"The term "calories" was invented in the late nineteenth century, in order to optimize the human work force ... I think it's very interesting, the concept ... of the informavores, the human being as somebody eating information. So you can, in a way, see that the Internet and that the information overload we are faced with at this very moment has a lot to do with food chains, has a lot to do with food you take or not to take, with food which has many calories and doesn't do you any good, and with food that is very healthy and is good for you."
Frank Schirrmacher, arts and sciences editorial director on the German newspaper FAZ, talking about the challenges of learning in an information glut (video and transcript - scroll down).
The following tools, introduced in short animations, are no substitute for your own discrimination and judgement (which - don't be discouraged - are a product of hard work and experience) about the information you encounter in your studies, but they can help with organising it.
- Social bookmarking in plain English
- RSS (aggregation of new online material) in plain English