Learning Express Library

Learning Express Library

Database.

Reading/Interest Level: Sections for Elementary, middle, high school, and college.

Curriculum ties: Math, English/language arts, science, social studies, logic and reasoning

Booktalk Ideas: Homework assistance: Read a “letter” from a teacher to a parent about how the student is excelling and the teachers concern that the student is perhaps too smart for the class. Describe Learning Express as a free personal tutor available online 24/7. Highlight different learning resources (tests, tutorials, eBooks) and available subjects.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

Head for the top of the class with eBooks, tutorials, and practice tests on a variety of school subjects, all available for free from Learning Express Library.

About the Database:

There are various learning centers available through Learning Express Library, but the ones that will be most beneficial to teens are the School Center, High School Equivalency Center, and the College Prep Center. The other areas are the Career Center, Adult Learning Center, Popular Software Tutorials, College Center, and Recursos en español.

In the School Center, students can choose their education level between elementary, middle, and high school. In the high school section there are tests, tutorials, and eBooks available for math, language arts, science, social studies, and logic and reasoning. Each of these main subjects has further subcategories to help students on more specific topics. For example, in high school math students can chose between algebra practices, functions practices, geometry practices, and quantitative comparison practice.

The High School Equivalency Center provides study and practice materials to help students prepare for the GED test, and the College Prep Center focuses on helping students prepare for the ACT, SAT, AP exams, and the PSAT/NMSQT.

Critical Evaluation:

This is a really easy to use database that is perfect for self-motivated learners. Not only will it be beneficial to students already in high school, but also for any students that are homeschooled. The user interface is quite intuitive and simple to use. I would prefer it if an account wasn’t required for access to some materials, but the account is free when accessed through the library.

The tutorials are clear, with simple directions to teach and walk students through each and every step, and teach complex concepts in a simple way while allowing the student to check their progress and understanding throughout. The only problem I have is that in some of the tutorials with a clear right or wrong answer, when the user checks the answer the tutorial doesn’t easily identify if the answer was correct or not. It gives the answer and the explanation for why that is the answer, but doesn’t give something as simple as a green or red mark to show whether or not the answer was right. Perhaps it does this so that users don’t get discouraged, but it was almost more discouraging to me not being able to see when I was getting answers correct without reading the explanation.

About the Author:

N/A

Justification of Selection:

This is an easily accessible database with an easy to use interface to help students of all levels improve their grades and practice the concepts they learn at school. This is also a valuable resource for home school students that parents may use to compliment/replace other lesson resources.