Duration: 30 Minutes
[00:00:00.000]
So I am going to record this session. And I'm going to start that right now.
[00:00:03.000]
So thank you everyone for joining today. We're going to be looking at Gale presents Peterson's test and career prep, which is an awesome adult learning platform that you have through the state of New Jersey and Jersey clicks, but we're going to be looking at this specifically, through the lens of basic skills and ESL resources, for your patrons.
[00:00:25.000]
A quick agenda of what we're going to cover today, just a real brief overview of Peterson's testing career prep here in PowerPoint.
[00:00:29.000]
Just want to highlight some of the features and tools that are available in that platform. And then we're going to jump into the resource and I want to show you some of the content we have to really target those specific patron groups with your basic skills.
[00:00:43.000]
ESL, which is English as a second language patrons, and as well as your, citizenship tools.
[00:00:55.000]
And at the end we'll have time to show you the support site and for any questions but that being said if you have any questions while I'm showing you this today please feel free to throw those in the Q&A and I will answer them as we go.
[00:01:09.000]
So just real quick if you have never hopped into Peterson's test and career prep before.
[00:01:15.000]
Peterson says and career prep before there's a wide variety of resources available on this platform.
[00:01:22.000]
It helps patrons prepare for both college and careers. With different related tests, whether you're preparing to go to a university, graduate school, study abroad or enter the career field.
[00:01:35.000]
There are even some tools here to help you find a career. There's a career assessment where it takes different parts of, you know, your different skills and things that you're happy doing in an assessment and gives you some careers that they think fit you as an individual.
[00:01:49.000]
You get overviews of those careers and then you can even browse open positions without ever leaving the Petersons platform.
[00:01:57.000]
You can also create resumes, cover letters, and get career advice. And for your patrons that may be looking to enroll in a college or university, they can search through colleges, explore different scholarships that are available for them as well as financial aid.
[00:02:07.000]
So this is really a 1-stop shop for everything college and careers related. But like I said, today we're going to be looking at this through the lens of helping your patrons develop their basic skills as well as targeting those English as a second language learner, patrons that you have coming into your library branches.
[00:02:33.000]
And the way that Petersen's covers this is kind of a three-pronged approach in terms of language and skill development.
[00:02:40.000]
These skills such as grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing are there's several different courses that can help patrons develop those skills.
[00:02:50.000]
And what I like is that they do. So in different ways to target all kinds of different learners.
[00:02:54.000]
We often talk about different learning styles for children and teenagers but those don't go away when we grow up right we like to learn in different ways whether that is by reading an e-book or watching a video or practicing with flashcards.
[00:03:09.000]
And, does it all. So with in these courses you can practice with interactive modules, take some practice quests.
[00:03:17.000]
Questions and the exercises, look at study guys, practice with flash cards and more. There are also some tools that help with the pronunciation and speaking practice for your ESL learners.
[00:03:23.000]
So there are different. Exercises that have them practice reading content aloud, which is indicative of some of the language tests over here on the right.
[00:03:40.000]
But this really helps with oral communication skills including accent reduction and fluency. It really helps prepare them for some of these English as a second language tests.
[00:03:52.000]
Speaking of tests, it's a comprehensive test preparation platform. So you can see some of the different tests.
[00:03:59.000]
Perhaps that we have offered here below.
[00:04:04.000]
A lot of these are, language proficiency tests. And then we have the GA, the GED and the US citizenship test, but there are tons and tons of different tests and certifications that you can practice for here in Peter.
[00:04:18.000]
So.
[00:04:22.000]
Hey, but we're going to go ahead and explore. I want to spend most of our time in the platform today walking you around and showing you.
[00:04:28.000]
Really how Peterson's works.
[00:04:31.000]
So 1st you're going to be asked to log in or sign up. And if you do, if you have not already created an account.
[00:04:38.000]
You can sign up here on the main page.
[00:04:42.000]
And I like to point out that there are 2 different ways to sign up a create an account. You can enroll with an email address.
[00:04:48.000]
But there's also the option to enroll without an email address. This is great for patrons who may not have an email account set up.
[00:04:56.000]
However, I don't recommend this because if they forget their password, they won't be able to, you know, unlock their account because there's not an email to get the, their information sent to.
[00:04:59.000]
So I do always encourage patrons to sign up with an email address.
[00:05:11.000]
But I'm going to go ahead and log in to my account.
[00:05:17.000]
And this is what the Petersen's main menu looks like. You can see that I am logged in.
