what not to like in one lesson. I guess that is motivation to keep going thru the lessons and see how it really works.
I'm not really sure that I fully understand what #2 is asking but here is what I get out of it. If I had a Vietnamese student come in looking for a way to improve their English I would direct them to Mango....specifically to the section on English. From there they have the option to pick English for Vietnamese speakers. It is great...it takes their language and teaches English.
I can honestly say that I am jealous of those that are multi-lingual. I do think they are one up on those of us that only speak one language.
TumbleBooks Library
I listened to Scaredy Squirrel in the story book section. I like this E-Resource. The voice was pleasant but engaging and there was enough going on that I believe it would keeps the kids attention. I like that the main page giving all of the books description has so much to offer. It took me a minute to figure out that to exit the book I just needed to close that browser. I didn't realize at first that when I selected the book it opened in its own page. I thought it would be more of a "back to main menu" option but it works. There are a lot of great books to choose from in all of the categories.
I played a couple games/puzzles. I liked them and I think they would be good for the kids. After I finished a game my next thought was to click the HOME button or Back to Games button but there isn't one. It actually took me a minute to process that I needed to close that screen and go back to the main page that was still open. Not a problem once I figured it out but I just feel that the flow would be a little easier if the option was right there on that game/puzzle page.
I would promote this to all of my home school moms for sure. I think they would really like this...but really I would promote it to all of my parents. There are so many games out there now for electronic devices and many don't have any sort of educational benefit. These are fun and educational.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Lesson 1 - World Book Online
World Book Kids
Killer Whales also known as Orcas live in our worlds oceans, especially the cold water areas. Despite their name they are actually dolphins.
World Book Online Info Finder
More information at a higher level. It has a sound clip to hear what the whale sounds like in its environment along with a picture and video. It provides the same information as the kids site but with more detail. It talks about the animal itself, its size, habitat, what they eat, how they live and what their life expectancy is.
There are also links to special reports and other websites about the topics. I really like the way that the information is laid out. It provides great info but the info doesn't get lost in a ridiculous amount of unnecessary information.
Reference Center
So the lesson asks that we look at the information provided on the left and right of the country we want to research and then to look at it again after we have selected the country. At least that is what I got out of the instructions!
I picked Ireland as the country that I wanted to do a little research on because I swear in another life I am going to live in a cottage by the sea on the shores of Ireland. Anyway...when I search Ireland there are great things on the left of the screen like Encyclopedia articles, maps, sounds, pictures and web sites. These are all great options that I think my patrons would utilize. On the right there are articles that relate to Ireland. These are nice but I don't think they would be viewed as much. After selecting Ireland from the list of options that are available I looked again at what was on the left and the right. I really like the info presented on the left. I think my patrons would utilize this side because curiosity gets the better of you. It is easy to just start clicking on the different options and sift through all the info. This would great if you are just curious about the topic at hand. On the right there are more encyclopedia articles and the option for additional websites. Honestly I love all the information that is right there at your fingertips and so easy to search. I found that I spent a great deal of time just clicking in and around all the different topics related to Ireland.
This was a great exercise and now I know that when my patrons come in with the intent to dig a little deeper on a subject this is a great place for them to go and search around.
Killer Whales also known as Orcas live in our worlds oceans, especially the cold water areas. Despite their name they are actually dolphins.
World Book Online Info Finder
More information at a higher level. It has a sound clip to hear what the whale sounds like in its environment along with a picture and video. It provides the same information as the kids site but with more detail. It talks about the animal itself, its size, habitat, what they eat, how they live and what their life expectancy is.
There are also links to special reports and other websites about the topics. I really like the way that the information is laid out. It provides great info but the info doesn't get lost in a ridiculous amount of unnecessary information.
Reference Center
So the lesson asks that we look at the information provided on the left and right of the country we want to research and then to look at it again after we have selected the country. At least that is what I got out of the instructions!
I picked Ireland as the country that I wanted to do a little research on because I swear in another life I am going to live in a cottage by the sea on the shores of Ireland. Anyway...when I search Ireland there are great things on the left of the screen like Encyclopedia articles, maps, sounds, pictures and web sites. These are all great options that I think my patrons would utilize. On the right there are articles that relate to Ireland. These are nice but I don't think they would be viewed as much. After selecting Ireland from the list of options that are available I looked again at what was on the left and the right. I really like the info presented on the left. I think my patrons would utilize this side because curiosity gets the better of you. It is easy to just start clicking on the different options and sift through all the info. This would great if you are just curious about the topic at hand. On the right there are more encyclopedia articles and the option for additional websites. Honestly I love all the information that is right there at your fingertips and so easy to search. I found that I spent a great deal of time just clicking in and around all the different topics related to Ireland.
This was a great exercise and now I know that when my patrons come in with the intent to dig a little deeper on a subject this is a great place for them to go and search around.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Getting started!
So I joined this challenge late and now I get to play catch up! That would be totally fine if I could figure out how to even do this posting and blogging business. So the challenge for the next week is to do one lesson each day. Lesson 1 starts this afternoon. I'm looking forward to reading how it is going for everyone else.
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