Information Overload?

In this day in age students have a strong availability to an infinite amount of information due to the internet and other forms of technology. One does not even have to read a book anymore with tools such as the Kindle(c) and the Nook(c). So, how are kids supposed to deal with this, "information overload"? I personally do not see this as an issue at all. We, the Millennial Generation, have grown up with the internet and have managed just fine with all of the ways to collect information. There can never be too much information, because as life time learners we value all the information there is. We should praise the fact that anyone can access any information out there.


All of this information will allow students to excel more outside of class and even help teachers learn more as well. Students can go online and find extra help in math or find videos that explain conjugating words in Spanish in a fun and creative way. The problem is trying to find reliable sources online. There are many unreliable sources out there, so we would have to teach the students in our classes how to decide what is a credible source and one that is unreliable. But the problem with all this information is that students might stop listening to teachers, since they have other pools of information available to them. Teachers can also be sucked into false teachings and teach their students something untrue if they use an internet source in their teaching. 


Although, there is an issue of organizing this information, but this could occur no matter how you collect your information. When someone gathers research for a paper they will have to organize their thoughts and research no matter how much they collected or where they collected it. As teachers we need to teach students how to organize their information so they are not overwhelmed by all the information they gathered up.


Overall I believe that all the access to an infinite amount of information is a good thing. The more access to information one has the smarter they can be. Plus, they will be very prepared  for Jeopardy. ;) Though an information overload can be a bad thing, with good organized thoughts and a good process it can be very helpful.  As Thomas Jefferson  once said, "I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way." Having access to information is a good thing, how we use it is another.