Meade School Dist. 46-1 Library Media Services

South Dakota Library Challenge:  Electronic Resource Edition

Lesson 2  |  Chilton Library, Mango Languages, and Tumblebook Library  |  February 5, 2015

*The South Dakota Library Challenge: Electronic Resources Edition was developed by the South Dakota State Library staff to introduce you to the statewide subscription electronic resources. The Electronic Resources Challenge encourages library staff to learn more about the resources that provide expanded access to information and research tools to all schools, libraries and citizens of South Dakota.

For Lesson 2 of the SD Library Challenge, we were asked to explore Chilton Library, Mango Languages, and Tumblebook Library.  For this Basic Challenge, I explored all three:  one of which I was familiar with and two of which I was not.

ChiltonLibrary:

ChiltonLibrary offers the authoritative Chilton's Auto Repair Manuals on-line with monthly updates.  It contains thousands of domestic and imported car, truck, van, and SUV models from 1940-present and includes repair, maintenance, and specification tables, diagrams, and recall notes. 

I first viewed the maintenance schedule for my vehicle--a 2013 Toyota Highlander.  It is not yet at 30,000 miles, so I looked at the whole chart of maintenance tasks for each targeted mileage point and was impressed by the amount of detail provided.  When my Highlander does reach 30,000 miles, there is an extensive list of maintenance tasks that should be completed; three of those being to replace the air conditioner filter, service or inspect the axle shaft bolts, and replace the brake fluid.

The most recent Technical Service Bulletin for my Highlander was posted in January of 2013.  It was for the Display Audio HDD of all applicable '12-'13 Toyota Models.  It was interesting and helpful to go through the list of Recalls/Service Bulletins, and I was glad that my vehicle didn't seem to have too many problems!

I was even more impressed by ChiltonLibrary when I clicked on the Repair tab.  There was information there for every part of my vehicle.  When I looked up information about the brakes of my vehicle, I found diagrams, charts, repair instructions, and so much more! 

ChiltonLibrary would be of great service in an Auto or Mechanics class in high school, and it would also be useful to anyone who owns a car.

Mango Languages:

Mango Languages offers courses in more than 60 languages.  It allows users to learn, listen, and speak their chosen languages.  The courses focus on four key areas of language learning:  vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and culture.  Courses for English learners begin in the student's native language and teach English. 

I am familiar with Mango Languages because I have created accounts for my 6-year-old and my 10-year-old.  My youngest son is learning Spanish, and my oldest son is learning French.  Both of my boys really enjoy the program and are learning a lot. 

Mango is impressive for the wide variety of languages that it offers.  I was surprised to see Cherokee, Punjabi, Azerbaijani, and Tamil, among others on the list. I really like how Mango teaches languages by repeating, repeating, and repeating common words and phrases and by having the learner repeat, repeat, repeat those common words and phrases.  The voice comparison is also a great tool, as is the fact that you can replay lessons and parts of lessons as many times as necessary.  One thing I found a bit difficult (even though it was also one of the things I like about the program) was that the learner has to speak aloud back to the computer.  This is a necessary component for learning a language; however, it was difficult for me to do this in my library to test it out because I always had students around.  I could see the same potential problem for students trying to learn languages around their peers.  This is obviously not a problem, though, in a one-on-one setting or at home. 

The English lessons were a part of Mango that I had not noticed in the past.  What a great program to offer for learners of English!  If I had a Vietnamese (or other) student that needed to improve her English, this would be of great service, especially since I don't speak many other languages.  When teaching English, the Mango courses begin in the student's native language.  Everything is written and spoken in that language, but the rest of what Mango offers is exactly what it offers in teaching other languages to English speakers. 

I really hope that I get the chance to recommend this program to students and possibly find a way to tie it into my curriculum or into the curriculum of the middle school and high school teachers that I work with. 

TumblebookLibrary:

Tumblebook Library contains animated talking picture books, short videos, and chapter books, fiction and non-fiction, for grades K-3.  Lexile and AR reading levels and grade levels are provided, as well as books in several non-English languages.  Puzzles and games enrich some of the books. 

I was unfamiliar with TumblebookLibrary before this challenge.  What a shame!  I wish I would have known about it when my children were younger. 

I chose several story books, chapter books, non-fiction books, and other material to read.  I was impressed by what this program had to offer.  I loved that some of the stories could be read aloud and that several had other materials connected to them like games and puzzles and more.  The set-up of the website was helpful as well, telling the books' reading level, common core connections, book information, and TumbleTime.  I thought that, overall, it was a really easy to use and fun resource.  

The videos, games, and puzzles were also stimulating, educational, and fun.  I like how they promote reading and learning and how there are so many different options.  

This resource would be great for elementary school teachers, but I would also promote it to our reading resource teachers, special education teachers, and reading teachers at the middle school level.  There are so many parts of this program that could be beneficial for students even at this higher level.