When you join Twitter you can send and receive tweets which are posts limited to 140 characters of less. You don’t actually have to be on the Twitter website to send tweets. You can tweet using instant messaging, mobile devices, email or other third-party applications, thus allowing you to participate in what’s happening from anywhere at anytime.

So why might you want to join Twitter? Here are a few reasons:

• You can get news from any part of the world in real-time while it’s happening.
• You can share your life and keep up with friends and family that you may not see on a regular basis.
• You can follow your favorite celebrity, sports player or politician and learn what’s going on in their daily lives.
• You can tweet about a topic you are passionate about, getting your voice out there and discovering what others have to say.
• If you have a business, you can build relationships and market your product to your target audience instantaneously.
• You can get instant updates on special deals or sales from you favorite stores.

How you use Twitter is completely up to you. You can follow the tweets of hundreds of people or just a few. You can tweet all day long or just a couple of times a week. You can follow someone for a month, block them when you get tired and then pick up following them again later.

Watch the below video to learn how to get started.

What is Twitter?

Want to sign up? Go to Twitter.com. We invite you to search for GCF_LearnFree and add us to your list to follow.

Additional blogs in our Twitter series coming soon!

Displaying the above bad manners is not just disrespectful, it may even lead to what experts call “cell phone rage,” or angry outbursts and violence based on rude cell phone behavior. To avoid such behavior, it is best to practice the following cell phone etiquette tips:

1. Follow the rules - Cell phone restrictions are usually put into place for safety reasons, therefore your cooperation is definitely needed.
2. Be aware - Avoid ‘cell yell” or loud talking which can be disruptive and annoying. Also, discontinue emotional or angry conversations which can be unsettling to others.
3. Be present - Set your phone to silent when you are in a meeting, movie theater, church or similar setting. Do not text. If you must take a call, excuse yourself and go outside.
4. Be private - Do not discuss or display sensitive, extremely personal or inappropriate information when in public. You never know who is listening or looking. Also, protect the person you are talking to by telling them when you are using speaker or video functions in a public space.
5. Be a wireless Samaritan - You can call 911 from you phone and help others by reporting crimes or emergencies.
6. Respect photo/video privacy rights - Always ask for permission before shooting a photo or video of someone with your device, especially children and minors.
7. Be discreet with media playing - Do not display inappropriate, disturbing or R-rated media content where it can be seen or heard by others, especially children. Also, keep volume low or use earphones.

Following these tips allows you to integrate the use of technology into your life in a way that is respectful of those around you. After all, they deserve the same attention and courtesy as the person you are engaging with on your phone. To learn more, visit our Wireless and Mobile Device Safety lesson.

Not a web designer? There are websites that offer free templates you can use to easily create an attractive online portfolio.

What should you include in your portfolio?

Depending on the job you want, there are many different materials you can include, such as writing samples; examples of presentations and lesson plans; video, audio and design work; web development projects; photographs of field work; and artwork.

If the majority of your work is not directly applicable to the position you want, in your cover letter you can explain how the skills necessary to produce the work in your portfolio are related to the skills required in the position.

When deciding what to include, keep in mind that your portfolio should showcase the best, and only the best, examples from your body of work. An employer should be able to easily navigate your portfolio to find what he or she is looking for. Make sure it focuses on work that is important to the position or type of position that you want.

Keep in mind that you can still show a range by focusing a smaller amount of attention on skills directly related to your field. For example, if you are a web designer who has also written content for websites, dedicate a spot on your portfolio to showcase your ability to write for the web.

Which websites offer portfolio templates?

The following websites are some of the most commonly used, and offer both free and paid hosting services:

Krop | Interfolio | Viewbook | Behance | Carbonmade | Coroflot

Explore different sites to find a template that fits with your work.

Is it safe to have your content online?

If your portfolio contains personal contact information or materials you may publish one day, such as an essay or photograph, you may not want it available to everyone on the web. Some web services allow you the ability to limit your portfolio’s access. You can give potential employers the password to your portfolio at your discretion. Also, keep this option in mind if you are currently employed and do not want your employer to know that you are shopping your portfolio around on the web.

Legal issues are potentially another safety concern. If your portfolio contains materials that you made for a company that copyrighted them or owns proprietary rights, you should check with the company and make sure it is safe to use those materials in your portfolio. This might take some extra time, but save you a hassle in the long run. Also, it looks good to potential employers that you went through the necessary steps to keep a past employer’s materials safe. It shows you are professional and trustworthy.

Take the time to create an online portfolio that might separate you from the pile. Also, check out our Work and Career tutorials to learn skills that will help you with your personal career development. There are tips on how to search for jobs, write a successful cover letter, give a great job interview, deal with workplace conflict, manage your salary, and more.

The Art category contains words such as draw, paint, and beauty. These words help the learner to explore basic terms associated with art. Check out all of the Art word videos.

The Sports category contains terms that are used in popular sporting events and games. These terms are used frequently in Sports broadcasts and in the sports section of newspapers. Explore the Sports word cloud.

Any of the categories can be used with our newest activity called Blast Off! In this exciting mini game, learners have to find the missing word in a sentence by flying around the screen. Find the missing word and collect a medal, but watch out for the wrong words - hitting them will slow you down. If you need to hear the sentence again, fly over the speaker icons placed throughout the screen.

See if you can find all the Direction category words in Blast Off!

Be sure to check back frequently as we will be adding new activities and categories throughout the summer. As always, if you like what you see - please tell a friend.

We have updated our Internet Safety tutorial to include brand new, up-to-date content that is easier to understand and integrate into your everyday online experience. In this tutorial you will learn the latest threats from malware to phishing to privacy violations and everything in between. We will show you how to secure your computers and protect your personal information. In addition, we will teach you the browsing skills you need to play it safe when interacting with others online.

