By investigating our families' histories, we can gain a better understanding of modern history and how some of the big events, trends and changes of the past century have impacted real people who are known to us. The aim of this investigation is to learn more about the 20th Century (and on) through learning more about our families' histories.
First of all, draw up a family tree which includes three generations of you family - including grandparents, parents, and you and your siblings. (Note: you can use ancestry.com.au to do this for you neatly with all the data required.)
The research the effects of the following upon your family:
a major technological change that has changed the way we live or work.
a major event (e.g.: a war, a recession, a natural disaster).
migration, either from overseas or another part of Australia (and the reasons your family migrated).
social and/or cultural changes in society over time.
Then write up your findings explaining your family's history and how the above topics have effected your family.
(Remember! You are not required to discuss matters considered private or personal within your family. Use your judgement in what you include in your report.)
There was more change in the 20th Century than in any century previous to it. The Industrial Revolution combined with modern technology saw an exponential increase in the world's population, and for some, a dramatic increase in wealth and a change to lifestyles and culture.
Your task is to identify some of the key changes and symbols of the 20th Century. Provide a brief explanation (short answer response) of what changes were brought about by each.
You will research and describe:
3 international conflicts (and name the warring nations, what they were fighting over and who claimed victory).
3 inventions that changed the way people lived.
3 big social or political changes that occurred in Australia.
3 classic films or songs that changed the world.
1 economic recession (when did it happen and what caused it?)
1 fashion/trend that became popular for a whole generation.
Type these up in your blogs and discuss with your friends. When you get home on the weekend, ask your parents or grandparents about what it was like to live through these times.
"We cannot solve today's problems on the same scale that they were created."
The threats facing humanity and the global environment have never been greater than they are today. But neither has our abilities and powers to deal with problems on such a large scale. The outcome is largely dependent upon how we, the human family, react to the problems that we face, and we will not need only technology, but ethics, creativity and imagination to overcome challenges on such a large scale.
Inspiration: Watch this presentation by Ken Robinson and consider what he has to say about how schools kill creativity? What do you think? How will you develop your creativity?
Above and beyond that, have you ever wondered what really makes us human beings happy? Professor of Psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has and come to the well-researched conclusion that money and possessions cannot make us happy, and that lasting satisfaction only comes about through engaging in challenges that bring about a state of "flow".
The Task
You are to select a problem confronting the future of humanity that has a social, environmental, economic or political dimension. You need to and investigate this issue and devise a hypothesis as to what the main causes of this problem are and therefore, what the principle solutions must be. You may need to modify and adapt the investigation according to the nature of the evidence and the resources available. In outlining your solutions, you must demonstrate that your understanding that decisions on environmental, political and legal issues are influenced by and impact on natural, economic and social systems. Finally you need to analyse the validity and consistency of conclusions made by yourself or others according to the sufficiency of evidence gathered and avowed values positions.
When writing up your Jack the Ripper assignment, remember that you are presenting a case for the prosecution of one of the suspects. Your case must include sections on the following:
1. Profile of your suspect(s)
which includes all known biographical details - e.g: where they were born, their age, occupational history.
a psychological profile - e.g: what was known about their character, behaviour, history of mental illness.
2. Alleged relationship with murders
did the suspect know them? did he have a dislike of a certain group of people?
where was your suspect at the time of the murders? does he have an alibi?
3. Evidence
discuss the evidence and how it implicates your suspect?
4. Motive
why would your suspect commit these gruesome murders?
5. Background to the murders
what was life like in London in 1888? how was it different from today?
The following should be considered "essential knowledge" when it comes to climate change. If you don't know the following questions, it is your job in the next session to find the answers.
1. Can you present the workings of climate change in a diagrammatic model?
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2. What are the main GHG's (Greenhouse gases)?
3. Find graph data that demonstrates the correlation between global warming and rising sea levels. Describe the relationship between these two phenomena.
