Summer School

If there’s one thing we at Treasure Hunt Towers hate, it’s spending money. And if there’s one thing we like doing, it’s getting educated. So how to combine our two hobbies without actually getting out of our chairs? (another thing we hate doing!) . As usual it’s the Gateway to the rescue! First up is Computers & the Internet where I can scroll down to Learning Resources and then learn just about anything I want toinvolving ICT. The biggie here is obviously IVY (or the Ivy Learning Management System as it’s officially known). You need to register for this – you should have instructions at your enquiry desk, or if you're not a library staff member, just ask next time you visit – but once you have a login, there is a whole wealth of ICT and business courses available to you. If you want to browse before registering, just click on the About Ivy link on the Gateway page and see what’s there – a full range of Microsoft offices, all in easy bitesized chunks so you don’t actually have to learn Access in one go plus an excellent range of business courses from health and safety, employment law, interview techniques and even body language.

Once you’ve exhausted everything Ivy has to offer, there’s plenty more available back on the Gateway. Fancy learning a new language? Go to the Languages page of the Gateway and you’ll find I Love Languages as a key link. Going to Zanzibar this Summer? Well, you’ll want to have a bit of basic Swahili so clink on Languages and then By Language and the helpful Swahili links will give you some basic lessons. Taking a trip to Qo’nos and worried about not being able to ask way to the bathroom? Check out the Klingon language resources and memorise the useful phrase ‘nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e' ?

Perhaps you fancy something a little more creative than learning how to talk to fictional characters? How about something a little crafty? Try HintsandThings which you’ll find in the Homes & Gardens section of the Gateway. Check out the Workshop and you’ll find guides to cross-stitch, making paper clay (papier mache we called it when I were a lass), economical gifts and much more. It’s an excellent site and you can get lost browsing in it – the Kitchen is excellent for brushing up on your culinary skills.