Mary Bernklau's List: "Technology (through television, texting, Facebook posting, and the Internet), has contributed to a increase in literacy skills."

• Results of the analysis indicated that greater use of the Internet led to higher information literacy in the whole-scale measure of practical use of information, as well as in the subskill areas of collecting, judging, and expressing information.

• we consider the relationship between differentiated internet uses, and online and offline political engagement around the time of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Thanks to our rich data set, we are able to consider both online and offline activities while taking into consideration more traditional measures. Our findings suggest that online forms of political engagement complement offline engagement.
• We also find an association between Internet skills, social network site usage and greater levels of engagement.

• Results: Findings showed a reduction in computer anxiety and increases in computer confidence and computer self-efficacy in retrieving and evaluating online health information

• he purpose of this study is to explore health literacy among a predominantly Hispanic adolescent population and to investigate whether exposure to a credible source of online health information, MedlinePlus^®, is associated with higher levels of health literacy
• CONCLUSION: Exposure to a credible source of online health information is associated with higher levels of health literacy.

• Sojourns to other countries, such as for studying abroad, are increasingly common. However, adjusting to life in a different country can be stressful and require significant effort. Sojourners need to not only maintain and expand their social networks, but they also continuously seek information about their new environment. While international students are a sizable group, their daily information behavior is not well understood. This study posits that social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook, may play an important role in international students'' everyday life information seeking (ELIS).
• Findings indicate that a majority of the respondents frequently used SNS for ELIS.
• his indicates that SNS serve as a valuable channel for purposeful everyday life information seeking.
• Without necessarily taking sides in the debate, although expressing a preference for complementarity, the author contends that it is absolutely essential that all persons (not just students) learn to become both Information Literate and Media Literate in this digital world in which we now find ourselves. Additionally, the author contends that Web 2.0 and Social Networking tools, such as Facebook, Tuenti (in Spanish context), MySpace and Twitter, including the rich portfolio of applications they encompass, can substantially assist people in achieving that goal

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• This study posits that social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook, may play an important role in international students'' everyday life information seeking (ELIS). Using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and structural equation modeling (SEM), the study analyzed international students'' everyday life information needs, their usage of SNS for ELIS, and the relationships among demographics, personality traits, SNS usage, and perceived usefulness of the acquired everyday life information. Findings indicate that a majority of the respondents frequently used SNS for ELIS.
• The advent of Web 2.0 and social networks renders significant flexibility to embedding highly interactive components, such as games, to foster learning processes. The effectiveness of game-based learning on social networks has not yet been fully evaluated. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a fully automated, Web-based, social network electronic game on enhancing mental health knowledge and problem-solving skills of young people. We investigated potential motivational constructs directly affecting the learning outcome.
• Participants, recruited from a closed online user group, self-assessed their mental health literacy and motivational constructs before and after completing the game within a 3-week period. The electronic game was designed according to cognitive-behavioral approaches. Completers and intent-to-treat analyses, using multiple imputation for missing data, were performed. Regression analysis with backward selection was employed when examining the relationship between knowledge enhancement and motivational constructs. Results: The sample included 73 undergraduates (42 females) for completers analysis. The gaming approach was effective in enhancing young people's mental health literacy (d=0.65). The finding was also consistent with the intent-to-treat analysis, which included 127 undergraduates (75 females). No gender differences were found in learning outcome (P=.97). Intrinsic goal orientation was the primary factor in learning motivation, whereas test anxiety was successfully alleviated in the game setting. No gender differences were found on any learning motivation subscales (P>.10). We also found that participants' self-efficacy for learning and performance, as well as test anxiety, significantly affected their learning outcomes, whereas other motivational subscales were statistically nonsignificant. Conclusions: Electronic games implemented through social networking sites appear to effectively enhance users' mental health literacy

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• Teenagers may not be reading books, but they are clearly interested in social networking. So the question becomes whether social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube are harming students or helping them. Social networking sites, which began as social communities, are becoming increasingly important
• The National Literacy Trust found that social networking sites and blogs help students to develop more positive attitudes toward writing and to become more confident in their writing abilities.

• t’s time for social media literacy to enter mainstream education.

   

  Learning to use online forums, be they social network services like MySpace and Facebook, blogs, or wikis is not a sexily contemporary add-on to the curriculum – it’s an essential part of the literacy today’s youth require for the world they inhabit.