Back Cover

What is big data and what does it have to do with you? Have you watched videos online today? Did you post photographs on social media? Did you upload your English essay to Google docs? All of these are questions about data! In Big Data: Information in the Digital World with Science Activities for Kids, kids ages 10 to 15 explore the definition of data and learn how essential it is to our everyday lives. They learn about the history of data, the transition from paper to computers, and the role that search engines such as Google play in handling data. By making connections between the relationships among data, computers, and people, middle school kids also acquire the tools they need to become better digital citizens! Throughout Big Data, STEAM investigations and experiments provide hands-on, problem-solving opportunities for students that incorporate various challenges and tools. Using readily available household items and recycled materials, each activity will take the reader through an inquiry-based, open-ended investigation that leaves plenty of room to explore individual creativity. With essential questions, fun facts, and links to online primary sources and videos, kids will mine the topic of big data and become better, more informed digital citizens of the world!

Flap

What is big data and what does it have to do with you? Have you watched videos online today? Did you post photographs on social media? Did you upload your English essay to Google docs? All of these are questions about data! In Big Data: Information in the Digital World with Science Activities for Kids, kids ages 9 to 12 explore the definition of data and learn how essential it is to our everyday lives. They learn about the history of data, the transition from paper to computers, and the role that search engines such as Google play in handling data. By making connections between the relationships among data, computers, and people, middle school kids also acquire the tools they need to become better digital citizens! Throughout Big Data, STEAM investigations and experiments provide hands-on, problem-solving opportunities for students that incorporate various challenges and tools. Using readily available household items and recycled materials, each activity will take the reader through an inquiry-based, open-ended investigation that leaves plenty of room to explore individual creativity. With essential questions, fun facts, and links to online primary sources and videos, kids will mine the topic of big data and become better, more informed digital citizens of the world!

Author Biography

Carla Mooney has written more than 70 books for children and young adults. She is the author of several books for Nomad Press, including Terrorism: Violence, Intimidation, and Solutions for Peace, Evolution: How Life Adapts to a Changing Environment, The Holocaust: Racism and Genocide in World War II, and Comparative Religion: Investigate the World through Religious Tradition. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

TimelineIntroduction: Big Data Predicts a Global Health CrisisChapter 1: What Is Data and Where Does It Come From?Chapter 2: The Transition from Paper to ComputersChapter 3: How Computers Store DataChapter 4: What Is Big Data?Chapter 5: Understanding Data: Data Visualization and Data AnalyticsChapter 6: The Future of Big DataGlossaryResourcesIndex

Review

School Library Connection
Part of the Technology Today series, this title is a solid, well-written, and nicely formatted introduction to the concept of data as it exists in our world. Mooney's book is comprehensive in scope, but clear and organized in delivery, explaining the history, nature, and ever-expanding extent of data, and the purposes of data collection, recoding, and analysis. Highly Recommended

Professor Yael Grushka-Cockayne, University of Virginia Darden School of Business

"The book is great fun! It is jam-packed with fun activities that really bring the idea of data to life. It is comprehensive and offers a lot of useful examples for the use of big data."

Praise for other books in the series Innovators National Science Teachers Association Recommends
Innovators is a magnificent compilation of vignettes about creative and critical thinkers who have contributed to solving problems and improving existing products or processes. . . Innovators is a wonderful book. It is engaging, readable, and full of relevant information about important inventions and innovations and the context behind them. Readers will appreciate focus on equity of gender and race among the innovators throughout the book. This book does not contain glossy color photographs, but has cartoon style illustrations throughout. Innovators would be useful for teaching science or STEM classes, for background reading in classes, or can be read and used at home just because it is such an engaging book. As a fifth grade science teacher, I highly recommend getting a copy for any third to sixth grade classroom. Read the complete review online. Learning Magazine
"What do Google and chocolate chip cookies have in common? Both were created by innovators! Learn about the people and products that have changed the world; then get your students innovating with 25 STEAM projects." 3-D Engineering Science Books and Films
++: Highly Recommended
". . . This book is a wonderful resource for teachers and parents to use in the classroom and at home. It gets back to the basics with exciting activities that are hands-on that support the STEM program. When kids use their hands and work together to create a prototype, the outcomes are much higher when they are actively engaged in this type of learning. It gives students confidence in math while building problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. This is a book that teachers, parents, boys, and girls will enjoy as they learn about the many facets of the engineering world." School Library Connection, April 2016
"Author Vicky V. May has produced a procedural book for the 21st century. Information covers electricity, chemistry, earth science, physics, and energy. . . The text, with fast facts, sidebars, and text boxes, is kid-friendly and the topics fit the science curriculum. Its guided inquiry approach makes this a useful tool for students seeking science fair ideas, teachers selecting creative outcomes to lessons, and learners who thrive on hands-on projects. Cartoon-like illustrations supplement the "how-to" aspect of the book nicely. Glossary. Index. Recommended"

