Information Overload/ Folksonomies & RSS

The following video is one that I stumbled upon which covers the progression of information technology. I definitely had an information overload moment. It is mind blowing how much things have progressed! The video is probably slightly out of date as uses MySpace as an example rather than Facebook.


Information Overload:
Information (and communication) overload, is a concept often associated with the rise of the digital age, however, as far back as the sixteenth century, people have been complaining about being bombarded with more information that they could possibly ever process. Conversely, the structure of how information flows today has radically transformed. The traditional sources of broadcasting information such as TV, radio,  newspaper meant that information was easily transferred through a limited number of media outlets. However, with the rise of the internet, most notably Web 2.0,  everyone is able to create and broadcast their own information to the rest of the world almost instantly through, blogs, podcasts, social networking sites etc.

The following quote summarises the issue of information overload today:

'We have become far more proficient in generating information than we are in managing it, and we have also built technology that easily allows us to create new information without human intervention' (Houghton- Jan, 2008, para. 8). 

At times, I do feel overwhelmed with the amount of information ( and communication) I am constantly receiving through Facebook, Skype, Email, texts etc. The issue of information overload is a major challenge for both educators and students. Indeed, teachers are increasingly recognising that technology is an integral part of students lives and that they need to integrate it into their teaching if they are to engage their students.  However, in non learning contexts, such technology is widely regarded by educators as distractions and time wasters for students. There is a growing number of cases in classrooms where teachers have had to confiscate students' mobile phones, which to many students is the equivalent to loosing a limb. More troubling however is that, evidence suggests that not only do young students naturally have more trouble than adults knowing how to set their priorities straight, information overload poses a real danger for their young developing brains. A long term consequence of receiving a constant stream of stimuli and frequently switching tasks is students who are less able to remain focused and learn (Houghton-Jan, 2008).

The main problem is that, students want instant gratification and modern technology caters to this need.  Any information they want to access can be easily found online and there is nothing stopping them. Personally, Google has made researching and completing assignments far easier. What potentially took me days to research in libraries, takes far less effort searching for and all the information I require is available online. For instance, if i'm looking for a particular statistic or academic quote to back a statement i've made, I simply type in the keywords and its there! However, I feel that  has made me lazier. I tend to spend time thinking and assessing things in great detail because the internet does it for me. To an extend, it could be argued that despite Web 2.0s tremendous advantages, it does teach people not to evaluate as much (Carr, 2008).

Therefore, as teachers, we need to teach our young students how to deal with the challenges of information ( and communication) overload.
Here are some strategies:


1. Learn to organise information:
- Students need to find a way to sift through all the information they receive and store a selection of valuable data in an organised manner. Folksonomy is a tool for screening information and presenting it on one page through hyperlinks. Social bookmarking services such as delicious are quickly becoming the way of the future. I tried the site 'delicious' and I found it incredibly useful. For years I have been bookmarking sites on my laptop and it is increasingly becoming difficult to keep it all organised. Delicious, allows me to access bookmarked files from other computers using tags which makes perfect sense to me.
-  Create separate filing categories for personal and work/school. Students should learn that leisurely activities should not interfere with their schooling.

2. Filtering information received
- Switch off major distractions such as mobile phones, social networking sites when concentrating on important issues or projects.
- Communicate etiquette and self control: as a class, discuss when they think it is polite not to use communication technology such as texting in the class or learning to simply ignore their phones when necessary.
- Canceling some unimportant incoming sources of information. Discuss with students whether they need all the information inputs they are currently using and to keep only those which enrich their personal lives and school work (Houghton-Jan, 2008).

3. RSS feed readers 
- RSS feed readers are another way of filtering information. The traditional method of searching for information have changed. Nowadays, by setting up an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, from your favourite websites, you automatically receive updates whenever those sites are updated. However, as these sites are frequently updated, there is a problem with an overwhelming influx of information. To overcome this, RSS feed readers or online aggregators such as google reader, help control what information is received and how you use it (Rowse, 2010). RSS readers help students alleviate the problem of information overload by bringing the information to them rather than manually having to sift through all the information themselves.

In addition, teachers should look out for  waning signs that their students are struggling with balancing such distraction. These may include: students coming to school looking exhausted and beady eyed from staring at computer screens for too long, students' lack of attention in class or a decline in their academic grades.

Both Folksonomies and RSS feeds are useful educational tools largely because they both work on the basis of collaborative learning by allowing students to look into other views and perspectives:

Use of folksonomies in education: 
- Hyperlinks can be presented as tags of word clouds. Teacher tag clouds help students handle the problem of finding valuable and appropriate websites.
- Students can work together and gradually build the number of bookmarked sources of information. This is useful for students needing to share resources and complete group projects.
- Libraries are increasingly combining traditional taxonomic classification system with folksonomy user generated tag clouds.

Use of RSS in eduation: 
- Teachers can set up RSS feeds on educational topics.
- Students can create a collaborate group or class feed on topics they are learning about.

Overall, I believe another significant way of helping students with information overload is constantly reinforcing the importance of moderation. Students need to learn the concept of self discipline and appreciate the value of applying themselves and steadily working towards a goal rather than relying on instant gratification.