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Tag: first2know

  • Reintroducing Tutor.com

    Now that school is back in session, it is a great time to reintroduce Tutor.com. What is Tutor.com? It is an online tutoring service that connects library members with qualified tutors for on-demand tutoring in over 200 subjects. Tutor.com has resources for all ages and supports learners from kindergarten through college and into adulthood. Library members can connect with tutors between the hours of 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM daily and make use of other Tutor.com features 24/7.

    How can Dauphin County Library System members find and use Tutor.com? It’s listed alphabetically on our research page, so it is easy to find. Just visit www.dcls.org/research and scroll down.

    Tutor.com is completely free to use by all members. When you are outside of one of our locations, just enter your library card number and PIN to access.

    Who can benefit from using Tutor.com? Well students, of course! Parents, too! Parents, if you find yourself struggling to remember basic concepts (like reducing fractions or dividing decimals) or want some tips for helping your children with their homework, you can find those in Tutor.com’s SkillsCenter Resource Library. Job seekers, you can benefit from using Tutor.com also. Its career resources include mock interview prep, résumé and cover letter review, professional development tips, and more. Adults, do you need help with financial literacy and U.S. Citizenship? You can get help with even subjects like these using Tutor.com’s SkillsCenter resources. Just select Adult Services under “Topic” and select the subject wanted. As you can see, Tutor.com has something to offer everyone!

    Whether you’re new to Tutor.com or it’s been a while since you’ve explored its features, now is a great time to check it out and see all it has to offer. Tutor.com received a major upgrade earlier this year and now sports a refreshed new look featuring more color, easier navigation, and added features, including one that allows you to easily schedule sessions and request specific tutors. Additionally, its updated tabs make dropping off work for review, finding test preparation and self-study resources, and locating college and career tools much simpler than before.

    Many of Tutor.com’s tools and resources are available to members, no account required. Members can connect with tutors (between 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm), use their career services resources, view videos, prepare for the AP®, or get information about the FAFSA® all without logging in.

    Library members wishing to take practice quizzes, prepare for exams like the SAT®/ACT®, or use Tutor.com’s SkillsCenter will need to create a free account with Tutor.com and log in.

    Tutor.com, through its website, provides a selection of free educational webinars and videos on topics like college readiness, study skills, and student success that even non-library members can access online, no library card or account needed. Its “College Readiness and Management” webinars are ones that I find to be incredibly helpful. To see a full list of their free-to-view webinars, visit https://www.tutor.com/webinars.

    So, whether you need help with a single question, want tips on study skills from an online video, or require ongoing assistance, The Library and Tutor.com can provide that to you at no cost.

    Ann Marie Megoulas
    Information Services Supervisor

  • Fall at the Library

    Fall is here, and so are new Library programs for every age! Here’s a quick peek at what we have to offer kids and families as the weather cools off:

    Storytimes & Early Learning

    For the littles, our Stepping Stones to Milestones story-time series continues as the perfect way to get your baby, toddler, or

    preschooler (or all three!) thinking, learning, and building the foundation of their literacy development. We’ve even started doing a few story-times at offsite locations. Don’t miss:

    • Stories at Sunset – East Shore Area Library (evening storytime)
    • Mathamagical Storytime – Northern Dauphin Library
    • Once Upon a Rainbow – 1st Saturdays at the LGBT Center of Central PA
    • Stories at Midtown – 2nd Saturdays at Midtown Scholar Bookstore

    After-School Adventures

    Do your school-age children need something to do after school? We’ve got something for that too. Check out these hands-on programs:

    • Owls are a Hoot! – Learn about owls & dissect pellets
    • Engineering Simple Bots – Build & test mini-robots
    • PA Geology Rocks! – Explore Pennsylvania’s rocks & minerals with DCNR

    Check the Fall Compass or DCLS.org/Events for dates and locations.

    Teens Take Over

    Are your teenagers totally bored with their wardrobe this new school year? Looking for other creative activities to keep your young people engaged? No worries!

    Fresh looks & creative outlets await:

    • Teen Fall Clothing Swap – Saturday, Sept. 20 (12–4 PM) at East Shore Area Library
    • Coloring for Teens – Chill afternoons with color & creativity
    • Zines for Teens – Create & share your own mini-magazines

    There’s More!

    This is just a sample of all the fun waiting for you at The Library this fall. Visit the DCLS Events page or stop by your local Library to explore the full calendar of programs and events.

  • Fighting the Summer Slide—One STEM Kit at a Time

    Fighting the Summer Slide—One STEM Kit at a Time

    By: Dwana Pinchock

    Jennifer Eley, Director of Education at Pennon Education, knows that summer vacation can be both a blessing and a challenge for school-aged children. While it’s a time for rest and family, it’s also when many students experience “summer slide”—the tendency to lose academic progress over the break.

    To combat this, Pennon Education created Slide Into Summer, a community-centered event hosted at their public media center. “Our goal is to give families meaningful, flexible ways to keep learning all summer long,” Eley explains. The event emphasizes equity by highlighting free or low-cost resources available in the community and distributing STEM-based learning kits to the first 50 families in attendance.

    Each learning kit contains several weeks of engaging science activities. “Families could use them on a rainy day or spread them out throughout the summer,” Eley says. Activity stations at the event included hands-on learning—like planting seeds in paper towel bags to observe growth, and building marble runs to explore motion and force. Kids received journals to record their observations and were encouraged to keep learning beyond the event.

    Perhaps most notably, every learning station was paired with a themed book, from fiction to nonfiction, designed to spark curiosity. A map guided families through the event, and on the back, they were encouraged to write down at least one or two book titles to borrow from their local library.

    “Our whole team is made up of former educators,” Eley adds. “We know how critical it is to keep kids reading and exploring during the summer months. That’s why we intentionally designed every activity with literacy in mind.”

    From cultivating seedlings to building roller coaster models, Slide Into Summer is more than just a fun day—it’s a strategy to keep young minds growing.