[00:05:20.000]
I have my initial up here on the side.
[00:05:24.000]
And one thing that I like about Peterson’s is that there are a few different ways to explore content.
[00:05:29.000]
You really find which workflow kind of fits for you and your needs best and then go forward from there.
[00:05:34.000]
So I'm going to show you all the different ways that there are to browse.
[00:05:39.000]
You can start by doing a basic search. So if you have a patron come in that you know is looking to study for the citizenship test.
[00:05:48.000]
Thank you. Simply search and you see there are a couple different options that pop up here. You can view the practice tests and the prep as well.
[00:05:58.000]
So if a patron comes in and knows exactly what they're looking for, they can always use this basic search.
[00:06:05.000]
You can browse the menu here at the top of the page. If you're looking to improve a test score, find a school, explore different careers.
[00:06:16.000]
Or prepare for a vocational, vocational type of job.
[00:06:21.000]
And then my personal favorite way to explore is right here in the center.
[00:06:27.000]
I like these categories a lot. I think they're easy to navigate and find what you're looking for.
[00:06:28.000]
We're going to be looking at a few different of these categories. Here today. And you can also kind of see what is included in these sections below.
[00:06:47.000]
So I'm going to start by browsing. The content that we have to really help develop those basic skills.
[00:06:54.000]
See here we have a category in the center of the screen called Brush Up on Foundational Skills.
[00:07:01.000]
So when I access this area, I'm giving a few different categories. Math and science, reading and writing, as well as computer skills.
[00:07:10.000]
These are great if you have some patrons coming in that maybe aren't so tech savvy.
[00:07:14.000]
They cover a lot of Microsoft platforms. So this is a good place to direct them if they need help with some computer skills like Excel, PowerPoint, Word, things like that.
[00:07:27.000]
But I'm going to hop here into this basic skill section on reading and writing.
[00:07:35.000]
So you'll see that there are a few different kind of question categories and the exam prep categories that fall under this.
[00:07:42.000]
So I have reading. Geared towards grade 6 through 8. 9 through 12. Then I have some writing courses and then some basic skills in English and writing tutorials.
[00:07:51.000]
I think this is a good place to direct your ESL patrons. So I can see here and I can also click on the About tab.
[00:08:03.000]
To learn a little bit more.
[00:08:06.000]
So I'm actually going to click into this section on reading and writing skills. See it's going to open up in this platform with all of the different content that is available in the course.
[00:08:22.000]
So you'll see we have reading comprehension, reading techniques, analyzing texts, basic grammar, advanced grammar, punctuation, writing skills, really covering all of those different areas of reading and writing.
[00:08:34.000]
Okay. And you can tell how thorough they are because look at the number of topics. There are 47 topics alone just under the reading comprehension basics.
[00:08:44.000]
And what's great is your patrons can kind of pick and choose what is most applicable to them.
[00:08:49.000]
So if they're really working on, you know, reading comprehension, then they may just complete this section of, the module that's totally up to them.
[00:08:58.000]
So I'm going to click here on the reading comprehension basics to kind of show you what one of these courses looks like.
[00:09:05.000]
So it's designed pretty linear here on the side. I can click through all of the different sections of the unit or like I said, maybe you just kind of want to pick and choose different sections of this unit over here.
[00:09:12.000]
On the left hand side.
[00:09:21.000]
And as I go through my course.
[00:09:25.000]
I'm getting some kind of reference material explaining, lots of examples, practice tests.
[00:09:33.000]
A knowledge check to check what you have read and learn so far.
[00:09:38.000]
And you'll see there's a lot of variation through these. Sometimes you're reading or watching a video or practicing with flashcards.
[00:09:47.000]
But they really mix up the type of lessons here. I think they're really simple to follow with a nice introduction.
[00:09:54.000]
Pictures, bullet points, they're not so text heavy, you know what I mean? I think they're broken down really nicely.
[00:10:03.000]
So Patreon can come in here and complete as many sections of this reading comprehension. Classes they want.
[00:10:11.000]
And there's they have a few different options here in terms of exploration of the platform. So I can go to my course home.
[00:10:19.000]
Which has all of my course content.
[00:10:23.000]
I can explore just my content.
[00:10:30.000]
I can access all the different quizzes that are available.
[00:10:35.000]
Grades on any quizzes that I have taken.
[00:10:39.000]
How far I have progressed through the course. So as I complete lessons, it will tell me this here.
[00:10:44.000]
It also shows like time spent. I'm your grades, a checklist.