4. What are the projected levels for global warming over the next century? Why are there a range of projections?
5. What are the impacts of global warming? List 8 along with a brief description.
6. What strategies can we use to ameliorate climate change? Discuss 2 in detail.
Former US Democratic Vice-President Al Gore shot to fame again last year when he was awarded in conjunction with the scientists composing the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the Nobel Peace Prize for raising international awareness about the climate change crisis, especially through his award winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
More recently he gave a speech in which he succinctly connects the climate crisis, the mushrooming foreign debt (used to buy foreign oil as America's reserves decline), and international security issues particularly in unstable, oil-producing regions. He goes on to challenge America to change course.
T. Boone Pickens is a Texan oil man, billionaire, and life-long Republican voter. He is currently investing US$10 billion to build the world's largest wind farm in northern Texas.
As unlikely as it may seem that these two successful and powerful from opposing political parties would agree, they share some similar views.
Write a brief response to this talk in which you: 1) explain in your own words the common problem at the root of climate change, foreign debt and international conflict. 2) the relationship between these problems. 3) the solution(s) as proposed by Al Gore and/or Boone Pickens. 4) your opinion on these presentations.
Western Australia has just held an election and it may not be so long until the next federal election. During an election campaign the various parties advocate for or against a range of political issues. The aim of this assignment is to investigate one particular issue in depth and then present it to the class in the form of an oral presentation. (Note: You will also submit your notes online, but more on that later.)
You are expected to take a partisan point of view in this assignment. That means you are taking a particular stance or point of view in favour or against a particular political issue (see examples below). You will be assessed on both your understanding of the topic, and upon your ability to provide a convincing argument.
Political Issues You may choose from the following list of political issues (or negotiate with your teacher to do an issue of interest to you). No two students may select the same issue unless they are on opposing sides of the issue.
that there should be free public health care for all.
that we should build nuclear reactors to power our cities.
that we should deregulate retail trading hours so that shops are open all the time.
that we should reduce the number of migrants coming to Australia.
that there should be stronger laws against animal cruelty.
that possession and use of marijuana should be decriminalized.
that mining uranium should be banned.
that there should be stronger laws against advertising and use of alcohol and tobacco.
the we should build a light rail infrastructure in Perth.
that primary, secondary and tertiary education in Australia should be free of charge.
that there should be tough laws against abortion.
that we should allow the growing of genetically modified plant crops and domestic animals.
that we should scrap the costly Medicare public health insurance fund and make everyone use private health insurance (user pays).
that gay marriage should be legally recognized.
that we need tougher penalties against polluting industries to protect our biosphere.
that there should be a rebate on purchase of solar panels and/or a feed-in tariff for electricity provided to the grid by privately owned solar panels.
that gun ownership should be legal for all citizens.
that terminally ill people should have the right to die.
that there should be a "3 strikes and you out" policy for repeat criminal offenders.
that Australia should have a bill of rights.
Assessment
Information, Communication & Participation - Applying and Communicating Findings Level 3.4: The student justifies decisions from a personal perspective using some evidence and begins to review original understandings when communicating findings.
Level 4.4: The student develops and informed opinion and communicates this witha particular purpose or audience in mind.
Level 5.4: The students communicates findings in ways that show consideration of the facts, opinions and motives for a particular viewpoint when justifying generalisations made.
Level 6.4: The student when communicating findings develops conclusions, justifies personal stances by discussing logically and considering viewpoints and evidence presented by others. They justify their personal stance by discussing logically and considering the viewpoints and evidence presented by others.
Level 7.4: The student communicates findings based on evidence gathered, according to the purpose of the investigation and can justify own values stance and the validity and conclusions drawn by others. Students examine the values position inherent in the viewpoint they represent and analyse the values cited by people who support or oppose a viewpoint different from their own.
Assessment Checklist
Have you prepared a detailed arguement with ample supporting material (examples, statistics, case-studies, historical pre-cursors)?
Have you rehearsed your oral presentation?
Have you posted your written arguements to the Ning.com forum?
Have you posted supporting materials like diagrams (pictures, graphs, tables) or videos to the Ning.com site and linked to them from your written argument?
Task Your task is to investigate the life of an eminent person in history who is widely recognized for their leadership, courage, determination, compassion and commitment to making the world a better place. Their inspiring personal qualities will have had an impact upon the culture in which they lived, and possibly well beyond. They may be an inspiration to you personally.
