Let's Go See the MOSI

Earlier this week, my class participated in a video chat with a museum in England that focuses on the textile aspect of the Industrial Revolution. To prepare for our MOSI Google Chat, we read through the museum's website and recorded three new things we learned. We then watched a video that was made by our soon-to-be explainer, Jamie. Throughout the movie we kept a running list of the terminology we heard. We then worked in groups to come up with a definition for each of the words. When searching for the definitions, we had to be smart about the key words we used. Some of the new vocabulary were words that had picked up different meanings over the years and we had to be sure we were getting accurate definitions. Once we had all our definitions, we worked in groups to create questions so we’d be prepared with things to ask Jamie. We were told to write eight questions. Two about the textile process, two about the evolution of textile technology, two about the negative impact of industrialization on families, and two about Jamie’s experiences as a real life historian.

In this very poor quality picture, Jamie is showing
us a "shuttle" which was a part of the paraloom. 

This chat gave me an insight into the transition from the cotton industry to the factory system. Cloth used to be made at home by the men of the house. It was a really physical job because the hand loom was powered by the men’s bodies. The women and children of the house would prepare the cotton or weaving. The children would use brushes to brush the fibers and the moms would spin the thread on the pedal powered spinning wheel. The factory system was worse for workers than the cotton industry. Since it required everyone moving into the cities to be near the factories, houses had to be built quickly and close together. Due to the little time allotted to build these houses, they weren’t in very good condition. Sanitation wasn’t a main concern at this time. There was one toilet for every 125 people. With all those people sharing one toilet, there was almost always a long line. Rather than waiting, people would relieve themselves in bedpans and then chuck it out the window. Their “waste” would seep into the water supply and people would drink it. Jamie also gave us a tour of the machines. I was shocked when he told us he didn’t know anything about it before he started working there. I always assumed people working in museums had known the information the museums were displaying before they were hired to help others understand it.

I really enjoyed learning from someone who’s an expert in what my class is currently studying. Before the google chat, I was afraid that I’d be in such a hurry trying to type up everything he’s saying that I wouldn’t be able to understand my notes afterwards. I had no problem following along with Jamie. He had all of his thoughts collected and he presented the information to us in a very organized way. Not only did we get good notes on the subject, but it was nice to see the relevancy of our studies in the world today. I know we’re learning about the history of our country, and it’s all very important to know, but sometimes I wonder why I’ll ever need to know, say, who invented the paraloom. Maybe I won’t ever need to know it, but it’s nice to be reminded that there are people out there who are affected by this information every day. 

More Than Scissors and Tape Go Into Making a Poster

My group was assigned to focus on the evolution of the spinning wheel. We started the curating process by laying out the documents and assigning each person to research one or more documents.

My group's pride and joy

 By filling out the graphic organizer we knew what information to include in the captions under our sources. We typed up what we needed to put on the poster but the question of how to lay it out still stood. We wanted it to appear as a horizontal timeline, but what’s visually pleasing about a timeline? We decided to use one of our sources, a bar graph including the different years our other sources took place during, as a road map to our “timeline”. We would attach each source to the bar graph with a piece of string, making sure it attaches to the year it’s from. We had to mount all of our information on pieces of construction paper because what would a poster be without a few boarders here and there? Laying everything out, we came across a problem pretty quickly: there was no way we would fit all the information we needed to fit onto the poster. But wait! There was a way! We simply turned the poster paper vertically and everything had its own place. Seeing as that was the biggest problem my group faced, I think it’s fair to say we had a pretty good time with this project.

One of the other groups focused on the transportation during the Industrial Revolution. They had a map that showed the coal and metal production in relation to the canals that were all over Great Britain. All the canals were connected to the cities in some way because the cities were where most of the production took place. The next group was assigned sources about the pollution during this time. Seeing as the cities were where most of the factories were found, that was where most of the pollution was found too. The amount of pollution found in countries skyrocketed during the Industrial Revolution. The fourth group focused on child labor. The Industrial Revolution was the first time children, especially girls, were working in factories. This group displayed many images of the horrible working conditions and the exhausted looking children. The last group was assigned the topic of slavery during this time.

The line graph from the slave group's poster

 They had a great line graph showing that as the industrial revolution advanced, slaves were in higher demand. I must say, I was genuinely surprised by how much I learned from this project. Who knew that by our tenth year of schooling we’d be able to effectively glue what we’ve learned onto a poster so that the viewers of said poster could learn the same things?