[00:10:52.000]
Really nice here to keep you on track with your progress and how you are progressing through the course. And then there is a system check as well.
[00:10:57.000]
This just makes sure that, everything your computer is supporting everything that you're going to need to open within the course.
[00:11:10.000]
So something that we added new in the most recent update to Petersen's is that if you find something that you want to you know, a course that you want to take and some modules that you want to work through and practice. We've made it easier to find.
[00:11:23.000]
So once you find something that you're interested in, if a patron wants to take this course on basic skills in English and writing tutorials they can add this to their resources.
[00:11:34.000]
So now the next time that they log in, instead of having to search through the different categories, they can simply go to my resources.
[00:11:43.000]
And their course is saved here.
[00:11:50.000]
So I'm going to go back to my main page of Petersons by clicking in the logo on the top left hand corner.
[00:11:59.000]
And I wanted to show you under this prep for an exam. Category, there are lots of tools here for, you know, some basic skills and, preparing.
[00:12:09.000]
Your patrons to take some of those. Fluency, English language fluency exams.
[00:12:17.000]
But here under high school prep.
[00:12:21.000]
Is where you can find some resources specifically for those ESL patrons. I know these are designed for high schoolers, but also very helpful to that patron population as well.
[00:12:33.000]
So here on this high school equivalency exam. You'll see there is a GED exam prep course.
[00:12:41.000]
Available in English and Spanish. So if your patrons are preparing to take their GED and they want to practice their basic skills.
[00:12:50.000]
They can do that here both in English and Spanish. And these are also really nice because they have, you'll see up here some tabs at the top.
[00:12:58.000]
It's not just the course like I showed you previously. There's also an eBook available.
[00:13:03.000]
So they can download on this this on their device and read it. And I should note that this can be completed on a, you know, a tablet, a PC, a Mac, phone, however your patron is learning, they can access this content on their device and they can download that book to their device as well.
[00:13:22.000]
There are accompanying already there are accompanying articles. And then again, you get that about section.
[00:13:30.000]
So under the high school prep, there are those GED tests.
[00:13:38.000]
Also under our prep for an exam section. I like to point out the international section. Since we're talking about, you know, developing basic skills for that English as a second language population.
[00:13:52.000]
You'll see there are 2 different categories.
[00:13:56.000]
So English as a foreign language. You'll see we support several different exams. And this the TOE FL.
[00:14:06.000]
This is a test of English as a foreign language with specific skill areas in reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
[00:14:15.000]
So this is where you're going to find some of those. Test prep sections where it has a patron practice reading allowed different content because part of this exam is an oral exam.
[00:14:29.000]
You'll see here this is one that has the flash cards built in which is very nice. And some practice tests.
[00:14:41.000]
You'll see there's different sections preparing them for the different sections. Then there's also the TOEI c.
[00:14:48.000]
This stands for tests of English for international communication. This is an international standardized test. So this is really good for testing English language proficiency for patrons that are non-native speakers and want this kind of to apply to and on an international scale.
[00:15:08.000]
So if that maybe they're applying for jobs abroad.
[00:15:12.000]
This one also has, you'll see there are 2 different sections. Listening and reading, speaking and writing.
[00:15:18.000]
And this is also a part of the exam that has that speaking practice.
[00:15:25.000]
And you'll see. I go into my quiz.
[00:15:31.000]
These are auditory directions and what it does is has me read each selection allowed. And some of these are nice.
[00:15:38.000]
They have you describe what's happening in the picture so you can see how this would be really beneficial for an ESL patron.
[00:15:47.000]
To practice or again to just develop that fluency. In reading and speaking aloud.
[00:15:55.000]
And then the last international exam we have here is the IE LTS. This is the International English Language Testing System.
[00:16:01.000]
And this test really splits between academic language and more general language. So this is good if you're looking at maybe attending a school abroad or if you're looking to immigrate to an English speaking country.
[00:16:12.000]
So these are, you know, some really nice test preps here as well.
[00:16:22.000]
And most of these are set up the same way with the same tools on that familiar platform. You'll see here there are 8 different practice tests that they can practice before taking that exam.
[00:16:41.000]
So also under that, preparing for a test, prepare for an exam. This is available in 2 different sections, so I want to show you both of the areas where you can find this.
[00:16:47.000]
Citizenship prep.
[00:16:56.000]
So here I am under preparing for an exam and you'll see I just showed you English as a foreign language but here is the US citizenship section.
[00:17:06.000]
And this is where you would direct your patrons to the practice tests and some information on becoming a US citizen.