Having conducted an investigation, you will write a biography of this eminent person and make a brief presentation to the class.
The biography should answer the following questions:
where were they born? where did they grow up?
what position(s)/role(s) did this person occupy during their lifetime?
were they a member of any group(s)?
what are they most remembered for?
what influences (e.g.: gender, race, socio-economic status, location) shaped the early development of this eminent person? what shaped their attitudes and views?
what were the views/morals/beliefs/principles that they espoused?
why did they espouse these views?
what circumstances led them to becoming involved in the work/struggle that made them so renowned as a hero?
what impact/influence did they have upon their culture? how did they change their culture?
what was their legacy to future generations?
Assessment Criteria Culture - level 2
The student is able to describe the role and some of the achievements of an eminent person.
Culture - level 3
The student can explain the role and main achievements of an eminent person, and describe some way in which this person affected his/her culture.
Culture - level 4
The student is able to explain the role and main achievements of an eminent individual in some depth, detailing a path of development through life, organisations that they participated in, and key principles or beliefs that they are known to have espoused. The student can also identify key ways that this eminent person changed/impacted upon his/her culture.
Culture - level 5
The student can explain how an eminent person's gender, race, socioeconomic status and cultural context influenced his/her political or religious beliefs, and how this caused them to take perilous/defiant actions that were intended to benefit others. The student can detail the eminent person's key beliefs/principles as well as their achievements, as well as provide an explanation of how they influenced/changed a culture.
Culture - level 6
The student can explain in detail how an eminent person's gender, race, socioeconomic status and cultural context influenced his/her beliefs and decion(s) to take perilous/defiant actions that benefitted others. The student can detail the eminent person's beliefs/principles, as well as their achievements. They can discuss the lasting legacy of these achievements upon society and culture.
Culture - level 7
The student has an depth understanding of the social, cultural, economic and political factors that were part of the formation of an eminent person. The student understand both how the eminent person was formed through historical factors, and how this person acted upon their conscience to alter the course of events in their cultural context in a substantial way which affected many/all others in that culture. The student has thoroughly researched the details of the eminent person's life (e.g.: significant events growing up, organisations they were a part of, important beliefs and principles they espoused) and is able to provide a detailed report on these and how they related to the society in which they lived. The student is able to explain the lasting impact and legacy that this eminent person has had on their culture (and other cultures beyond their own) and how their beliefs and actions continue to inspire others.
Objective: To gain an overview of how a business operates and the market within which it operates through the setting up and conducting of a micro-business activity.
Procedure: The following are a checklist of activities through which each group must work through to successfully conduct their businesses.
Write up a proposal for what kind of business you would like to operate, and include information about what resources you will require to run it.
Get permission to conduct the business from Mr Hanna and/or Mr Bonner. Inform them of the date(s) that you intend to conduct your business.
Get permission to use any equipment that is required.
Design a market survey to gauge interest from your potential market.
Conduct your market survey.
Collate/Compile your market survey results. Interpret them in order to understand the level of demand for your product or service. Adjust your business plan if necessary.
Devise a budget. Find out what your input costs will be, and how much you will need to sell to reach your break-even point.
Organise to loan equipment (if necessary).
Tally up income and donate profits to charity. :)
Devise a profit & loss statement.
Write up a report detailing your findings and submit.
Report:
Explain why your group initially chose your business activity.
With reference to your market surveys, discuss your anticipated levels of demand. What other kinds of information did you discover from your surveys.
Explain the operation of your business.
How was what you expected about sales different from how sales turned out in reality.
What did you learn about operating a business from this process?
Did you learn any generic lessons about supply and demand, or about marketing through this process?
If you were to run a micro-business again, what would you do differently? Why?
Final Submission:
Business proposal.
Profit & loss statement.
Any advertising (or details thereof) that you did.
An example of your survey sheets.
Your collated survey data.
Report.
Assessment Criteria: Resources level 4
Understands that people can make decisions about efficient use of resources.
Understand that people make decisions in order to be efficient and enterprising in their use of resources.
Understands that people act in various ways to make workplaces more effective.
