Spokane County Library District: Help prevent summer learning losses and get free online tutoring with HelpNow

After the break in the life and school year of students who have tried to adapt to online, hybrid, or homeschooling learning models (sometimes all three), your student can benefit from summer tutoring. Even if your student succeeded in the new online or hybrid environments, if children and teenagers continue reading, arithmetic and working to maintain their critical thinking skills through the summer months, they will retain valuable learning that will help them in the coming school year and beyond . There are free options to help kids study and avoid summer slides during the summer break. Here is a way that is accessible online and flexibly and that you don’t have to open your wallet. LIVE ONLINE TUTORING Get free live online tutoring for students in grades K – 12 daily from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. via our online resource HelpNow from Brainfuse. All customers with a district library card can use this resource (even adults!). A live tutor can help you learn and brush up on your skills on a wide range of topics: English-language arts, including reading comprehension
Writing, including writing tips and proofreading
Math, all levels
Social Studies, including World and US History
Science, including earth sciences, biology, chemistry and physics The HelpNow teacher uploads lessons to live chat so you can improve your skills. The lessons are slide-on and interactive. As students and tutors work through the concept, the tutor can underline and circle things on the slides to aid understanding. All lessons are age and level appropriate and their content meets the standards of the state education committee. You can also get help from tutors who speak Spanish. The vast majority of Brainfuse HelpNow tutors are teachers, retired tutors, or graduate students in education, math, and other subjects. A thorough background check is done for each tutor, all tutors are US based, and each tutor must have at least a 4 year college degree. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN SUMMER CAMP Available from now until September 1st. HelpNow offers a seasonal resource called Summer Camp to help combat summer slide (also known as summer learning loss). This resource offers a variety of activities, projects, and experiments that students can conduct at their own pace to help them stay fit over the summer break. HelpNow’s Summer Camp can also help students catch up on their studies and stay tuned to begin ready-to-study fall courses. The resources for the summer camp are grouped by elementary school, middle school, high school, parenting resources, and exam preparation. You’ll find refresher math, science, English, and social studies, activities, and games for all grade levels. For students studying for college entrance exams, you can prepare for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and AP tests. OTHER EXPERT HELP You can upload a document to the Writing Lab and one of HelpNow’s writing coaches will analyze it and provide helpful comments. They usually respond within one business day, and there is no limit to how often you can submit a work for review. The SkillSurfer portion of this resource offers online lessons, videos, and tests. SkillSurfer’s content covers topics from elementary school to adult learners, including high school equivalency tests, college entrance test preparation, the Armed Forces Professional Skills Battery (ASVAB), adult education resources and English classes. Different people like to learn in different ways. Not everyone will want to work one-on-one with a tutor. Students who learn better with audio or visual resources might appreciate a video to better understand a concept or a worksheet to work through. These formats are available through SkillSurfer. With the “Send Question” option, you can ask a question at any time of the day or night and receive a written answer from a tutor within one working day. Feel free to include supporting documents such as pictures, scans, or drawings with your questions to better describe what you are asking for and to get the best help. If you are learning a new language, you can contact a language teacher in the language lab for help. Games, quizzes, flash cards and spoken pronunciations are available to help you learn a new language. If you’re learning chess, HelpNow even offers live chess lessons! Learn chess strategies and improve your cognitive thinking with an experienced chess trainer. Click the Online Resources button for information on the basics of chess, tactics, and maneuvers. HELPNOW STUDY TOOLS HelpNow offers various tools to help you reach your full potential. They provide study resources for the GRE, Accuplacer, and Compass tests, as well as educational and professional aptitude tests. Flashbulb is a self-learning resource with electronic flash cards. You can use sets of flashcards you have already created and create your own to study and pass your exams. You can also play games from your flashcard sets. You can turn a set of cards into a crossword puzzle, scramble game, or quiz forms, as well as games for different age groups. Learn anytime, anywhere by taking your flashcards with you with the HelpNow Brainfuse mobile app. You can also print out the cards to learn how to cover tangible and visual learning when you take a break from the equipment. With the mobile app, you can take this learning resource with you on the go. ADULT LEARNING CENTER Clicking on the Adult Learner menu option will take you to the Adult Education Center. There you have access to: Preparing for the Abitur examination
Study guides and practice tests for the citizenship test
Live online teacher
Microsoft Office Help
Career resources for job hunting, including creating a successful resume
Also, the Writing Lab, Skill Builder, Send Question, and Test Center resources BOOK A LIBRARY If you want to learn more about HelpNow, sign up for a Book-a-Librarian appointment for personal help at the library staff, to set up your Brainfuse HelpNow account and learn more about this resource. Crystal Miller is a business and career development librarian who has worked in libraries for 15 years. She holds a Masters in Library Science from Simmons College and has worked at the Harvard Development Office Library, MIT Libraries and the Coeur d’Alene Public Library. When she’s not in the library, you can find her in the dog park with her three fur babies or with a cookbook in hand, leafing through in search of the next recipe to try out.

This news release was prepared by the Spokane County Library District. The views expressed here are your own.