Books in Digital and Information Literacy series

There are certain computer skills that are both essential to employability and incredibly useful in everyday life. The ability to construct, use, and interpret spreadsheets is one of these skills. Familiarity with spreadsheet programs is an increasingly obligatory prerequisite for any office job, as is the creation, maintenance, and effective interpretation of spreadsheets and their data. Spreadsheets are an essential professional and academic asset and a useful personal tool. This book tells readers everything they need to know to get started creating spreadsheets for various tasks and utilities; plugging in relevant data; maintaining, updating, and revising the spreadsheet; and drawing accurate conclusions from the processed data. With step-by-step instructions for various standard tasks, this book makes working with spreadsheets both fun and easy.

Foursquare and other, similar location-based services are no longer merely sophisticated toys that allow users to broadcast their location, but have transformed into real marketing opportunities. Foursquare can also be an important way for teens and parents to always be in contact and aware of each other's present location. This book introduces readers to all the surprising things that location-based services allow users to do, as well as some of the dangers and pitfalls associated with the technology that should be avoided.

Graphic organizersan important tool in both school and business for visual learning and information processingare no longer confined to posters, flip pads, or the pages of reports. Graphic organizers have gone digital. Now diagrams, charts, and other "mind maps" can be generated, posted, viewed, interpreted, and presented on computer. This means that they can be used on one's web site, inserted into a multimedia presentation, and revised or updated with new information on a daily basis. This book is an essential guide for students in how to design, create, and use digital graphic organizers, from the most basic (timelines, pie charts, step-by-step charts) to the more complex and sophisticated (Venn diagrams, flow charts, KWHL charts). This book gives readers an edge in mastering and using these invaluable tools effectively.

With sophisticated graphics that rival the latest 3D Hollywood release and a complexity of narrative that equals the most elaborately imagined worlds found in fantasy novels, gaming has become big business, mass entertainment, and high art. Indeed, the gaming experience is so involving and enticing that it can pose some dangers. Repetitive motion disorders, sedentary lifestyles, computer/gaming addiction, loss of perspective, exposure to graphic violence, and even cyberbullying can all result from too much time spent sitting in front of a computer. This book celebrates the truly awe-inspiring experiences, environments, and simulations modern gaming offers as well as the cognitive and developmental benefits they convey, while also highlighting the very real dangers that arise from excessive or inappropriate play.

Wikipediathe massive, ever-expanding, and entirely free online encyclopedia largely written, edited, and managed by volunteershas transformed the way people seek information, especially students. It has also been scorned of many teachers and librarians administrators due to its entries' frequent errors and biases. This book seeks to take an even-handed and realistic approach to Wikipedia, acknowledging its serious flaws and shortcomings as a research tool, while also explaining what is valuable about it and how it can be used carefully to gain a grounding of a subject that will then be researched in greater depth and with more reputable sources. The book addresses how users can lodge complaints about a Wikipedia entry, how entries are corrected, and how one goes about writing an entry. Finally, the latest thinking of teachers, librarians, and school administrators regarding Wikipedia will be discussed, as will their suggestions for how best to use the online encyclopedia as a legitimate research tool.

Self-expression is incredibly important, especially during the teen years, and with the advent of blogging, teen writers can share their thoughts, ideas, and creative writing with the entire world and create a supportive and nurturing online community. Blogs can be enhanced with photos, artwork, video, and audio, creating a rich, multi-layered, multimedia expression of the self. Yet there are dangers associated with blogging, as with all other forms of digital communication--over-sharing, cyber-bullying, cyber-stalking, flaming, inappropriate language and images, and unlawful use of other people's content. This book covers all of the information needed to set up and maintain a blog, build a friendly community of fellow bloggers, and avoid all of the very real dangers of life in cyberspace,

It may be hard to believe that 140 characters are enough to get a message out to millions of people, but Twitter's users do so every minute. Twitter is vital in many different spheres. This book introduces readers to how they, too, can tweet purposefully. Users can promote their personal brands, network for jobs and gigs, or leverage the platform for political change, education, or worthy causes. This book offers young people ways to amplify their voices and build community via this dynamic tool, while staying focused and safe.

In the computer age, technology is advancing at lightning speeds. All over the world today, the brightest minds gather to solve problems and create exciting new ideas in hackathons. At these events, a wide range of people competes, collaborates, and creates like never before. In this title, readers will learn about the different kinds of hackers and what to expect at a hackathon. Theyll also discover what organizations run hackathons, the different subjects the events cover, and how they can benefit by attending one. Skills and advice for operating ones own hackathon are also included.

There is growing concern over how we behave and interact online, from fighting, incivility, rudeness, and even criminal behaviors like cyberbullying, to simply adapting old forms of etiquette to a new landscape. This book, updated from an earlier resource, provides younger readers an introduction to this timely topic, a subject that they are both engaged in forming themselves as "digital natives," and one they also often require guidance in. It informs readers about the polite and productive use of social media networks and mobile platforms and discusses pressing issues of etiquette within families, among friends, and in educational settings.