Resources level 5
Understands that people's ability to make efficient use of resources is affected by their access to, and ownership of, various resources.
Understands that people's ability to manage resources in enterprising ways is affected by their access to, and ownership of, various resources.
Understands that the structure of workplaces influences the extent to which people can improve their effectiveness.
Resources level 6
Understands that the extent to which people are able to meet their needs and wants is influenced by their level of access to, and ownership of, resources.
Understands that the quality of management decisions impacts on people's ability to satisfy their needs and wants.
Understands that a variety of circumstances affect the opportunities for, and ability of, people to participate effectively in workplaces.
The economies of the nations of the world are very different. There are developed and developing countries. Some countries have a lot of natural resources which they use in their primary industries, others have a large pool of labour and use this in their manufacturing and service industries.
Your task shall be to investigate the economy of one nation and to report on it in the following ways:
What natural resources does this nation have?
What sectors of the economy are the biggest employers?
How are economic decisions made? Who makes them?
Find out what the most important (largest) industry is in this nation. Is it more labour-intensive or capital intensive? Explain.
Does this nation use advanced technology in its economy? If so, provide an example.
What is one of the major economic problems faced by this nation (e.g.: unemployment, poverty, inflation, debt)? Explain how this problem effects this economy and what the government and/or businesses are doing to solve it.
In what ways is this nation's economy similar to and/or different to Australia's economy?
Next week you will be given an economics assessment. In order to be able to select your topic and write about it knowledgeably, you will need to know the meanings of the following terms:
unemployment inflation interest rates balance of payments economic growth foreign debt industrial relations privatisation sharemarket taxation globalisation income distribution
Find out what economists mean when they use these terms and write those definitions down in your notes so you can use them in your assessment next week.
Many politicians and media commentators use economics arguments to justify their own point of view. Yet many of them do not have a clear understanding of economic principles. If you have a sound understanding of economics you will be able to critically analyse and pull apart faulty arguments.
For this session, you will need to read the article"The Oil War-driven Recession We Had To Have by commentator Bob Ellis. Remember this article is an opinion piece and uses polemical arguments. There may be serious flaws in his reasoning.
Consider the following questions: 1. What is causing inflation (according to the author)? 2. Why is oil so expensive according to the author? 3. Why do you think oil is becoming so expensive? 4. Ellis suggests that the Reserve Bank of Australia should follow the lead of the US Federal Reserve by slashing interest rates. Do you agree? Why (or why not)? How is the situation in Australia different from the United States? 5. What's wrong with the statement, "You don't fight inflation by putting prices up. You fight it by bringing prices down. Start with interest rates and see how you go. How hard is it to get your brain around this?"
Discuss these questions in small groups and amongst the class.
The following is information for year 10 students at Willetton SHS to help them prepare for their geography test on the themes of biodiversity and climate change.
1. You will need to provide definitions for the terms: ecosystem, endemic, biodiversity, habitat, preservation, conservation, biome, extinct.
2. Look at the food web diagram. Explain what would happen if an introduced species destroyed all the oak trees. Which other species are effected?
3. What are the main Greenhouse Gases?
4. Below is a diagram that illustrates the natural greenhouse effect. Draw your own version of this.
5. What types of biodiversity are there? Explain what these mean.
6. Biodiversity is important for four reasons - ecosystem processes, ethical values, beauty & culture, and economic. Explain what is meant by each of these terms.
7. When climate scientists make predictions about future temperature rises they usually provide a range rather than exact numbers. Why is this?
8. Human induced climate change has had significant impacts on the Earth's natural systems. List and explain five of these.
9. Discuss ways that we can reduce the future impacts of either climate change OR biodiversity.
You will need to know the difference between primary and secondary sources, and be able to provide examples of each.
You will need to understand the system of dating involving “BC to AD”.
What kind of items/implements discovered in archaelogical ruins would tell you about an ancient culture's religion, music, the role of women,the food that they ate?
What kind of source information about an ancient society would indicate whether it was inventive, wealthy and/or civilized.
The test is based around source information from the ancient society of Sumer. It may help to have some background information about this society.
In what ways can we say that the Sumerians had a complex or organised society?
