Pros and Cons of The Industrial Revolution

We became curators in history by looking at and analyzing sources with some relation to the industrial revolution. My group had sources that showed the horrible conditions the revolution created, as well as the poverty and pollution. We analyzed the sources and figured out what the important topic in each was, and what message it was trying to convey. We found that they all showed negative effects of the revolution, and we concluded that this would be the topic of our exhibit.

We went through the curating process for our sources, much like someone would in an actual museum. Once we had read and looked at all of our sources, we concluded what they had in common, and we made this the theme of our exhibit. For us, all the sources had poverty and pollution in common, so that is what we made the theme of our exhibit. When we put our sources on our poster, we placed them in a way that flowed, so that people viewing the exhibit would understand the information better. We made small descriptions for each source, so that the people viewing the exhibit wouldn't have to interpret the information for themselves. We also grouped like things together, and highlighted important information from large pieces of text. I think that in doing this, I got a better understanding of my topic and sources, and I understood the information in other peoples exhibits better.

The first exhibit that I viewed was about the production of cotton and slavery. I was shocked to see how much slavery increased after the textile industry took off. While I believe that the the production of cotton was a very good thing, and critical to advancing Great Britain as well as the world, I have a new opinion on it knowing how many slaves where used.

The next exhibit I viewed was on spinning wheels and power looms. I learned from this exhibit that before these inventions an entire family would work together at their home to make their clothing. After the inventions, only one person from a family went to work in a factory. While the inventions had so many benefits, I was surprised to realize that it caused families to not spend as much time together.


The last exhibit that I viewed was on child labor during the industrial revolution. I was shocked to see that the majority of the people were under the age of 10 years old. I of course was aware that there was slavery in the cotton factories, but I had no idea that children so young were working. In todays world, it is unimaginable to picture someone as young as 9 working, especially in such harsh conditions. The pictures that went along with this exhibit amazed me even more, and made me feel so thankful for the opportunities I have and the era in which I live. The exhibit really opened my eyes about the downsides of the revolution, and I now view the Industrial Revolution, while having a lot of benefits, as a very flawed era.

When I had previously heard about the industrial revolution, it made me think of a time period in which great improvements were made to society that still benefit us. I thought of a time that great minds created great, innovate things that changed the way that things worked for the better. While this still holds true in my mind, with a more in depth understanding of the Industrial Revolution I see how many faults it has. The pollution, slavery, child labor, and families being torn apart make me rethink my statement of the revolution being beneficial. I know believe that the Industrial Revolution was a time that was full of inventions and improvements to life, but has an horrific side that we can learn from and make sure never occurs again.

Benefits of the Industrial Revolution

In class we looked at all of the critical aspects of the industrial revolution. We examined how transportation, resources, technology, innovations in textiles, and people all effected the revolution. The industrial revolution helped to change the way that things work in England, and we are still benefitting from its affects today. Two aspects that I believe are especially important are the people and transportation.

Without the people, the revolution would not have occurred. For centuries, the majority of people made their living by being farmers. The industrial revolution brought improved farming, which was less labor intensive, and required less people to farm more land. Since farming was now less difficult, and more land could be farmed by less people, wealthy land owners began to fence off their land so that peasant who used it to farm could not anymore. This process is called enclosure. It caused the farmers to move to cities to find jobs, creating a large labor force that would work on machines,  furthering the  revolution. The improved farming also meant that people could eat better food, and be healthy, live longer, and have healthier children. Having people live longer was an amazing and revolutionary thing that occurred because of the revolution. Because of enclosure, people began to work on machines, speeding up the revolution, and allowing more things to occur.

The industrial revolution was when a lot of technology was first created. Abraham Darby greatly improved iron, which benefited the economy. He created a way to remove impunity from coal, and separate iron from its ore. This made the iron better quality, and it was used to build railroads. This iron was also much less expensive, which helped the economy. Something else created was the steam engine. Even though it was invented so long ago, it is still used today. The steam engine powered boats trains, and locomotives, helping to greatly increase and improve the transportation. It was also used to pump water out of mines.  These technological advances may seem minor in todays world, but without them, we could not have have the advances in technology we know today. Hundreds of years later the steam engine is still used, and a crucial part of our lives. With these advances of the revolution, the world we know today would be completely different.

Steam Engine

http://www.antiquefarming.com/steamengine.html 

A Google A Day Keeps the Tree Octopus Away

In class today, we used the website agoogleaday.com  to help us improve our search skills on the Internet. A detailed question was given, and we had to use google to find the answer. In order to get the correct answer, we had to use certain skills to make sure that our answer was accurate, authentic, and reliable. The website gave tips on how to search in order to find certain information. For example, to find an exact set of words, you must put quotes around them when searching.

I enjoyed this activity and I believe that I will be able to find better information easier in the future because of it. When searching, it was sometimes difficult because the correct answer couldn't be found. Although it was frustrating to not find the answer at first, revising the search using certain skills helped find the answer, and I will now have the knowledge to search in this way in the future. I learned that putting in certain symbols will change the results of your search, and can help you to find what your are looking for more efficiently.

When searching for something online, the three things that you must look for are authenticity, accuracy, and reliability. Authenticity is when something is real, but most importantly genuine. This means that the website is doing what they say they are. It has no hidden agenda, and the goal of the website is clear. Accuracy is when something is correct. This means that the information on the website is true, precise, and valid. Reliability is when the website can be trusted as giving true information. This can be proven by the credibility of the author, or the sources used to create the website.

The website for the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is a good example of a website that does not meet all three requirements, and therefore is not a good source. Although at a glance the website seems to have good information, and includes pictures, links, and sophisticated information about the Tree Octopus, it is not reliable or accurate. The website is authentic, the goal stated is to raise awareness of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, and that is what the website does. But, the information is not reliable, because it is the only website with any information about the Tree Octopus. The website is not accurate because the Tree Octopus does not exist.

A Picture of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus:

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

What I Will Do With My Education

         
My name is Lorraine and this is my blog!


            I think that a great teacher is one who can help a student to understand something completely and clearly. A great teacher is one who can make the information that they are teaching interesting and fun to learn, while still teaching relevant and important topics. One of my favorite past teachers was my 8th grade english teacher. She used many different methods to help us to learn and had us do unique assignments that helped us understand the information a lot better and in an enjoyable way. This year I am excited to have a class completely using technology, and I think that this will help me to learn better and stay a lot more organized.

              John Green explains that it is our duty to use our education, and I agree with his thinking. I think that we sometimes take for granted how lucky we are to be able to have such a good education available to everyone, and I think that we should use this privilege to the best of our ability, and with our education improve create and improve on what has already been done to better the world. This year I hope to stay organized and complete all of my assignments for all of my classes in a way that I am proud of. I am on the high school cheerleading team and I hope that we do well in our competitions. I also hope to meet new people and make new friends this year. I am going to achieve my goals by staying motivated and focused, and remembering them so I can be even more compelled to complete them.



John Greens Video "An Open Letter to Students Returning to School"