So how safe do you really feel while you are online? You may not be as secure as you think. Consider the following questions:

• Have you ever Googled yourself to see what information is available about you online?
• Are you sure you are receiving regular updates from your browser and security programs?
• Are you enticed by “phishy” emails offering special deals or discounts?
• Do you carelessly download free games, screensavers or applications that may contain malware?
• When shopping online, do you check a site’s security status before entering your credit card information?
• Have you customized your privacy settings on sites like Facebook or Twitter?
• Is your use of the Internet interfering with your real world relationships and responsibilities?
• When you connect to a Wi-Fi Hotspot with your mobile device, are you taking precautions to make sure you are on a secure network?

If these questions have got you wondering about just how secure you are on the Internet, then visit our new Internet Safety topic. We will provide you with the tips, strategies and skills you need to get you well on your way to a more safe and secure online experience.

While this information may not be harmful, in some situations you could put yourself at risk by not knowing what is out there. For instance, someone can find out your name, address, and directions to your house just by entering your phone number in a simple web search. If you are selling something in a newspaper or on Craigslist and you give your home phone number to a potential buyer, be aware that they could easily find your house.

Another thing to consider when looking at your public web content is its impact on your reputation. Are you applying for a job or to a university? Most institutions will search for information about you on the web when reviewing your application. You will want to know if your friend’s blog still has those old Spring Break pictures of you posted, and kindly ask him to take them down!

Google yourself to find out what is out there. To get the most accurate and complete search results, enter search terms such as your name, email address, home and work address, and phone numbers in a variety of ways. Also, put quotes around your search terms. This tells the search engine to find a specific phrase just how you wrote it, and will make your search more efficient.

• First name and last name: “Will Bolding”
• First, middle, and last name: “Will Edward Bolding”
• Last name followed by a comma and your first name: “Bolding, Will”
• Last name followed by a comma, your first name and middle name: “Bolding, Will Edward”
• Street address: “2521 Street Address Lane”
• Phone number (using no spaces or hyphens searches all instances of your number): “9195554444”
• Email address: “boldingsoccer@email.com”

If you do find any information that you do not want publicly available, you can ask the website to remove that information. Keep in mind that they are not always obligated to comply with your request. If you need help negotiating with a website, you can contact WiredSafety.org, and they will be able to advise you on your specific case.

You might feel comfortable with the information that is posted about you online, but as the web is constantly growing and changing, it is a good idea to Google yourself regularly and stay informed on what anyone can find out about you by simply searching the web.

1. OneNote 2010 is a place you can store and share your information. The information can be shared with other users by inviting them to view. By sharing your notebooks, you can simultaneously take and edit notes with other people on your network. You can also upload the notebooks to the Internet so that you can access your notes away from home.
2. Outlook 2010 has a re-designed look many new features to help you manage your email account. There is an improved ribbon that allows you to categorize and organize your different types of emails. A more advanced calendar system allows you to keep track of important meetings and other events.
3. Access 2010 is a database management software program that helps you to store and manage data. Microsoft has added many Web databases templates to make the designing of a database easier. You can now get to your Access database through the web using the SharePoint server.
4. Visio 2010 has added the ribbon so that users can easily find the tools that they need to create a variety of different diagrams. New templates and new automatic diagram features have been added to Visio. Rules can be created to validate the data within the diagrams to make sure data is logical and consistent.
5. Publisher 2010 adds the ribbon too! The ribbon has new and enhanced features such as picture editing, new templates, and pre-made building blocks of content. You can insert sidebars, calendars, borders and more.

Take the poll and let us know which of these Microsoft products you want to learn more about!
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Just like in previous versions of Office, there are several different suites that you can choose from, and they can be found here. All of the suites include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, but if you want Outlook, Publisher, or Access, you’ll need one of the more expensive suites.

Should you upgrade to Office 2010? It depends on which features you use. Check out the videos below for an overview of the new features. My favorites are:

• Backstage View: Gives you a full-page view of print options (including Print Preview), document templates, sharing features, and much more.
• Sparklines (Excel): Lets you place a mini-chart within a single cell. Simply put a Sparkline on each row to visualize your data more easily.
• Export to Video (PowerPoint): Turns your PowerPoint presentation into a video that you can share with anyone, upload to the web, or even burn onto a DVD.

Word 2010:
Office 2010 is Here

Excel 2010:
Office 2010 is Here

PowerPoint 2010:
Office 2010 is Here

The controls are now streamlined for members to more easily opt-out of third-party sharing and even to set all profile information with just one click to be visible to Everyone, Friends, or Friends of Friends. However, it still takes some time to customize the settings and to understand the many new ways your information can be shared.

Facebook is no longer a self-contained social networking site. With “social-plugins” and the new Instant Personalization Pilot Program, members can now link the social networking features of their Facebook account with participating sites all over the web. As a result, there are new privacy controls that affect all members.  It is especially important to update your settings because as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says, “the default is social.”

Members are automatically participating and sharing information with applications, partner websites, and advertisements by default. If you want to have more control over your privacy, you need to customize how the following information is shared:

1. Basic Directory Information: who can search for you on Facebook, and how much of your information is displayed to those people if they search for you
2. Sharing on Facebook: what can be seen about your Profile and Facebook activity
3. Applications and Websites: what Applications, Games, and Websites can see about your Profile and what your Friend’s Applications Games, and Websites can see about your Profile
4. Advertisements: what Facebook and third-party companies can display about your Profile and activity in advertisements

Go to our June 2010 Facebook Privacy Changes lesson to learn how to set your privacy controls. We will continue to keep you updated on any additional changes Facebook makes through our blog. Also, we’re in the process of updating our Facebook 101 tutorial to include these new changes.