Is Ghostbusters a metaphor for ed-tech innovation?


The ghosts of the past that the Ghostbusters fought might in fact represent the fears about the new disruptive technologies of today’s digital society.

ghostbusters-innovation-educationIt’s finally summertime and my favorite rose bushes are now competitively blooming in shades of red and pastel pinks that are visually eye-pleasing even on my mobile phone’s five mega pixel camera. It’s also graduation time.

So as many graduation speeches come and go, the premise always seems to reverberate like this; it’s a time to look back with reflection, and a time to look forward with optimism.

In my opinion, we all have agreed upon this, however, it does bring a pause, and time for a mindful thought about the advice given sometimes to graduates in the form of colloquial expressions.

Remembering the phrase, “seeing things through rose-colored spectacles,” I researched it, and found out this saying was from Tom Brown at Oxford, which is a novel by the English author, Thomas Hughes.

The novel was first published in 1861, describing a type of utopian experience ruminated by a character about his university experience, and also it is noted as a positive 20th century synonym meaning, “to see a glass as being half full.”

New graduates might be feeling an air of enlightenment by reason of finishing educational requirements at school, yet are reminiscing about how fast the past years have gone by. It is quite a familiar expression, often experienced with a melancholy feeling, especially during graduation time, and as years go by it might also bring to mind a nostalgia for the past, like an old movie.

(Next page: The link between Ghostbusters and innovation)

I can convincingly make a few notable observations and comparison of things in today’s world, with the 30th anniversary of the Ghostbusters movie.

In the film, almost all of the non-scientist people were extremely wary of interacting with three strangely attired scientists, called Ghostbusters, who were wearing repairman-like uniforms and holding futuristic, scary-looking things. In the early 1980s, the scientists, named Egon, Ray, and Peter, worked in a Department of Psychology, located at a fictional university building named Weaver Hall, on the upper west side of campus at Columbia University, in New York City.

These men, called themselves the Ghostbusters, and were eccentric, paranormal scientists who donned funny looking goggles, and readied themselves available, carrying quite a few lighted up computer and laser type devices, to capture ghosts and secure the entities into various containment units. Fast forward, it is now 30 years later, and their type of eyewear and gear might be seen as a predecessor to the wearable computers of today like Google Glass and various hand-held type tablet devices.

Remember too, the Ghostbusters weren’t actually recognized as heroes at first, but mainly misunderstood, ridiculed, taunted, and even jailed for causing disruption by their appearance and opinion. However, in the end, they were justly rewarded for saving New York from ghosts.

I propose, the ghosts of the past that they fought, might in fact represent the fears about the new disruptive technologies of today’s digital society.

Is innovation on trial, too?

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New graduates will need to embrace this disruption, and lean in to meet the challenges that come with the increasing speed technologies have today, like no other generation has quite encountered before. There is a significant opportunity to welcome this transformational awareness; to look at things in the 21st century modern age, with open eyes, with open views and with open minds.

Another way of understanding it is also being more fully mindful of the terminology that is often used with new technology. More than likely, educators know how vital it is to teach key words, idioms, figures of speech, and expressions from the past to the present day students. According to John Algeo, author of Fifty Years among the New Words: A Dictionary of Neologism, there are six basic etymological sources for the making of new words: creating, borrowing, combing, shortening, blending, and shifting.

Within the last ten years, new word meanings have been added to many recognizable and almost traditional words. With that said, many of these words or terms have even been adapted into the everyday technology lexicon almost transparently, perhaps without even realizing it. Technological disruption, I believe, fits into the last mentioned type – the shifting of meaning definition.

To summarize, a challenge will be for all graduates, during this celebratory year, to add at least ten or twenty new disruptive-type words with the intention of increasing an already dynamic vocabulary!

Finally, as today’s graduates, when wearing and using the new computer-mediated type of communication devices, or carrying  extraordinary equipment, are tasked to innovate, and broaden technical boundaries as well as learning to develop neoteric educational practices for making the world a better place for everyone. Graduates of 2014 might someday be seen, in 20 years or so, as having used the “internet of Things,” in very revolutionary ways.

And so, when looking back in time, maybe with a nostalgic rose colored lens of some kind, be thoughtful of looking back, but only reminisce briefly, and keep in mind the half-full glass is waiting, to fulfill an optimistic future with so many things, places and ideas just ahead waiting to be discovered and dreamed about.

But most importantly of all, I speculate a distinguished recognition will be made in later years, to the class of 2014, as the special generation who pioneered the first wearable, innovative devices. In my opinion, I believe the graduates of today will lead others to amazing discoveries that will impress the hearts and minds of many. And educators, too, were there as significant witnesses to the successes, and as collaborative influencers who stood by when fingers were pricked on thorns (fully qualified life challenges), and who were there to see today’s graduates, in their full bloom as brilliant bold leaders in this time.

And a few final words to graduates of the class of 2014, it’s finally summertime, so during your new explorations and journeys, please take some time to stop and smell the real roses too!

Further reading:

Tom Brown by Thomas Hughes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brown_at_Oxford

The Internet of Thingshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things

Fifty Years among the New Words: A Dictionary of Neologism by John Algeo: http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/historical-linguistics/fifty-years-among-new-words-dictionary-neologisms-19411991

Theory of Disruptive Innovation by Clayton Christensen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_M._Christensen

Ghostbusters at Columbia Universityhttp://ghostbusters.wikia.com/wiki/Columbia_University

Google Glass App Source and Informationhttp://www.glassappsource.com/

Roxann Riskin is a technology specialist/supervisor at Fairfield UniversityFollow her on Twitter @roxannriskin.

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