[00:17:18.000]
So I can take the practice test for my citizenship exam.
[00:17:23.000]
And I can practice these here below. Here in this section.
[00:17:30.000]
And again, they can take these over and over again. They can add them to their resources so they are easy to find.
[00:17:40.000]
So when they log in to their Peterson's account, you'll see that the 2 things that I have saved today are really easy to access right here under the My Resources tab.
[00:17:56.000]
Also up here at the top if you have a patron who speaks Spanish as their primary language they may want some additional support in navigating the platform and in the top left hand corner you'll see there is an option to translate.
[00:18:08.000]
My navigation. And the platform into Spanish.
[00:18:19.000]
Okay, does anyone have any questions about what I have showed you today?
[00:18:26.000]
There's a lot more to explore when I talk about Petersen. I always say, but wait, there's more because it seems like everywhere you click, you can find more content and more help.
[00:18:36.000]
To really help your patrons not only with the courses but with the different eBooks and help articles.
[00:18:43.000]
There's always something there when you click to really help your patrons. Achieve their learning goals.
[00:18:52.000]
And remember when you click into these categories? That at the top. You're going to really see what we have available.
[00:19:01.000]
Including any eBooks. And accompanying articles as well.
[00:19:15.000]
Okay, if you have any questions, please put those in the Q&A box. I did want to review our support site.
[00:19:27.000]
And you can access the New Jersey specific support site. At this link here. This is where you're going to find all of the pre-made helpful resources that we have available to you as library staff.
[00:19:39.000]
So this is where you can access and find all of your different product information like your direct URLs, MARC records, database icons.
[00:19:48.000]
We have a training center where you can find recorded webinars like this one we're having today, different tip sheets, tutorials, training, slide decks, all kinds of different pre-made activities for you.
[00:19:59.000]
Same thing under marketing. This is where you can find, you know, printable bookmarks, email templates, communication templates.
[00:20:00.000]
Social media posts to really advertise this resource to your patrons. It's, you know, Petersen's is huge in that it has such a wide variety of career and test prep.
[00:20:11.000]
If you were to pay for these services as an individual, it can get really, really expensive to pay for all of these different practice tests and the books and all of the different resources that come along with these different sections.
[00:20:31.000]
So. I think advertising and letting them know that they have this and that it's such a cost saving platform, is really important.
[00:20:43.000]
Gail, I just saw your question. There is a place for assignments, but those assignments are already loaded into the course.
[00:20:44.000]
So unfortunately a teacher can't go in and like add their own assignment. But there are assignments for students to go in and complete in each of the different courses.
[00:21:04.000]
Good question.
[00:21:06.000]
So on that support site. We just updated the support site, so I want to show you this, in case you haven't.
[00:21:15.000]
Logged into the support site in the last like week, we made some changes so things look differently now.
[00:21:21.000]
But you'll see I'm specifically on the New Jersey State Library page. You can log in to your own specific branch.
[00:21:32.000]
But you'll see there are a couple different tabs. Here you can view, your product.
[00:21:36.000]
You can get your direct link.
[00:21:39.000]
Under the training section. You'll see here is today's webinar. Any previously recorded webinars will show up here.
[00:21:49.000]
Tip sheets on the. Resource guides.
[00:21:53.000]
And then under marketing is where you can find all of those pre made materials to really advertise this. Resource to your patrons.
[00:22:00.000]
So we have a bookmark, flyers, posters, social media posts, all kinds of good stuff so you can get the word out and let your patrons of New Jersey know that they have access to Peterson's test and career prep.
[00:22:21.000]
Again, thank you all so much for joining today. I filling some pretty big shoes with my colleague Stacey, but I'm happy to be able to work with you all today.
[00:22:30.000]
And if you have any questions, you can email me and I can get you in contact with who can help you if I cannot.
[00:22:31.000]
And then you also have your customer success manager. They're really the problem solvers here at Gale.
[00:22:42.000]
And they'll help you review your usage and things like that. Remember our support site if you have any technical support questions.
[00:22:53.000]
Otherwise, I'll hang on for a couple of minutes if you all have any specific questions or anything you would like me to search for in the platform.
[00:23:01.000]
But if not, thank you all so much for joining me today. I hope you have a great rest of the day and enjoyed this beautiful weather.
[00:23:15.000]
And don't forget Michael survey that I put in the chat. I will repost that message. In case you missed it.
[00:23:23.000]
It is in the chat box.
[00:24:09.000]
Okay, I'm not saying any questions. I am going to go ahead and stop the recording.