Changing The Way We Function Today

While figuring out the ingredients to industrialization, my class was asked the question “What was ‘revolutionary’ about industrialization?” To answer this we split into small groups to each focus on one aspect of the Industrial Revolution. We read an online text that gave an overview of each of our topics and shared what we found with the class.

             

A Revolution In Agriculture.
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newsouth/5499

One of the ingredients of industrialization was the people. There were improvements made in almost every aspect of farming. Fertilizer was taken from livestock and farmers mixed different kinds of soils which helped more crops to grow. There were also improvements made to farming enclosures. These enclosures made it so farmers could farm more land, producing more crops, with help from less workers. These improvements created more food, which lead to an increase in population.

              Another ingredient of industrialization was technology. The two main aspects of technology were the improved iron and the steam engine. Coal helped make iron which is a material needed for the construction of machines and steam engines. Darby found that coal could be used to smelt iron (separate iron from its core). Watt’s steam engine pumped water out of mines. The steam engine became a power source of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution truly changed the way we function today. 

Searching For The Best Way To Search

               This past week, my class has been participating in many online research activities. The purpose of these activities was to hone our ability to search on the internet, getting answers fast while avoiding questionable sources. These activities taught us to use online resources responsibly, without quoting directly and only taking the information we need.

              A Google A Day is a game from Google in which players answer questions by using google to search for the single correct answer that will solve a puzzle. The day we did this activity I had a headache, and sifting through website after website on my glowing little phone screen, reading an abundance of miniscule typing while my head was throbbing is not something I would consider to be “fun”, but it was helpful and I definitely strengthened my searching abilities. One of the questions was unsolved by anyone in my class because every website had a different answer to the question. It was very frustrating because none of us knew which website had the right answer. Wikipedia even had the wrong answer. From this, I learned that I must check to make sure information is the same on multiple websites before trusting that it is true.

              If a website is trustworthy, it fits the definitions of three words: Accuracy, Authenticity, and Reliability. Accuracy means that the information is correct and matches information that is already known. Authenticity means the website is as it appears to be; meaning it provides the information it looks like it would provide. Reliability means that the website can be trusted as a legitimate data source. In class, we visited a website for the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus .

Tree Octopus. http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

This is a fake website created to look like a real one. There is no such thing as a Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, but if someone didn’t know how to find flaws in an illegitimate website, they would think it’s real. This website could not be used as a source in school because it does not fit the three definitions. It is not accurate because all the data it provides is false. It is not authentic because it’s a fake website for a fake animal rather than a real data source for a real animal, as it appears to be. It is not reliable because it is fake and therefore cannot be trusted.  After the activities we did in class, I’ll know how to avoid getting tricked by websites like this.

Every Good Millionaire Starts With A High School Diploma

As this is my first blog post, I've decided to introduce myself in the form of a haiku:

My name is Lizzie,

This blog is for history,

I’m a sophomore.

And now the actual writing prompt will commence…

Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” I believe that the greatest teachers hold themselves equally responsible for their students’ success as the students themselves. This means that the teachers take their job seriously while still understanding that if a student truly wants success, they have to earn it themselves. My favorite teacher freshmen year was Ms. Lynn, who teaches biology. It was obvious to everyone in class that she loved the branch of biology and was committed to her job. She graded our tests and handed them back within the week we took them. She made extra help available to anyone who was struggling but also made it clear we should try to figure out the topics on our own. One way that you can support us this year is by making your expectations clear. What’s going to be on a test; what should be written in a paper; the more specific the instructions the better.

I agree with John Green (John Green's video) about our duty to use our education to do great things.

Snuggie http://www.inc.com/ss/smartest-products-decade#7

 I understand that passing algebra may not be what leads a person to make millions of dollars by creating, I don’t know, say, a blanket that has arms, but putting the A in algebra is what makes things like the Snuggie possible. School is where we learn work ethics and how to put our ideas into action, whether it be creating a new vaccine for some up-and-coming disease or a life enhancing coat/robe/blanket that plays an inessential yet crucial role in society. This year, I’m hoping for at least three A’s on my report card. I don’t know what classes those three A’s will be in but I hope there will be at least three of them. For athletics, I hope to have fun doing cross country, improving every week (but mostly just goofing around with my friends). I can achieve these goals by keeping my priorities straight. Which means that, tragically, Netflix and other time-wasters may need to be put on hold until I’m in a good place with my goals. If I can achieve these goals I hope I can do great things, as John Green believes I can.