As soon as our little ones are able to talk, they start asking a million questions about the world around them: Where did I come from? Why is that woman’s hair pink? Why must I eat broccoli?
Their constant why, why, why can test the patience of even a saint!
But even though their incessant whys leave us exhausted, we know in our hearts that we must try to answer all their questions as truthfully and as objectively as we can. At that age, parents are the main source of information for children, and they trust us completely.
But this changes soon enough.
As they grow, children soon turn to and rely on other alternatives — such as the internet and media — for information.
In today’s technology driven world we have an almost limitless access to information, and it is essential for parents to be able to help their children evaluate and identify what information is reliable.
And the National Library Board (NLB) is helping parents to do just that.
Expanding universe of information
The media is one of the most influential sources of information today.
The Internet, coupled with smartphones, tablets and other devices, has made information more accessible than ever and most children — not to mention adults — turn to the Internet as their first port of call when looking for any sort of information.
Watch the videos below to catch some of the highlights from NLB’s two previous Super S.U.R.E. Shows.
Growing up in the digital age
The sheer volume of information available today is both staggering and daunting. If we adults struggle with information overload, what about our children? Can we honestly say we know what is true, reliable and relevant to what we are looking for? We need to help our children — and ourselves —navigate these challenges.
Parents and children alike must be equipped with information literacy. Information literacy refers to the ability to locate, evaluate and effectively use information.
Information literacy allows parents and children to find credible information to support their daily research needs be it for school projects, work or leisure.
The NLB’s National Information Literacy Programme, S.U.R.E., can help you and your family achieve this.
Click on the next page to find out what S.U.R.E. is and how can it help you and your child in navigating today’s digital world.
Let’s be Super S.U.R.E.
Launched nation-wide in 2013, S.U.R.E. aims to promote and create awareness about the importance of information literacy and discernment in information searching.
S.U.R.E. breaks information literacy down into four basic building blocks and encourages everyone to adopt these four simple principles — Source, Understand, Research and Evaluate — when assessing information.
The four key elements of S.U.R.E. are:
Source: Ensuring the source of information is credible and reliable
Understand: Knowing what you’re reading; searching for facts rather than opinions
Research: Investigating thoroughly before drawing a conclusion; checking and comparing against multiple sources
Evaluate: Looking at the information from different angles and exercising fair judgement
By following these four principles, we can become more discerning while searching for and assessing the credibility of information.
Media personalities Evelyn Tan and Diana Ser will be guest speakers at the Super S.U.R.E. Show (Parenting Special) this November.
Super S.U.R.E. Show
To show how the four S.U.R.E. steps can be used every day, the NLB has organised a series of road shows featuring interesting personalities in fun and informative panel discussions with the objective of equipping the public with the skills they need to evaluate the information they come across.
The previous two Super S.U.R.E. Shows focused on online news and videos, and music and pop culture and featured YouTube content creators the Night Owl Cinematics, digital news agency Mothership.sg, and singer and FLY Entertainment artiste Benjamin Kheng.
This third instalment of the Super S.U.R.E. Show is a parenting special and includes the following personalities:
- Diana Ser: Host and Media Personality
- Evelyn Tan: MediaCorp Artiste
- Nicholas Aaron Khoo: Chairperson of Singapore Cybersports & Online Gaming Association
- Dr Jiow Hee Jhee: Lecturer, Singapore Institute of Technology
This event will be moderated by Chong Ee Jay, manager of TOUCH Cyber Wellness.
During the hour-long session, parents will learn how to be digitally savvy and discerning users of information. They will pick up tips on how to help their kids be more discerning when engaging with media and technology as well as develop healthy media usage habits.
This programme is organised by S.U.R.E. (Source, Understand, Research and Evaluate), an initiative by the National Library Board.
Event Details
Super S.U.R.E. Show (Parenting Special)
Date: Saturday, 21 Nov 2015
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Venue: The Plaza, Level 1, National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064
Admission is free, so be sure to join us! Limited seats available, reserve a seat on GoLibrary now!
To find out more about S.U.R.E. visit https://www.nlb.gov.sg/sure/supershow3/
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