In class recently, we did a live Google Hangout with a textile museum in England, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). We made lots of preparations for the video chat in the days beforehand. First, we explored MOSI's website. Our guide was Jamie, an Explainer at the museum. We watched a video tour of the museum with him explaining the functions of the machines. This video had some new terms for different machines and wool that we looked up the definitions to using our internet searching skills gained in previous activities. We also drafted a few questions to have ready to ask during the Google Hangout.
We learned a lot about the textile making process. We learned about all of the different machines and their functions, like the hopper feeder scutcher, which cleans raw cotton and combines the fibers into a fleece. We also learned about the working conditions in the mills. Jamie told us about some of the accidents that mill workers could get into. Some of the machines had very tight leather straps which, if they snapped, could whip a person or even catch them and carry them up into the machinery. Workers could get cancer or other diseases from the cotton fibers getting stuck in their lungs. We learned that Richard Arkwright, who patented the water frame, did not actually invent the water frame, merely took others' ideas because he was already rich enough to patent his 'invention.' We also learned that many common words and phrases come from the textile industry, like the word heirloom. Back then, a loom was the most valuable thing a family owned, and so they passed down the loom to their heirs - hence the word heirloom.
Overall, this was a really cool experience. It was very interesting to make contact with people in a completely different part of the world from us. It was also very educational and fascinating. I would definitely want to do something like this again in the future.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Curating a Museum
For this project, we worked with a group to create a poster of a museum exhibit about the Industrial Revolution. We were given topics within the overarching theme of 'innovations and drawbacks of the Revolution.' My group's exhibit had to do with the steam engine.
This project was very interesting and helpful. It was fun to learn about the Industrial Revolution while creating a visual presentation of the information we were learning. We learned about Robert Fulton and his invention of the steam engine, and how this impacted the world - and is still affecting us today. We also got to learn about other topics when each of the groups hung their posters up and we walked around to look at them. A couple of the exhibits I looked at had to do with the mechanisation of the spinning wheel and pollution as a result of the revolution.
The first exhibit had to do with the spinning wheel. Spinning wool into yarn was usually done by the women in the family,who would then weave it into clothing. When the spinning wheel became more and more mechanical over time, spinning travelled from households to factories. This resulted in the textile mills of the industrial revolution. These mills in turn made textile production much more efficient. Many people moved from the country to the city, and both populations and jobs within cities skyrocketed. Mill workers were treated very badly though. Children as young as five years old worked in the mills, and they worked very hard.
The next exhibit was about pollution and people's reactions to it. The inventions of the revolution greatly increased production speed and made life easier, but they also polluted the surrounding world. Most of them ran on coal, and water and air pollution, especially in cities, was entirely too common. I was surprised that from a description on the group's poster, it seemed as though the rivers were at least as polluted as they are today, if not even more so. Even in the very beginning of industrialization, people were questioning whether it is right to damage our planet like we are. One question that remains for me is - if we know that it's wrong and have for a long time, why haven't we found a way to stop pollution?
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| Cutting a Railroad Line |
This project was very interesting and helpful. It was fun to learn about the Industrial Revolution while creating a visual presentation of the information we were learning. We learned about Robert Fulton and his invention of the steam engine, and how this impacted the world - and is still affecting us today. We also got to learn about other topics when each of the groups hung their posters up and we walked around to look at them. A couple of the exhibits I looked at had to do with the mechanisation of the spinning wheel and pollution as a result of the revolution.
The first exhibit had to do with the spinning wheel. Spinning wool into yarn was usually done by the women in the family,who would then weave it into clothing. When the spinning wheel became more and more mechanical over time, spinning travelled from households to factories. This resulted in the textile mills of the industrial revolution. These mills in turn made textile production much more efficient. Many people moved from the country to the city, and both populations and jobs within cities skyrocketed. Mill workers were treated very badly though. Children as young as five years old worked in the mills, and they worked very hard.
The next exhibit was about pollution and people's reactions to it. The inventions of the revolution greatly increased production speed and made life easier, but they also polluted the surrounding world. Most of them ran on coal, and water and air pollution, especially in cities, was entirely too common. I was surprised that from a description on the group's poster, it seemed as though the rivers were at least as polluted as they are today, if not even more so. Even in the very beginning of industrialization, people were questioning whether it is right to damage our planet like we are. One question that remains for me is - if we know that it's wrong and have for a long time, why haven't we found a way to stop pollution?
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Stepping Stones
Hard as it may be to believe in today's world, 5 miles an hour in a boat was, at one point, considered revolutionary. In class recently, we discovered why the Industrial Revolution was so revolutionary. It is widely considered to be the revolution that changed more than any other revolution in history. It changed many aspects of life for the whole world, and paved the way for all of the technology and transportation that was to come.