So I am going to record this session. And I'm going to start that right now.
[00:00:03.000]
So thank you everyone for joining today. We're going to be looking at Gale presents Peterson's test and career prep, which is an awesome adult learning platform that you have through the state of New Jersey and Jersey clicks, but we're going to be looking at this specifically, through the lens of basic skills and ESL resources, for your patrons.
[00:00:25.000]
A quick agenda of what we're going to cover today, just a real brief overview of Peterson's testing career prep here in PowerPoint.
[00:00:29.000]
Just want to highlight some of the features and tools that are available in that platform. And then we're going to jump into the resource and I want to show you some of the content we have to really target those specific patron groups with your basic skills.
[00:00:43.000]
ESL, which is English as a second language patrons, and as well as your, citizenship tools.
[00:00:55.000]
And at the end we'll have time to show you the support site and for any questions but that being said if you have any questions while I'm showing you this today please feel free to throw those in the Q&A and I will answer them as we go.
[00:01:09.000]
So just real quick if you have never hopped into Peterson's test and career prep before.
[00:01:15.000]
Peterson says and career prep before there's a wide variety of resources available on this platform.
[00:01:22.000]
It helps patrons prepare for both college and careers. With different related tests, whether you're preparing to go to a university, graduate school, study abroad or enter the career field.
[00:01:35.000]
There are even some tools here to help you find a career. There's a career assessment where it takes different parts of, you know, your different skills and things that you're happy doing in an assessment and gives you some careers that they think fit you as an individual.
[00:01:49.000]
You get overviews of those careers and then you can even browse open positions without ever leaving the Petersons platform.
[00:01:57.000]
You can also create resumes, cover letters, and get career advice. And for your patrons that may be looking to enroll in a college or university, they can search through colleges, explore different scholarships that are available for them as well as financial aid.
[00:02:07.000]
So this is really a 1-stop shop for everything college and careers related. But like I said, today we're going to be looking at this through the lens of helping your patrons develop their basic skills as well as targeting those English as a second language learner, patrons that you have coming into your library branches.
[00:02:33.000]
And the way that Petersen's covers this is kind of a three-pronged approach in terms of language and skill development.
[00:02:40.000]
These skills such as grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing are there's several different courses that can help patrons develop those skills.
[00:02:50.000]
And what I like is that they do. So in different ways to target all kinds of different learners.
[00:02:54.000]
We often talk about different learning styles for children and teenagers but those don't go away when we grow up right we like to learn in different ways whether that is by reading an e-book or watching a video or practicing with flashcards.
[00:03:09.000]
And, does it all. So with in these courses you can practice with interactive modules, take some practice quests.
[00:03:17.000]
Questions and the exercises, look at study guys, practice with flash cards and more. There are also some tools that help with the pronunciation and speaking practice for your ESL learners.
[00:03:23.000]
So there are different. Exercises that have them practice reading content aloud, which is indicative of some of the language tests over here on the right.
[00:03:40.000]
But this really helps with oral communication skills including accent reduction and fluency. It really helps prepare them for some of these English as a second language tests.
[00:03:52.000]
Speaking of tests, it's a comprehensive test preparation platform. So you can see some of the different tests.
[00:03:59.000]
Perhaps that we have offered here below.
[00:04:04.000]
A lot of these are, language proficiency tests. And then we have the GA, the GED and the US citizenship test, but there are tons and tons of different tests and certifications that you can practice for here in Peter.
[00:04:18.000]
So.
[00:04:22.000]
Hey, but we're going to go ahead and explore. I want to spend most of our time in the platform today walking you around and showing you.
[00:04:28.000]
Really how Peterson's works.
[00:04:31.000]
So 1st you're going to be asked to log in or sign up. And if you do, if you have not already created an account.
[00:04:38.000]
You can sign up here on the main page.
[00:04:42.000]
And I like to point out that there are 2 different ways to sign up a create an account. You can enroll with an email address.
[00:04:48.000]
But there's also the option to enroll without an email address. This is great for patrons who may not have an email account set up.
[00:04:56.000]
However, I don't recommend this because if they forget their password, they won't be able to, you know, unlock their account because there's not an email to get the, their information sent to.
[00:04:59.000]
So I do always encourage patrons to sign up with an email address.
[00:05:11.000]
But I'm going to go ahead and log in to my account.
[00:05:17.000]
And this is what the Petersen's main menu looks like. You can see that I am logged in.
[00:05:20.000]
I have my initial up here on the side.
