Managing information overload: insights and recommendations into how high school students select and evaluate Internet-based multimodal texts for their learning
Date
2014-04-30
Authors
McColm, William Alan-Stewart
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Abstract
Facilitating effective student interaction with Internet-based texts in a classroom setting necessitates understanding how students select and evaluate the usefulness of Internet-based multimodal documents for their learning. Interviews with five high school students pursuing computer-based personalized learning programs were analyzed qualitatively. The results indicated that factors influencing students' selections of Internet-based learning resources included time pressures to complete assignments, the desire to connect learning requirements to preferred text modes, and the need to avoid feelings of information overload. As a consequence, students were likely to engage with learning resources in a superficial manner. The results further suggest that students can best be supported by teachers to deeply engage with learning topics by providing students with more time to complete assignments and by supporting them in developing strategies for evaluating the reliability of information located on the Internet.
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Keywords
Multimodal, Internet-based texts, information overload, classroom, assignment, Internet, case study, qualitative, interview