For the past two weeks we've been investigating what climate change is and what it's effects have been so far and are likely to be in future. Now's the time to take a closer look at how climate change is affecting people's lives, how they are adapting, and what is likely to happen if climate change continues into the future.
Here is your task:
Select a region of the world. By "region" we mean a geographical area. Some examples might be the Canadian Arctic, or Greenland, western Europe, all of Australia, or just one part like the south-west (from Kalbarri to Esperance), Pacific Islands, or the coast along the Gulf of Bengal (from Kolkata to Bangladesh). All of these regions (and more) are showing very noticeable impacts from climate change already, and things are expected to get worse.
Conduct research using numerous sources (eg: magazines, news websites, newspapers, books, etc) of information.
Find out and report on how this region has already been affected by climate change.
Find out and report on how the people of this region are adapting (or are planning to adapt) to the affects of climate change.
Find out and report on the predicted future change to the environment and way of life in the region as a result of climate change.
Discuss how changes in this climate driven changes in this region could impact on other parts of the world (eg: economic, political, social).
Write up your findings in a report (which includes pictures, graphs, or other relevant visual data) which is posted to your blog.
Assessment Criteria
Natural and Social Systems Level Three The student understands that, in natural and social systems, relationships occur to provide order to the interactions found within them. Students explain how relationships between elements attempt to provide order and sequence within natural and social systems. Students can provide some reasons for changes in these systems. Level Four The student understands that modifications to natural and social systems occur as they respond to challenges. Students can link cause and effect and generalise beyond the specific. Their generalisations are largely context dependent. They have a growing awareness of the interrelationships within each system. Level Five The student understands how and why changes occur in natural and social systems. Students use their understanding of concepts and processes to draw inferences about how and why changes occur in systems. They understand that changes can have either or both short-term and long-term impacts. They make generalisations with a growing awareness of the complexity of interrelationships within systems and are aware that there are relationships between systems.
Investigation, Communication & Participation
Level Three The student plans an investigation by devising questions, identifying and using information from more than one source; and makes inferences from information collected in order to justify personal decisions.
Level Four The student identifies appropriate sources and data-gathering techniques for an investigation; records information from these sources accurately; considers various perspectives and begins to generalise beyond the immediate context when presenting findings.
Level Five The student analyses and clarifies the purpose of an investigation to formulate questions; selects from a range of appropriate data sources and methods of recording; and uses supporting evidence to explain patterns and draw conclusions that generalise beyond the immediate context and present a particular viewpoint.
Mining History to Uncover the Factors that build a Sustainable Society We've investigated the factors that lead to the collapse of complex societies, now we turn our attention in the other direction to investigate the factors that lead a society to be successful and sustainable. Experts from fields as diverse as climate science to economists, to even social psychologists have issued various warnings about how our current way of living cannot be sustained, and how we must change our behaviour (both individually and collectively) in order to secure a future. The question that concerns us here is: what can we learn from societies in the past about how to live sustainably?
Here is your task:
Develop hypotheses about what factors create a sustainable society. (You may want to review contemporary literature about sustainability, or you may want to look at what factors led to previous societal collapses and offer ideas on how to avoid that fate.)
Conduct an investigation into past, complex societies that had a reasonable degree of success (here meaning, a reasonable degree of economic properity, social stability, and displaying signs of cultural complexity in the form of the arts, religion, sciences, etc) and evidence of sustainability (here meaning, either having had continuous success and stability for at least 300 years up to the present, or an 800 year reign of success and stability prior to entering a period of decay or collapse).
If necessary, revise your hypotheses should you come across new information that invalidates your previous hypotheses.
Develop a model which outlines the principles of a sustainable society. This model should include at least three major principles of sustainability. Each principle should have at least two historical examples of complex societies that practised these principles and how it supported their success and sustainability.
Present your model with supporting evidence via your blog or Google Docs. Your report should not be less than 1000 words, but try to avoid going over 2000 words if possible.