Promotional

• $40,000 marketing and publicity budget (for series)
• Exhibiting at national and regional conferences including:
  American Library Association (ALA: 60,000 members)
  National Science Teacher Association/STEM (NSTA: 60,000 members)
  American Association of School Librarians (AASL: 10,000 members)
  Public Library Association (PLA: 11,000 members)
  Texas Library Association (TLA: 7,000 members)
  National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS: 25,000 members)
  International Literacy Association (ILA: 60,000 members)
  Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE: 40,000 members)
• Advertising in the following publications:
  SLJ display ads (3–4 times for series)
  Booklist/Booklinks display ads (3–4 times)
  Booklist/Booklinks online ads
  Follett Library
  Ingram (Children's Advance 2 times)
  Baker & Taylor (Growing Minds)
• Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries, schools, museums, events, and conferences
• Extensive social media outreach via Facebook mooney), Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, LinkedIn, YouTube, and the author's blog

Long Description

This nonfiction title for students ages 9-12 offers an introduction to big data and explores how the explosion in digital data is being used and affecting our lives, integrating history, geography, science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Readers hear news stories about big data on a daily basis. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to reach their own conclusions and brainstorm problem-solving strategies to determine whether and how some people benefit more from big data than others. Readers recognize the devices and programs discussed in the book as tools they might use in their own homes and schools, providing a bridge to their daily experience. Free, downloadable, comprehensive classroom guides that include essential questions and Common Core connections are available for this title. Uses primary sources to engage readers in scholarly deconstruction of relevant material. This book discusses digital citizenship and the rights and responsibilities of technology users, which is a crucial part of education today. Activities encourage the development of important skills, including comparing and contrasting, looking for detailed evidence, making deductions, and applying critical analysis to a wide variety of media. Investigating how technology affects the modern world is an important step in understanding the roles individuals play in ensuring that technology benefits society instead of becoming a damaging force. Uses links to online primary sources to imbue readers with a curiosity about the topic and engage in further, independent inquiry. Focuses on student-directed, as opposed to teacher-guided, learning. This text is interdisciplinary in nature and provides links to the art, culture, economics, technology, and history connected with the time periods discussed. Offers age-appropriate, hands-on activities that bring the text to life and reinforce learning. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to experiment with engineering designs and reach their own conclusions about what works and what doesn't. Meets the engineering design standards for NSTA's NGSS curriculum for 4th through 6th grade. Meets the individuals, groups, & institutions standards for the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Meets Common Core state standards in language arts for reading informational text and literary nonfiction. Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

Review Quote (previous edition)

