Technology Through The Ages Assignment – Suggestions Wanted!

Posted on February 7, 2009
Filed under Digital Portfolio, Lesson Plans & Ideas and tagged assignment, technology

At Year 10 I teach a subject called ‘Race Around The World’ which is a cross of history/geography/whatever else all tied together by an essential question. I am working with another teacher and this term we are creating a unit on technology. The reason for this is that the school we are at, Coburg Senior High School, has a great emphasis on using technology discerningly to create and extend learning opportunities for the students. There is lots of computer access – both iMacs (desktops) and MacBooks (laptops) – open plan learning areas, nothing is blocked (well, almost nothing and working through the new firewall restrictions!), and all staff are encouraged to create podcasts to deliver lessons, keep a digital portfolio, and use as much technology as possible (but questioning what is good use and what is just unnecessary).

For this unit on technology, our ‘Engage’ phase this past week has seen us get the kids to create a Wordle on their definiton of technology, take photos with their phones of the technology they find around the school and bluetooth the images to me, and to complete a survey on what technology is, what they own, what they want to own etc. You can see the results of the survey here:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pcCGhlERvyQ7Ud2QZc3XcLA

This week, after we do a bit on what their definitions of technology were and what answers were given in the survey, we are going to give them an assignment to find out about technology through the ages. This work will involve the kids working in groups of 3 to research 3 different and significant developments in technology in a given era. Here is the assignment. I would really appreciate some feedback on how I can take it all just that step or two deeper. This was originally written last year by another teacher, but I have changed it slightly to suit our class.

technology-through-the-ages

Technology Through The Ages

AIM – The aim of this assignment is for you to explore how technology has developed over time. This may challenge or confirm your current understanding of what technology is or isn’t, and this assignment will give you the change to reflect on that. By completing it you should be able to discuss what you understand the meaning of technology to be and give some relevant examples.

In groups of 3 you are required to research the major technological developments of one of the following eras:

➢    Cavemen to 800s
➢    800s to 1500s
➢    1500s to 1800s
➢    1800s to 1900s
➢    20th century
➢    21st century so far
You need to include the following information for 3 significant items created in your era:

•    Describe what the invention is
•    When was it invented
•    Why it is so important (in other words, justify why you feel it is one of the most significant inventions)
•    What it meant for the world as we know it today

• In your presentation you also need to include a definition of technology. You can use the Wordle you created if you like. After you have completed your research, think about whether or not your understanding of technology has changed. Comment on this somewhere in your presentation.

You must use a minimum of 2 websites for your research on each item. Don’t just rely on the information you find on one site. Make sure you note the website you source material from on the bottom of the keynote slide. Directly after the website write the date accessed, for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventions accessed 8/02/09

Format: Use Keynote to put your presentation together. Your presentation needs to include a voiceover – and all of the voices in your group need to be heard. Then export the presentation from Keynote to Quicktime, creating a movie file.

Submission: Your completed presentation is due by the end of our last class for this week. You need to upload it to the RATW folder on StudyWiz. Your final presentations will be uploaded to TeacherTube and YouTube. Students and teachers from around the world will be invited to comment on your work. You will also be asked to view and comment on your classmates work.

NOTE: Please DO NOT use your surnames on your work. First names only because they are being uploaded to the internet.

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2 Responses to “Technology Through The Ages Assignment – Suggestions Wanted!”

KerryJ on February 7th, 2009 10:12 pm

Give them more options on how to present their research. Maybe they could do a play, record a news broadcast with live video, do role play in a virtual world — give them the points they need to touch on and let them choose where they take it. (But don’t let ‘em use a slide show or written paper only.)

Ensure part of the assessment is on how the group handles working together and negotiates any issues.

I think it would be interesting to include the option of tracking one invention or category of inventions through time — private transport, mass publishing, storytelling, language, writing implements, etc. — and explain with citations and critical thinking as to how and why it evolved. Give bonus points if they postulate based on the evolutionary track the invention has taken through time and why up to this point — how might it evolve in the future?
APKC on February 8th, 2009 2:59 am

How about widening the task to include the development of processes around an invention? This will then bring in the community, and the impact the invention may have had directly upon the community – the social implications. These could also be added into the time line to demonstrate the evolution of ‘civilisations’ and how that evolution compares to the inventions timeline.

The students are asked what impact the invention has had upon our modern lives – perhaps ask how we might be living now if that invention had not been successful.

Hope something in that is helpful.