I chose the 8th grade informational practice since I teach middle school social studies and a majority of our reading is informational text.  I liked that it allows the students to go at their own pace.  I also liked the immediate feedback students get when they are done.  It notes a topic for each question which is helpful for teachers.  At our school, if students are struggling with a certain aspect of reading they go to a reading interventions class at the end of the day.  This would help them know which areas students are struggling in and better able to address those problems and select reading passages and questions that specifically address those problems. At the bottom of the page it gives "Recommendations" to go to for extra practice and it aligns the questions with Common Core standards.

Under Job Searching skills I chose the Work keys Locating Information.  There was a test designed to ascertain whether a person could read a computer printout.  This particular printout was an order at a dry cleaners.  You had to read the information (number of shirts dropped off, when they were dropped off, pick up date and time, etc) and answer questions about it.  I guess it would let one know what kind of skills were needed to render one capable of being a competent worker at such a place.

The ebook I downloaded was for a chef.  It was loaded with information.  There was a questionnaire to start of asking about basic culinary skills.  It went on to give information about different types of chefs and the average salaries for each.  It noted what parts of the country were in demand for the various types of chefs.  Along with each description of chef there was also something called "Insiders Advice" with tips on what to expect if one was going into that field.  They also mentioned different culinary jobs that don't require cooking such as a writer or a nutritionist.  The ebook also gave a course description of what one could expect when going to school.  It also finished with a practice test and then how to market yourself when applying for a job. I could see this being extremely valuable to many people looking for jobs in a variety of areas.  It would definitely be helpful to high school kids who are trying to figure out what they might want to do with themselves after high school.

Mango

I went to the Mango site and chose the Czech language.  The beginning mentioned navigating the narrow streets of Prague and checking out a castle complex by purchasing a bus ticket.  It also mentions a tour of the Pilsner Urquell facilities which I think would be extremely interesting and appropriate as one might work up a thirst trying to remember and utilize a foreign language.

Once I got into this site I was impressed to say the least.  There is so much to like and very little to not like.  It makes you do a bunch of listening and repeating.  You basically just listen to them and then repeat.  It will introduce a simple word, such as "hello" and then you repeat, then they and a few more words until you are able to introduce yourself.  You can chose between grammatical and conversational goals.  Very cool website.

I'm not quite sure as where I can use this and whether or not I'd have to pay for it.  At school it works great.  I tried to look at it at home and it asks for a barcode.  I thought if you were a member of the state library it was free, but not 100% sure on this.

Under the Chilton Library site the vehicle I chose was a 2002 Chevy Tahoe.  Three things that should be done at 30,000 miles are:  1) Replace air cleaner filter, 2) Replace automatic transmission fluid and filter, and 3) Service/Inspect automatic transmission shift linkage.

The latest technical service bulletin was "Suspension DTCs C0696 or C0711, Incorrect trim height, compressor self test inoperative" and it was issued on 6-3-13.

I tried to go to the repair site to check on the brakes but it kept telling me that my time had expired and I needed to log back in.  I shut down the website, went back to the website, typed in all the info that I had typed in previously and still it said I had been logged out of my session.  Not sure what is going on there.  Maybe I'll go back later and try again.

Under the World Book Reference Center I chose the country of Ireland.  Things seemed pretty similar to the previous sight.  I did notice that there were timelines which we use from time to time in class.  They also give you a link to other websites that would be helpful if doing more specific research.

For lesson 1b I compared the WorldBook online kids with the info finder.  The kids section had three paragraphs worth of info stating that the prairie dog lives underground in grasslands called prairies.  There was on drawing of a couple of prairie dogs.  The info finder had an actual picture and sounds of the prairie dog along with different species of prairie dogs, their natural enemies, and how they affect people.

On the World Book Discover page you can choose from a variety of different languages to have the article translated to from English.   I did try to click on one of the languages and my school has this sight blocked claiming it is security proxy, whatever that might be.  However I don't believe it would be   a big deal to get this unblocked but I'm not 100% sure.

Under the Advanced option I searched the country of the Czech Republic.  I teach 7th grade geography.  We are constantly talking about culture and everything the term culture can include.  I notice on the website there are pictures of architecture, the countryside, etc.  You could also click on a link that would play music.  Food and drink was another section that kids tend to be interested in and that I don't believe you can find in a regular encyclopedia.  Also, from a teacher perspective, they make it really easy to print certain sections of the entry without having to select a certain portion.

I searched hogs in both the World Book for Kids and the World Book Students.  The student site definitely had much more information.  From the parts of the hog, to different types of hogs, uses of the hog, charts that show leading hog producing states, etc.  The Kids section was pretty bare bone which I suppose you would expect for K-5.  I think the most useful part of this website for me will be the double clicking on words to get a definition.  I teach middle school social studies and the most common type of questions I get are asking to define a word.  I don't mind answering these, of course, but if a student can double click on the word right there and find out the meaning, all the better.  Especially for those who don't like to speak or be thought "dumb" if they don't know the meaning of the word.  I noticed that this option was available in both the kids and students version.

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