Praise for other books in the series Innovators National Science Teachers Association Recommends Innovators is a magnificent compilation of vignettes about creative and critical thinkers who have contributed to solving problems and improving existing products or processes. . . Innovators is a wonderful book. It is engaging, readable, and full of relevant information about important inventions and innovations and the context behind them. Readers will appreciate focus on equity of gender and race among the innovators throughout the book. This book does not contain glossy color photographs, but has cartoon style illustrations throughout. Innovators would be useful for teaching science or STEM classes, for background reading in classes, or can be read and used at home just because it is such an engaging book. As a fifth grade science teacher, I highly recommend getting a copy for any third to sixth grade classroom. Read the complete review online. Learning Magazine "What do Google and chocolate chip cookies have in common? Both were created by innovators! Learn about the people and products that have changed the world; then get your students innovating with 25 STEAM projects." 3-D Engineering Science Books and Films ++: Highly Recommended ". . . This book is a wonderful resource for teachers and parents to use in the classroom and at home. It gets back to the basics with exciting activities that are hands-on that support the STEM program. When kids use their hands and work together to create a prototype, the outcomes are much higher when they are actively engaged in this type of learning. It gives students confidence in math while building problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. This is a book that teachers, parents, boys, and girls will enjoy as they learn about the many facets of the engineering world." School Library Connection, April 2016 "Author Vicky V. May has produced a procedural book for the 21st century. Information covers electricity, chemistry, earth science, physics, and energy. . . The text, with fast facts, sidebars, and text boxes, is kid-friendly and the topics fit the science curriculum. Its guided inquiry approach makes this a useful tool for students seeking science fair ideas, teachers selecting creative outcomes to lessons, and learners who thrive on hands-on projects. Cartoon-like illustrations supplement the "how-to" aspect of the book nicely. Glossary. Index. Recommended"

Review Quote

School Library Connection Part of the Technology Today series, this title is a solid, well-written, and nicely formatted introduction to the concept of data as it exists in our world. Mooney's book is comprehensive in scope, but clear and organized in delivery, explaining the history, nature, and ever-expanding extent of data, and the purposes of data collection, recoding, and analysis. Highly Recommended

Promotional "Headline"

$40,000 marketing and publicity budget (for series) Exhibiting at national and regional conferences including: American Library Association (ALA: 60,000 members) National Science Teacher Association/STEM (NSTA: 60,000 members) American Association of School Librarians (AASL: 10,000 members) Public Library Association (PLA: 11,000 members) Texas Library Association (TLA: 7,000 members) National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS: 25,000 members) International Literacy Association (ILA: 60,000 members) Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE: 40,000 members) Advertising in the following publications: SLJ display ads (3-4 times for series) Booklist/Booklinks display ads (3-4 times) Booklist/Booklinks online ads Follett Library Ingram (Children's Advance 2 times) Baker & Taylor (Growing Minds) Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries, schools, museums, events, and conferences Extensive social media outreach via Facebook mooney), Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, LinkedIn, YouTube, and the author's blog

Description for Sales People

This nonfiction title for students ages 10-15 offers an introduction to big data and explores how the explosion in digital data is being used and affecting our lives, integrating history, geography, science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Readers hear news stories about big data on a daily basis. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to reach their own conclusions and brainstorm problem-solving strategies to determine whether and how some people benefit more from big data than others. Readers recognize the devices and programs discussed in the book as tools they might use in their own homes and schools, providing a bridge to their daily experience. Free, downloadable, comprehensive classroom guides that include essential questions and Common Core connections are available for this title. Uses primary sources to engage readers in scholarly deconstruction of relevant material. This book discusses digital citizenship and the rights and responsibilities of technology users, which is a crucial part of education today. Activities encourage the development of important skills, including comparing and contrasting, looking for detailed evidence, making deductions, and applying critical analysis to a wide variety of media. Investigating how technology affects the modern world is an important step in understanding the roles individuals play in ensuring that technology benefits society instead of becoming a damaging force. Uses links to online primary sources to imbue readers with a curiosity about the topic and engage in further, independent inquiry. Focuses on student-directed, as opposed to teacher-guided, learning. This text is interdisciplinary in nature and provides links to the art, culture, economics, technology, and history connected with the time periods discussed. Offers age-appropriate, hands-on activities that bring the text to life and reinforce learning. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to experiment with engineering designs and reach their own conclusions about what works and what doesn't. Meets the engineering design standards for NSTA's NGSS curriculum for 5ththrough 9th grade. Meets the individuals, groups, & institutions standards for the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Meets Common Core state standards in language arts for reading informational text and literary nonfiction. Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

Details