Today's Fiction Leads to Tomorrow's Reality

Image screenshots from
Covert Affairs, USA Network

Think hard of things that didn't exist five, ten, even one year ago. My friend Ari posted an article, This startup wants to replace the white cane for blind people, on Linkedin that immediately reminded me of a show I enjoyed a few years ago. In the show, Covert Affairs, the character of Auggie was blinded while serving in the military and became a CIA operative. In the show, Auggie would walk around the CIA offices with a small laser device in this hand but would use a traditional walking stick when out in public.

While this example immediately came to mind from the article shared by Ari I thought back to a meme that was circulating a few years ago featuring Star Trek gadgets. Examples included the tricorder which can be compared to a modern smart phone, hand-held screens that can be compared to tablets, and more.

Image Source:
Emerging EdTech

Looking a little more student friendly, we can explore the Jetsons. Yes I know most of our students are too young to know the Jetsons (I feel old) but a short clip of the show can be used to inspire students. Perhaps George on a video call with his boss, or Rosie the sarcastic robot maid. The Jetsons also originated in the 1960s but displayed so many concepts that now exist. 

We are at an amazing time where if there's an idea, there's a way. This is why the concept of problem-based learning is so important for students. Give them a problem and tell them to solve it. Don't give them a pre-designed solution. Let them explore. Prototype. Fail. Try again.

It doesn't take long to find examples of amazing innovations being completed by students around the world. During an international science fair hosted by Google in 2019, the winning student projects were unbelievable.

• Fionn Ferreira (Ireland) - Removing microplastics from water.
• Celestine Wenardy (Indonesia) - Low-cost, non-invasive glucose meter
• Tuan Dolmen (Turkey) - Harness energy from tree vibrations.

In a different competition from 2012, Jack Andraka, discovered a method to test for cancer that was less invasive and more affordable than traditional testing.

If your students have great ideas but you don't have a way to help them expand the ideas, reach out to your network. Use Twitter and Linkedin to find an expert in that field. Mentoring young minds is a rewarding adventure and many businesses will encourage this type of outreach. If it's something you want to keep in school but don't have the funds to help the students continue the project then help them learn about fundraising and grants. Talk to their parents about the possibility of crowd-sourcing. Obviously for safety reasons you don't want a student to create a Go Fund Me page, but their parent can. 

Another easy way to help them get started is to do digital prototyping. They might not be able to build and test their idea, but start with the design. Teach them about presentation skills and create 30-second commercials for their idea's potential investors. Many major companies have grants for educational institutions. I can't be positive since I've never been on the judging side of these grant applications but I would think that involving students in the application and demonstrating community buy-in can only help make your applications stand out among the rest.

Image Source: Picuki

Keep inspiring your students. Challenge them to try new things. Yes it might be scary, but encourage and support them.

To leave you with an inspirational quote, in 1962 John F. Kennedy made a decision to fund the space program and gave one of the most inspirational speeches of the generation. A speech which has been viewed, heard, and quoted for generations since. Most people only remember the line about because it's hard, not easy. However I think the entire speech is inspirational and powerful motivation for students that are trying to explore and create with a goal of bettering tomorrow.