[00:05:24.000]
And one thing that I like about Peterson’s is that there are a few different ways to explore content.
[00:05:29.000]
You really find which workflow kind of fits for you and your needs best and then go forward from there.
[00:05:34.000]
So I'm going to show you all the different ways that there are to browse.
[00:05:39.000]
You can start by doing a basic search. So if you have a patron come in that you know is looking to study for the citizenship test.
[00:05:48.000]
Thank you. Simply search and you see there are a couple different options that pop up here. You can view the practice tests and the prep as well.
[00:05:58.000]
So if a patron comes in and knows exactly what they're looking for, they can always use this basic search.
[00:06:05.000]
You can browse the menu here at the top of the page. If you're looking to improve a test score, find a school, explore different careers.
[00:06:16.000]
Or prepare for a vocational, vocational type of job.
[00:06:21.000]
And then my personal favorite way to explore is right here in the center.
[00:06:27.000]
I like these categories a lot. I think they're easy to navigate and find what you're looking for.
[00:06:28.000]
We're going to be looking at a few different of these categories. Here today. And you can also kind of see what is included in these sections below.
[00:06:47.000]
So I'm going to start by browsing. The content that we have to really help develop those basic skills.
[00:06:54.000]
See here we have a category in the center of the screen called Brush Up on Foundational Skills.
[00:07:01.000]
So when I access this area, I'm giving a few different categories. Math and science, reading and writing, as well as computer skills.
[00:07:10.000]
These are great if you have some patrons coming in that maybe aren't so tech savvy.
[00:07:14.000]
They cover a lot of Microsoft platforms. So this is a good place to direct them if they need help with some computer skills like Excel, PowerPoint, Word, things like that.
[00:07:27.000]
But I'm going to hop here into this basic skill section on reading and writing.
[00:07:35.000]
So you'll see that there are a few different kind of question categories and the exam prep categories that fall under this.
[00:07:42.000]
So I have reading. Geared towards grade 6 through 8. 9 through 12. Then I have some writing courses and then some basic skills in English and writing tutorials.
[00:07:51.000]
I think this is a good place to direct your ESL patrons. So I can see here and I can also click on the About tab.
[00:08:03.000]
To learn a little bit more.
[00:08:06.000]
So I'm actually going to click into this section on reading and writing skills. See it's going to open up in this platform with all of the different content that is available in the course.
[00:08:22.000]
So you'll see we have reading comprehension, reading techniques, analyzing texts, basic grammar, advanced grammar, punctuation, writing skills, really covering all of those different areas of reading and writing.
[00:08:34.000]
Okay. And you can tell how thorough they are because look at the number of topics. There are 47 topics alone just under the reading comprehension basics.
[00:08:44.000]
And what's great is your patrons can kind of pick and choose what is most applicable to them.
[00:08:49.000]
So if they're really working on, you know, reading comprehension, then they may just complete this section of, the module that's totally up to them.
[00:08:58.000]
So I'm going to click here on the reading comprehension basics to kind of show you what one of these courses looks like.
[00:09:05.000]
So it's designed pretty linear here on the side. I can click through all of the different sections of the unit or like I said, maybe you just kind of want to pick and choose different sections of this unit over here.
[00:09:12.000]
On the left hand side.
[00:09:21.000]
And as I go through my course.
[00:09:25.000]
I'm getting some kind of reference material explaining, lots of examples, practice tests.
[00:09:33.000]
A knowledge check to check what you have read and learn so far.
[00:09:38.000]
And you'll see there's a lot of variation through these. Sometimes you're reading or watching a video or practicing with flashcards.
[00:09:47.000]
But they really mix up the type of lessons here. I think they're really simple to follow with a nice introduction.
[00:09:54.000]
Pictures, bullet points, they're not so text heavy, you know what I mean? I think they're broken down really nicely.
[00:10:03.000]
So Patreon can come in here and complete as many sections of this reading comprehension. Classes they want.
[00:10:11.000]
And there's they have a few different options here in terms of exploration of the platform. So I can go to my course home.
[00:10:19.000]
Which has all of my course content.
[00:10:23.000]
I can explore just my content.
[00:10:30.000]
I can access all the different quizzes that are available.
[00:10:35.000]
Grades on any quizzes that I have taken.
[00:10:39.000]
How far I have progressed through the course. So as I complete lessons, it will tell me this here.
[00:10:44.000]
It also shows like time spent. I'm your grades, a checklist.
[00:10:52.000]
Really nice here to keep you on track with your progress and how you are progressing through the course. And then there is a system check as well.
