The ubiquitous accessibility of learning and information services as provided by the internet has led to a sharp increase in the multitude of instantly available information and display formats as well as growth in the opportunities for interaction with information. Processing and using this vast amount of information in a meaningful way requires skills and competencies that go beyond what is learnt at school. These include the ability to perform sophisticated web-based research and critical assessment and integration of multiple and heterogeneous documents. Other examples include learning strategies concerning the use of multimedia sources and volitional strategies to shield against distracting information. Describing and explaining competence acquisition at school and analyzing and promoting cognitive, metacognitive, and volitional information processing are crucial to enabling learners to adequately deal with a vast body of information, in both formal and informal educational settings. Ultimately, this enables learners to make the most of rich information sources for knowledge acquisition.