Koltay—and likely most of you who are reading this column—have observed how Web 2.0 and the use of folksonomies have created conditions that result in information overload. When we provide applications that let users manage information, and those users have limited to no awareness of knowledge organization for the Web, the information architectures that evolve for users and the entire system may be less than optimal.
Since most users are not equipped to produce sound classification schemes or efficient top-down taxonomies on their own, their impact on any system creates what I call a literacy gap, depicted in Figure 6. Depending on the other signatures of information overload that play out in users’ interaction with a system, the consequences of their literacy gap can lead to information overload. Koltay’s article makes this claim, and I agree.
We use iPads for games and other online learning apps on a regular basis. Students have tracked their progress on apps only as far as getting so far = stickers/rewards. Goal setting wasn't involved, nor were specific goals related to skills students needed to learn. This could be a simple addition to our stations to make classroom learning with iPad apps more effective.
Hi Diane: I am wondering, does your school support iPads for students in your class? or, is it required that they purchase their own. Is this an online class or a face-face class?