During the Industrial Revolution, steam power was invented. This invention still powers much of today's transportation and technology. Originally used for steamboats, the steam-powered locomotive came next. People built more railroads for easier transportation, including the famous Trans-Continental Railroad. Steam power eventually led to the creation of many modes of transportation such as cars, trains, and planes.
Steam power also led to other forms of technology. This was the beginning of modern technology. Everything we have now stems from the creation of steam power during the Industrial Revolution. It is always during times of wealth that invention stems, because people have the time and money to engage in pursuits other than farming. Improved transportation and farming made the distrubution and acquisition of food easier, so fewer people needed to farm. People got better-paying jobs and therefore had the extra wealth to spend on inventing things. Public education was also invented during the Industrial Revolution, so people were smarter in general and more able to make their ideas come to fruition.
The Industrial Revolution is the reason we have cars and cell phones and even refrigerators. It was the beginning of modern technology, and has improved people's lives in more ways than we can possibly imagine.
During the Industrial Revolution, steam power was invented. This invention still powers much of today's transportation and technology. Originally used for steamboats, the steam-powered locomotive came next. People built more railroads for easier transportation, including the famous Trans-Continental Railroad. Steam power eventually led to the creation of many modes of transportation such as cars, trains, and planes.
Steam power also led to other forms of technology. This was the beginning of modern technology. Everything we have now stems from the creation of steam power during the Industrial Revolution. It is always during times of wealth that invention stems, because people have the time and money to engage in pursuits other than farming. Improved transportation and farming made the distrubution and acquisition of food easier, so fewer people needed to farm. People got better-paying jobs and therefore had the extra wealth to spend on inventing things. Public education was also invented during the Industrial Revolution, so people were smarter in general and more able to make their ideas come to fruition.
The Industrial Revolution is the reason we have cars and cell phones and even refrigerators. It was the beginning of modern technology, and has improved people's lives in more ways than we can possibly imagine.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Do Octopuses Really Live In Trees?
In class recently, we did some activities to learn about web literacy. We discovered how to search effectively with Google a Day, and learned about good sources to use when doing research.
Google a Day
A Google a Day is a new daily puzzle made by Google. Once you start playing, it will give a series of three very obscure questions and start a timer. You have to search for the answers to these questions (in the special search bar given by Google a Day, regular Google has spoilers and that's no fun) in a race against the clock.
The questions given were very random, which made searching for them interesting. The last question asked which modern clade or evolutionary group birds belong to, which seems like it would have a very straightforward answer, but each site we found seemed to have a different opinion, none of which turned out to be correct. I learned some very entertaining and random facts from using Google a Day. I also learned about effective searching and how sometimes, you have to search for one bit of information in order to find another.
Finding Good Sources
zapatopi.net
Google a Day
A Google a Day is a new daily puzzle made by Google. Once you start playing, it will give a series of three very obscure questions and start a timer. You have to search for the answers to these questions (in the special search bar given by Google a Day, regular Google has spoilers and that's no fun) in a race against the clock.
The questions given were very random, which made searching for them interesting. The last question asked which modern clade or evolutionary group birds belong to, which seems like it would have a very straightforward answer, but each site we found seemed to have a different opinion, none of which turned out to be correct. I learned some very entertaining and random facts from using Google a Day. I also learned about effective searching and how sometimes, you have to search for one bit of information in order to find another.
Finding Good Sources
- Accuracy - is the information correct?
- Authenticity - is the source what it claims to be?
- Reliability - is the source created by an expert?
Thursday, September 4, 2014
It's Time to Take Chances, Make Mistakes, and Get Educated!
Hello all! This blog is going to be my chronicle of this year's history class. This is the first time I've been in a paperless classroom, and I'm excited to see how it goes. This past week we watched a couple of videos in class - a video about what makes a good teacher, and a Youtube video by John Green about public education and why we should be more grateful for it:
The first video talked about the importance of first impressions in teaching, and what makes a really great teacher. I think that great teachers are the ones who can explain things so that all of their students can understand it. If one way of explaining a concept isn't working for someone, a great teacher can come up with another way to help the student understand. I find that interactive learning strategies help me to learn best, so it's always good to have a teacher who uses activities, technology, or other tools that are more interactive than a lecture.
In the second video we watched, John Green talked a lot about the student's duty to use their education to improve the world. I think that because we students have been given the privilege to get an education, we should use that education to the best of our ability to make the world a better place. I don't enjoy struggling through seemingly endless hours of homework, but if that's what I have to do to get the most out of my education, then that's what I'll do, and I hope that it will help me to get good grades and develop a good understanding of everything I learn this year.
In the second video we watched, John Green talked a lot about the student's duty to use their education to improve the world. I think that because we students have been given the privilege to get an education, we should use that education to the best of our ability to make the world a better place. I don't enjoy struggling through seemingly endless hours of homework, but if that's what I have to do to get the most out of my education, then that's what I'll do, and I hope that it will help me to get good grades and develop a good understanding of everything I learn this year.
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