Assessment Criteria
Time, Continuity & Change
Level Five The student understands that the consequences of people's actions may be either change or continuity and that people's beliefs and/or motives contribute to the different perspectives they hold on people and events of the past. (Continuity & Change) Students understand that there are forces (political, economic, cultural) that exist within and outside societies that can promote change and/or continuity. They understand that some forces can be more powerful than others and their impact on society may be negative for some and yet positive for others. They are aware that there is always some degree of resistance or acceptance to change and continuity based on the beliefs, values and motives of groups or individuals. They also understand that the changes and continuities of one time can affect the beliefs and values of another.
Level Six The student understands that the present has evolved at varying rates from past people and events and that it is perceived by people according to their beliefs and values. (Continuity & change) Students understand that cultural and social, political and economic structures change as a result of internal and external forces as well as the passage of time. Students recognise that change occurs at varying rates in different periods of time and in different places. They understand and follow threads of continuity over time, such as a belief in the equality under the law for citizens of Australia.
Level Seven The student understands that a change in people's perspectives of the past may lead to a reappraisal of present opinions/actions on contemporary issues. (Continuity & change) Students understand that ideas, beliefs, values and traditions can be the motivating forces for action, reaction and resistance. They understand that change in any one area of society (political, social, economic) as a result of different forces impacts on other areas. They question evidence to develop alternative narratives. Students understand underlying motivations for historical change and/or continuity. By analysing a wide range of primary and secondary source material, they are able to determine both implicit and explicit economic, social, political and environmental conditions that lead to change and/or continuity within a time period. Investigation, Communication & Participation
Level Five The student analyses and clarifies the purpose of an investigation to formulate questions; selects from a range of appropriate data sources and methods of recording; and uses supporting evidence to explain patterns and draw conclusions that generalise beyond the immediate context and present a particular viewpoint.
(Processing and translating) Students process and interpret information, using, for example, longitudinal data to interpret trends over time. They match the information to be reported with the best type of visual representation (graph and/or diagram) to convey the appropriate message to an audience. They use the specific language and conventions of the disciplines. They draw conclusions that present a particular viewpoint that can be supported by the evidence collected. They justify these viewpoints by referring to patterns evident in the data gathered and in consideration of the facts, opinions and motives.
Level Six The student formulates own hypothesis for an investigation; identifies the main aspects to be considered and decides on the most appropriate data sources and recording techniques; and justifies own conclusions by examining logically the viewpoints and the evidence presented by others for accuracy, bias and omission.
(Processing and translating) Students justify, generalise, use abstract models, and begin to manipulate and apply different data to their models. As they process and interpret information, they can identify developments over time (trends) in longitudinal data, using a range of models and/or contexts. They use specific social science tools to interpret data, such as interpreting maps, tables, and technology. They construct conclusions about the accuracy of their hypotheses. Through their investigations, they continue to question their hypotheses, their sources of information and the information itself. They recognise inconsistencies in their data and understand that information is tentative. They justify attitudes and opinions in the context of events/time and realise why they might change.
Level Seven Thestudent investigates an issue or event by devising hypotheses and modifying and adapting the conduct of the investigation according to the resources and nature of the evidence available; and analyses the validity and consistency of conclusions drawn by self and others according to the sufficiency of the evidence gathered and avowed values positions. (Processing & translating) Students apply their generalisations about concepts and processes to develop questions and potential solutions. They evaluate their methods and inferences. They compare before-and-after situations, group and classify practices of people in society, apply categories such as laws or educational practices to societal behaviour at points in time and are sympathetic to differing viewpoints. They engage in reflective thinking about to analyse and clarify data and to justify a position. They identify strengths and weaknesses of their own planning methods and viewpoints and make modifications where necessary. They use appropriate technology as a method of organising and analysing data. Students draw valid conclusions consistent with the evidence gathered and evaluate them in relation to their knowledge of broader perspectives.
Biodiversity refers to the many species of plants and animals that live and interact in the various biomes of the Earth. As a result of human actions, many of these species are today threatened with extinction. Your task is to select a plant or animal species that is classified as endangered, conduct research, and to present a report on your blog about this endangered species. In your report you must provide information on the following:
Describe the climate and physical terrain of the biome in which this species is found.
Explain how this species interacts with its ecosystem. What does it consume, and what does it produce in this ecosystem? How would the ecosystem be affected if this species became extinct?
