Naperville Library: Strengthen computer software skills — for free
By Susan Greenwood www.naperville-lib.org February 27, 2013 12:06PM
Updated: April 2, 2013 6:13AM
We’re all on a technology treadmill. Changes, improvements — whatever they’re called — they keep the treadmill running. And whether you’re a geek or a novice, finding an educational source to help you keep up with all the software changes is critical. Learning Express Library is one great source to help you enjoy your treadmill time.
You can access Learning Express Library’s website through the Naperville Public Library’s homepage. We pay the subscription fee so you can enjoy the benefits. Click on the Learning Express Library title on the Online Resources link and you’ll find an astonishing variety of “Learning Centers.” These range from the Job Search Accelerator to educational practice test to the very popular “Software Tutorials.”
I always need to work on my software skills and my Outlook is a mess, so I started with that tutorial. I love using color to organize and the tutorial showed me how to color code my contacts. Who knew? And yes, the tutorial also demonstrated folders as a way to organize contacts, but color coding is more fun. Now it’s easy to find that phone number or email I desperately need.
Beyond Outlook there are many other tutorials, including Excel and pivot tables, Adobe software like Photoshop and Flash, advanced Visio 2010, even Windows and Mac operating systems. The cheerful videos make learning easy, and there’s an interactive index so you can click around within the tutorial. Know what the teacher is talking about? Click to the next section.
Learning Express Library includes more than software tutorials. This online treasure trove of educational videos and practice tests helps you with everything from U.S. citizenship tests to organizing your job search. In between there’s lots of stuff for students — ACT, SAT, GRE, even some CLEP tests (these are exams you take to see if you can test out of a subject. CLEPs are important because if you do well, you get credit for a course saving both time and money, very important considerations today!
Whatever your goal, Learning Express Library’s resources will help you succeed. Each of the Learning Centers offers the practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, eBooks and information you need to achieve the results you want — at school, at work or in life.
Need help navigating Learning Express Library? Call our expert navigators at the adult services desks. The general phone number is 630-961-4100; extensions are: Nichols Library, ext. 6311; Naper Boulevard Library, ext. 2201; and 95th Street Library, ext. 4941.
Susan Greenwood is the community relations coordinator at the Naperville Public Library. Contact her at 630-961-4100, ext. 2223, or greenwood@
naperville-lib.org.
