NEW ICONS FOR EDUCATION?

Visualize a teacher's hand bell, a slate and piece of chalk; and you may think of the early days of public education.

Look at the images of a student desk, a book, a pencil; and it's likely your brain will connect with the education of your childhood and youth.

Visuals have power as symbols which heighten perception. Think of the traditions: the classroom bulletin boards, the teacher-made handouts, the power point presentations--we all know that graphics say more than text.

Research is telling us that our students--in the Net Generation--use technology to be connected, multi-task with ease, and expect to be engaged by an interactive environment.

Yet many adults--those whose taxes fund our public education--see education through the lens of a teacher helping students who sit in desks, books open, working quietly with pencils and paper.

So what's wrong with that picture? It misrepresents education and the shift educators are making toward meeting new learning needs.

• We are shifting away from the expectation that students will learn by listening or reading from one teacher-selected source to an expectation that students will be guided to make choices with multiple sources in a variety of formats.
• We are shifting beyond face-to-face small-group or whole-class discussions to occasionally use digital environments for discussions set up and monitored by the teacher.
• We are shifting to move students away from learning about the course content toward more authentic learning experiences or through simulations, visualizations, or other virtual environments.
• We are shifting from mistrust to find strategies to help students use technology safely, thoughtfully, and ethically while building skills which help them screen our unreliable information.

In summary, we are shifting to think outside the classroom and be willing to explore "learning spaces" which offer viable learning experiences that we cannot provide within four walls.

Such changes suggest a need for new icons for education. How about representing education with a monitor, a microchip, and a mouse?