Managing Information Efficiently (Chapter 7)

What the authors talk about in chapter 7 really has troubled me for a long time. In such an information age, children nowadays have to cope with large amount of information which they have easy access to after they are born. At young age, they use the internet to watch video clips, download files, chat with classmates, make their own blogs, or even make internet friends in other cities. However, living in the era with information explosion and information overload, the rapidly produced information is far more than what we can digest and use. In order not to be overwhelmed by so much information, children should learn how to search and identify the important and related information, judge the authenticity, be responsible for their publication, and create and communicate their own messages or opinions. In addition, they need to be aware of and careful about the traps and dangers which exist on the net, such as dealing with strangers or recognizing advertisements.

In Taiwan, there are still few activities designed to teach elementary school or middle school students about information literacy. In my opinion, we can start with something which ESL students are familiar with. For example, many children watch the Disney movie about the woman warrior Mulan who joins the army for her sick father. So teachers can present the story in different media, such as The Legend of Mu Lan: A Heroine of Ancient China (the first English language picture book in 1992), Mulan (Disney animated movie in 1998), Song of Mu Lan (bilingual version in 1991), and Lady General Hua Mulan (Hong Kong Musical Film 1964). Students can compare the similarities and differences between them and discuss the validity of the information. Then teachers may ask students to look for several English websites which contain authentic information about Mulan. Finally according to students’ findings, the whole class shares their searching tips and how they evaluate these websites to judge their reliability.



(Lady General Hua Mulan, 1964)