Lesson 3 - Learning Library

As I followed the instructions on this exercise, I learned there are a lot of sub-categories in each of the testing options.  For example, I chose the Skill Building for Adults tab, to find a test that I thought might not embarrass me when I clicked on "score this test".  That led to a page with many options to choose a subject matter, such as:

Math and Reasoning Skills Improvement

Personal Finance Skills Improvement

Public Speaking Skills Improvement

Reading Skills Improvement

Science Skills Improvement

Statistics Skills Improvement

Trigonometry Skills Improvement

Writing and Grammar Skills Improvement 

 

Each of these subjects break down into further detailed options, as far as learning tools and testing.  My choice, the Writing and Grammar Skills Improvement, provided these sub-categories, each of which breaks down even further with the individual tests & lessons!

 

Practice Essays
Grammar Practice
Grammar Skills for Writing Courses
Writing Practice
Fundamentals of Writing Courses          

From this menu, I selected Grammar Practice, because a little practice never hurts anyone. From here, I discovered another list of choices. This is where I chose the test: Grammar Practice 1, out of the eight (8) tests offered.  This resource really offers a lot of bang for your buck, that's for sure!  So, having chosen a test to take, I'm going to hop over there and will get back to you as soon as I've aced a few queries... brb.

So much for acing everything!  Out of the eight (8) questions I answered, two (2) (glaringly obvious) mistakes were discovered after the scoring took place. I really like how the site provides not only the correct answer, but it also gives the reason for the "grammar rule".  The diagnostic tools on this resource are really going to be helpful for the student trying to not only learn the answers, but who also want to understand the why any given answer is either correct or wrong.  Now that I've taken the practice test, it would not hurt for me to go back in and do some dusting off of the gray cells.  This Resource is a gold mine of information and help!  I plan on telling all of my student patrons who visit our library about it, both young and adult.  From what I've observed during this exercise, a visit to this site, for any student interested in really growing and improving their test scores, can only be beneficial.  The site is easy to navigate and there are many helpful links for the student who wishes to delve deeper into the learning realm.

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The next exercise had me visit the Career Resources.  I chose the Career Course: Succeeding on the Job.  The first page, once I made my selection, gives a brief description of the course, as well as listing the lesson topics.  A small, but important detail to mention is the handy little button that offers more "Instructions" for how to use the platform, if the student struggles anywhere during the lessons.

This course offers good suggestions on how to be better at one's job, in order to work more efficiently with time management, as well as offering many helpful hints on how to excel in human relations in the workplace. Some of those hints would go a very long way in one's personal relationships, also, if one were of a mind to improve self both career-wise and personally.  There is a menu on the left side of the screen, which helps the student to track the next lesson topic.  Once a page has been completed, a little check mark appears next to the topic in the menu.  That's a nice touch, as it helps me to remember where I've read , should I get distracted or lose my place.

Another great point I like about this is the course "saves" your work, automatically, once you being a course.  In this course I chose, I found some of the material did not really apply to my position at this library, but I read it for the sake of the exercise.  The course offers little tools that help to discover how one might be mismanaging their time, as well as how to amend that in a way to benefit the individual and their employer/colleagues.  Next to the "instructions" button at the top of the page, is also a link to the "my center" and to a "notebook" where the student can take notes and save them for future reference.  I really like how the course does the saving, when it comes to the tools used, like the time management tool, so I am able to return to it at a later time.  Anything saved can be edited, another plus, if one needs to do so, in the future.  All in all, this is a nice resource that may be very helpful to anyone wishing to enhance their skills and possibly prepare themselves for advancement.

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The final exercise  was to type a search for a skills improvement or a career topic.  From this, I must select an eBook and peruse its pages. My search, for "Business Communications" led me to an eBook on "Business Writing Clear and Simple".  This book is one I'd really like to read, as I feel it is vital to the business I am in to have healthy and proper writing skills, in order to effectively communicate with patrons, write grants, and more.

The book has been broken down into sections, all listed clearly in the Table of Contents.  The first section, Basic Training, offers several suggestions to aid the student in a number of ways.  This eBook looks like it would be a wonderful tool to have access to at any time, if something is needed.  The first section covers things like organizing thoughts, the necessity of avoiding certain words, keeping the transcript positive, simple, clear and concise and more.

Section 2 approaches the Composition basics.  These basics cover everything from using the proper formats, the parts of a letter & how to use them, electronic communications, resumes, cover letters and even covers the paper and envelope discussion. This section is really nice, because it provides examples of the correct format for the topics covered.  As the type of learner who tends to "get it" faster when an example is available, I truly appreciate this aspect of the course!

Section 3 gives a large variety of sample letters, with explanations for when each might be used.  There are also suggestions as to when it's appropriate to send which type of letter.  This eBook would be a very valuable tool for those folks who don't have time to go hunting through volumes of grammar books for an answer to any questions related to Business Communications/Writing Skills and Grammar.  This eBook seems to have covered a multitude of very important facts that writers need to know and blunders that writers tend to practice.

The final section, Section 4 approaches Grammar, which is a very vital aspect of effective communicating.  We all know and have experienced that one individual on Facebook and elsewhere in life, whom tends to correct our typos and bad grammar.  Having access to this Section alone could bring the Grammar Police to their knees, or at the very least, get them off of our backs!  This section covers the parts of speech, punctuation (Do I have too, too many commas in this sentence, yet?), capitalization, spelling and more.  All are very useful tools for the writer who wishes to excel in their craft or field of work.

This exercise has been a very profitable one for this librarian.  This weekend, my plan is to purchase a ream of paper, so I can print this eBook.  Yes, this decision is not a very green choice, but this book is going to be very helpful for a very long, long time.  Thank you, to the Learning Express Library for this very valuable tool!

                

How well do you communicate at school or in the workplace? Are you looking to improve your writing skills when creating reports, memos, letters, or e-mails? This updated edition of Grammar Essentials is designed for students and adults who need to improve their writing ability quickly to move ahead. This book focuses on mastering the basics, including parts of speech, punctuation, abbreviations, numbers, word division, capitalization, and spelling. It also reviews the basics before guiding you through the 25 most common grammar mistakes and how to avoid them. Whether you have an occasion question or need to sharpen your basic skills, Grammar Essentials can dramatically improve your communication skills.
Bonus feature: includes a Grammar IQ review test at the end of the book to help you measure your improvement.

close Number of Pages: 224     PDF File Size: 643 Kilobytes

          

This 40-question practice exercise was developed to teach you the skills you need to improve your grammar. This practice exercise will give you:

• Questions that will test your understanding of capitalization, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, word usage, and other important rules of grammar
• An instant score report with a personalized analysis of your strengths and weaknesses
• Detailed answer explanations

close Number of Questions: 40     Approximate Test Duration: 30 Minutes