This book is for students currently enrolled in higher education and students thinking of going to college. It is designed to be read online, although if you want to take the environmentally unsound approach of printing out a copy, I guess I cannot stop you. Many of us find it hard to break old habits, or to replace old habits with new habits.

Over the long run, you will likely gain considerable benefit by learning to be a fluent, online reader. Hardcopy books are not going to disappear during your lifetime or the lifetimes of your children and grandchildren. However, a rapidly increasing amount of the material being published throughout the world will mainly be available online.

The prerequisite computer knowledge assumed in this book includes some experience in using a word processor, email, a browser, and a search engine on the Web. The book is not specifically designed to increase your specific computer-based skills. Rather, it is designed to help you make decisions throughout your educational experiences—decisions that will help you to get a better education.