Thomas Friedman’s 2005 bestseller The World is Flat got policy makers' attention describing visual-digital innovation driving new forms of communication and learning -- rapidly evolving video game visuals, for example, spurring innovation in science and medicine -- while our education system prepares learners for a text book world that no longer exists. The urgency of his call for change is underscored by Smith’s and Wilhelm’s award winning 2004 research in Reading Don’t Fix no Chevys, which examined boys’ well known disengagement with school literacy. Tracking high school students’ daily experiences, they found boys who were sadly disengaged and learning little from schools’ bookish literacy were engaged and effective learners outside of school -- when using visual tools. And once again the power of video games for learners is examined.

Both books urge more visual learning in the classroom, yet...