Explain what are the main factors threatening this species.
Outline the measures that we (humans) need to take in order to preserve this species.
You can improve the presentation of your report by including pictures of the species in its native habitat and graphs of it population trends, etc. It is important that you reference your source material at the end of your report and provide hyperlinks to web references.
I know many year 10 students are feeling a little uncertain as to where to start with the rather complex topic of societal collapse. Understanding the patterns of history at this level is a little bit like trying to learn a foreign language. At first nothing makes sense. My advice is the same as for learning a foreign language - just get started. The pieces of the puzzle will come together as you conduct your investigations.
So where to start? Well, the task, in a sense, has two intertwined aspects. One is about developing a conceptual understanding of why societies collapse, the other is about understanding the events and causes that led to one particular society collapsing. Here are a few brief suggestions...
I've just started bookmarking sites related to collapse, so you may want to go there. If you do a web search, you will need to be a little more specific. But if you search for "societal collapse" you'll get some interesting results. I have often pointed students in the direction of Wikipedia, not as an inherently reliable source itself, but because it usually offers a useful overview of a topic (much like an encyclopedia would), but more importantly, it will have links to useful internet and print sources of information. This was how, for instance, I discovered articles on the Decline of the Roman Empire and Deforestation during the Roman period. The first article is useful because it outlines many of the different theories as to why Rome collapsed, the second because it provides useful information which would contribute to the environmental causes of the collapse of Rome (which would be very useful to a student studying Rome and using Jared Diamond's five point framework). It's worth noting that both articles are extensively linked and referenced, so providing a pathway to further information. I also found an article harshly critiquing Jared Diamond's "geographical determinism" which may be of interest to anyone looking for alternatives to the framework which we've learned about in class.
So feel assured that for most chosen topics, there is plenty of source material available.
Finally, I would recommend that students go for breadth prior to depth. Get an overview of the topic. Skim read or read the introductions to a few different historians or sources of information first. Try to get a rough idea of the explanations for collapse offered by each author. Jot down some dot points. Then select 2 or 3 of what seem the most reliable sources and explore them in greater depth. If needed you can extract pieces of information from other sources as needed in addition to this.
Remember that this is your report. You need to develop your own conclusions based on the evidence and arguments made by others.
For students in my year 10 GATE Society & Environment class, here is an outline of the task (complete with external links) to the task due on 20 March.
Definition: History provides many examples of societal collapse. Jared Diamond defines collapse as “a drastic decrease in human population size and/or political/economic/social complexity, over a considerable area, for an extended time.” Full scale collapse – evidenced by dramatic loss of complexity and population for a prolonged period – should be distinguished from a minor decline which may involve conquest by another power or short-term decline caused by natural disaster, famine, etc.
Examples: Mycenean Greece, the Greenland Norse, the Mayans, the Western Roman Empire, the Khmer Empire surrounding Angkor, the Han and Tang Dynasties of China, the Olmec, the Mauryan and Gupta states of India, and many more...
Task: Investigate one example of societal collapse in order to better understand the causes of collapse and the modes of societal response. In order to develop a structured understand of the collapse you may want to use Jared Diamond's five point framework for understanding collapse. And you may want to refer to Joseph Tainter's three modes of societal response to collapse. However, even if you use these conceptual frameworks to understand the collapse that you investigate, you do not need to be bound by it (unless you think that the framework is completely applicable), but should investigate the source material carefully to understand the exact causes and modes of societal response in the face of collapse.
Optional extra: In the main part of your report draw comparisons between the collapse of your chosen society and at least one other society. Explain salient similarities and/or differences. Then write a final section to your report which answers the question, “what can contemporary society learn from the collapse of this past society?”. Draw links between collapses of the past and the potential threats of collapse in future. Note that this optional extra section must be done in order to attain level 6!
Format: Type up your conclusions in report format on your blog. You may include tables and pictures if appropriate, and should aim to write between 1200 – 1600 words (no more than an extra 500 words for optional task). (Please note that more words does not mean higher levels!) Please ensure that there is a reference list (bibliography) at the end of the article and that web sources are linked for quick easy access to your internet sources.