[00:10:57.000]
This just makes sure that, everything your computer is supporting everything that you're going to need to open within the course.
[00:11:10.000]
So something that we added new in the most recent update to Petersen's is that if you find something that you want to you know, a course that you want to take and some modules that you want to work through and practice. We've made it easier to find.
[00:11:23.000]
So once you find something that you're interested in, if a patron wants to take this course on basic skills in English and writing tutorials they can add this to their resources.
[00:11:34.000]
So now the next time that they log in, instead of having to search through the different categories, they can simply go to my resources.
[00:11:43.000]
And their course is saved here.
[00:11:50.000]
So I'm going to go back to my main page of Petersons by clicking in the logo on the top left hand corner.
[00:11:59.000]
And I wanted to show you under this prep for an exam. Category, there are lots of tools here for, you know, some basic skills and, preparing.
[00:12:09.000]
Your patrons to take some of those. Fluency, English language fluency exams.
[00:12:17.000]
But here under high school prep.
[00:12:21.000]
Is where you can find some resources specifically for those ESL patrons. I know these are designed for high schoolers, but also very helpful to that patron population as well.
[00:12:33.000]
So here on this high school equivalency exam. You'll see there is a GED exam prep course.
[00:12:41.000]
Available in English and Spanish. So if your patrons are preparing to take their GED and they want to practice their basic skills.
[00:12:50.000]
They can do that here both in English and Spanish. And these are also really nice because they have, you'll see up here some tabs at the top.
[00:12:58.000]
It's not just the course like I showed you previously. There's also an eBook available.
[00:13:03.000]
So they can download on this this on their device and read it. And I should note that this can be completed on a, you know, a tablet, a PC, a Mac, phone, however your patron is learning, they can access this content on their device and they can download that book to their device as well.
[00:13:22.000]
There are accompanying already there are accompanying articles. And then again, you get that about section.
[00:13:30.000]
So under the high school prep, there are those GED tests.
[00:13:38.000]
Also under our prep for an exam section. I like to point out the international section. Since we're talking about, you know, developing basic skills for that English as a second language population.
[00:13:52.000]
You'll see there are 2 different categories.
[00:13:56.000]
So English as a foreign language. You'll see we support several different exams. And this the TOE FL.
[00:14:06.000]
This is a test of English as a foreign language with specific skill areas in reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
[00:14:15.000]
So this is where you're going to find some of those. Test prep sections where it has a patron practice reading allowed different content because part of this exam is an oral exam.
[00:14:29.000]
You'll see here this is one that has the flash cards built in which is very nice. And some practice tests.
[00:14:41.000]
You'll see there's different sections preparing them for the different sections. Then there's also the TOEI c.
[00:14:48.000]
This stands for tests of English for international communication. This is an international standardized test. So this is really good for testing English language proficiency for patrons that are non-native speakers and want this kind of to apply to and on an international scale.
[00:15:08.000]
So if that maybe they're applying for jobs abroad.
[00:15:12.000]
This one also has, you'll see there are 2 different sections. Listening and reading, speaking and writing.
[00:15:18.000]
And this is also a part of the exam that has that speaking practice.
[00:15:25.000]
And you'll see. I go into my quiz.
[00:15:31.000]
These are auditory directions and what it does is has me read each selection allowed. And some of these are nice.
[00:15:38.000]
They have you describe what's happening in the picture so you can see how this would be really beneficial for an ESL patron.
[00:15:47.000]
To practice or again to just develop that fluency. In reading and speaking aloud.
[00:15:55.000]
And then the last international exam we have here is the IE LTS. This is the International English Language Testing System.
[00:16:01.000]
And this test really splits between academic language and more general language. So this is good if you're looking at maybe attending a school abroad or if you're looking to immigrate to an English speaking country.
[00:16:12.000]
So these are, you know, some really nice test preps here as well.
[00:16:22.000]
And most of these are set up the same way with the same tools on that familiar platform. You'll see here there are 8 different practice tests that they can practice before taking that exam.
[00:16:41.000]
So also under that, preparing for a test, prepare for an exam. This is available in 2 different sections, so I want to show you both of the areas where you can find this.
[00:16:47.000]
Citizenship prep.
[00:16:56.000]
So here I am under preparing for an exam and you'll see I just showed you English as a foreign language but here is the US citizenship section.
[00:17:06.000]
And this is where you would direct your patrons to the practice tests and some information on becoming a US citizen.
