A symbol or an emblem?

Year 4 to 9 students and teachers

A symbol is a mark, sign or word that shows, stand for or is recognised to represent an idea, object, or relationship. An emblem is a special design or visual object representing a quality type or group, a visible symbol representing an abstract idea. So, all communication (and data processing) is achieved through the use of symbols in the form of words, sounds, gestures, ideas or visual images that can describe an emblem (as I will do below). Confused?

​Team Savv-i have their very own emblem with a symbol in the middle, but the whole thing becomes a symbol in itself representing what they stand for— being safe, savvy and socially ethical in cyberspace. Okay, let’s unpack that a little. ‘Team’ is easy = a group of people, kids in this case pursuing the same goal. ‘Savv-i’ is a wordplay on savvy with a ‘i’ and is reminiscent of Apple’s ‘i’ products, which originally stood for the Internet.

​The fist with the thumb covered by the index finger is the symbol for 'T' in American Sign Language. 'Safe' means being secure when online, 'Savvy' means you have mastered the potential of the Internet or have become system wise and 'Social' means you are socially adept and ethically responsible for yourself and others when online.

Question: What would you like to stand for and how would you visually represent that?

Casper Pieters PhD Dip Ed is an author and educator who uses adventure narratives to enliven the ICT curriculum for young people. www.casperpieters.com