[00:17:18.000]
So I can take the practice test for my citizenship exam.
[00:17:23.000]
And I can practice these here below. Here in this section.
[00:17:30.000]
And again, they can take these over and over again. They can add them to their resources so they are easy to find.
[00:17:40.000]
So when they log in to their Peterson's account, you'll see that the 2 things that I have saved today are really easy to access right here under the My Resources tab.
[00:17:56.000]
Also up here at the top if you have a patron who speaks Spanish as their primary language they may want some additional support in navigating the platform and in the top left hand corner you'll see there is an option to translate.
[00:18:08.000]
My navigation. And the platform into Spanish.
[00:18:19.000]
Okay, does anyone have any questions about what I have showed you today?
[00:18:26.000]
There's a lot more to explore when I talk about Petersen. I always say, but wait, there's more because it seems like everywhere you click, you can find more content and more help.
[00:18:36.000]
To really help your patrons not only with the courses but with the different eBooks and help articles.
[00:18:43.000]
There's always something there when you click to really help your patrons. Achieve their learning goals.
[00:18:52.000]
And remember when you click into these categories? That at the top. You're going to really see what we have available.
[00:19:01.000]
Including any eBooks. And accompanying articles as well.
[00:19:15.000]
Okay, if you have any questions, please put those in the Q&A box. I did want to review our support site.
[00:19:27.000]
And you can access the New Jersey specific support site. At this link here. This is where you're going to find all of the pre-made helpful resources that we have available to you as library staff.
[00:19:39.000]
So this is where you can access and find all of your different product information like your direct URLs, MARC records, database icons.
[00:19:48.000]
We have a training center where you can find recorded webinars like this one we're having today, different tip sheets, tutorials, training, slide decks, all kinds of different pre-made activities for you.
[00:19:59.000]
Same thing under marketing. This is where you can find, you know, printable bookmarks, email templates, communication templates.
[00:20:00.000]
Social media posts to really advertise this resource to your patrons. It's, you know, Petersen's is huge in that it has such a wide variety of career and test prep.
[00:20:11.000]
If you were to pay for these services as an individual, it can get really, really expensive to pay for all of these different practice tests and the books and all of the different resources that come along with these different sections.
[00:20:31.000]
So. I think advertising and letting them know that they have this and that it's such a cost saving platform, is really important.
[00:20:43.000]
Gail, I just saw your question. There is a place for assignments, but those assignments are already loaded into the course.
[00:20:44.000]
So unfortunately a teacher can't go in and like add their own assignment. But there are assignments for students to go in and complete in each of the different courses.
[00:21:04.000]
Good question.
[00:21:06.000]
So on that support site. We just updated the support site, so I want to show you this, in case you haven't.
[00:21:15.000]
Logged into the support site in the last like week, we made some changes so things look differently now.
[00:21:21.000]
But you'll see I'm specifically on the New Jersey State Library page. You can log in to your own specific branch.
[00:21:32.000]
But you'll see there are a couple different tabs. Here you can view, your product.
[00:21:36.000]
You can get your direct link.
[00:21:39.000]
Under the training section. You'll see here is today's webinar. Any previously recorded webinars will show up here.
[00:21:49.000]
Tip sheets on the. Resource guides.
[00:21:53.000]
And then under marketing is where you can find all of those pre made materials to really advertise this. Resource to your patrons.
[00:22:00.000]
So we have a bookmark, flyers, posters, social media posts, all kinds of good stuff so you can get the word out and let your patrons of New Jersey know that they have access to Peterson's test and career prep.
[00:22:21.000]
Again, thank you all so much for joining today. I filling some pretty big shoes with my colleague Stacey, but I'm happy to be able to work with you all today.
[00:22:30.000]
And if you have any questions, you can email me and I can get you in contact with who can help you if I cannot.
[00:22:31.000]
And then you also have your customer success manager. They're really the problem solvers here at Gale.
[00:22:42.000]
And they'll help you review your usage and things like that. Remember our support site if you have any technical support questions.
[00:22:53.000]
Otherwise, I'll hang on for a couple of minutes if you all have any specific questions or anything you would like me to search for in the platform.
[00:23:01.000]
But if not, thank you all so much for joining me today. I hope you have a great rest of the day and enjoyed this beautiful weather.
[00:23:15.000]
And don't forget Michael survey that I put in the chat. I will repost that message. In case you missed it.
[00:23:23.000]
It is in the chat box.
[00:24:09.000]
Okay, I'm not saying any questions. I am going to go ahead and stop the recording.