Humanity's presence is now felt the world over - even in our deepest oceans. Of the 2/3 of the Earth's surface covered by ocean, only 4% remains unaffected by human actions. These actions include pollution, over-fishing, and climate change. The earth's oceans are in a sorry state and likely to get worse unless we change the ways that we are exploiting the oceans.
Take a look at this article on the BBC and the map of the world's oceans and which areas have been most impacted by human civilization.
On top of that the ABC is reporting on the "great north Pacific plastic soup". Ocean currents are causing the masses of plastic bags and floating detritus to gather in an enormous swirling area in the north Pacific off the coast of California. Those who have seen it have been shocked by its enormity. And scientists believe that because large areas of ocean are not often traversed by ships that there could be other similar plastic soups gathering in the world's oceans. Chilean scientists have received early reports of a similar plastic soup in the Southern Pacific near Antarctica.
In a previous post I discussed how we (as a society) are transitioning from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. This is beginning to become apparent in Australian public schools. Previously students would be directed by a teacher and approved text books as to what it was they needed to learn. The style of learning was rote learning. Students copied information from books or from a blackboard into their paper files using hand writing. These were hallmarks of learning in the industrial era.
We are currently transitioning to the information age. It's still not clear what the typical learning environment or school of the information age will look like, but we are already beginning to get some ideas. Certainly it will involve students using more of their own initiative to search for and select information from the plethora of sources offered by the internet. They will not just be able to copy verbatim from a book or the blackboard, but will have to critically evaluate the accuracy of information first. And when they record information, it won't just be ink on paper, but will be digital. This means that they will be able to use graphics, videos, and audio, as well as typed text to produce their own knowledge.
But where will they record this information?
I believe that student blogs will be one of the main repositories of student work and knowledge. Using blogs, students will be able to demonstrate to themselves and others how their learning has progressed and matured over time.
Blogs have many advantages to previous forms of student knowledge repositories (e.g.: the old lever arch file). Firstly they can easily be personalised (e.g.: the style and presentation of the blog can be customized to the student's personal preference). This is important because I believe that people need to feel a sense of ownership and take pride in their work.
One of the greatest advantages of blogs is that they are publicly available. This means that parents, teachers and friends can review student progress. Students can learn from one another by reading each other's blogs. And blogs can easily link to source information thereby providing a trail to the source of information. So blogs have many advantages and I'm now encouraging my students to start their own blogs and to record some of what they have learned and their assessments online on their blogs.
Here is a video explaining just what blogs are and how people can use them to communicate:
If you'd like to start your own blog you can go over to Blogger or Wordpress to start your own. Don't forget to include links to the blogs of your friends and classmates. In this way you'll create a community of bloggers who are sharing what they learn.
If you're a frequent web surfer like me, you'll inevitably come across the problem of where to save all the great links you come across. If you save them using your web browser's bookmarks, you'll soon find these bookmarks becoming cluttered and disorganised. And then if you're away from your computer you don't have access to them. There has to be a better way to organise your favourite links, right?
There is, and it's called social bookmarking. There are several sites sites (web applications) that offer this social bookmarking service. These social bookmarking sites allow you to save your favourite links and to organise them use tags. The reason they are social is because they are publicly available. This means you can access them when you're away from your computer, and so can your friends and colleagues.
You will notice in there is a block in the right hand side of this blog titled "my delicious links". This contains tags of sites that I've favourited using the Delicious social bookmarking service. You can also check out my bookmarks by going here. I'm encouraging all my students to use social bookmarking as a way of keeping track of useful and interesting sites they have visited. To find out more about social bookmarking and how to get started with Delicious, watch this excellent video from Common Craft first:
Now you know a bit about what Web 2.0 is, we can take another step. Important technological innovations in the past have changed the way that we think about the world and ourselves, and it has changed human social behaviour. For instance, the development of agriculture and domestication of animals allowed humans to produce more food, and this in turn caused a division of labour and the creation of larger settlements including towns and cities. The development of transoceanic shipping allowed people to move across the world and people from different cultures to come into contact and to trade with one another.
Today there are many technological innovations shaping our world and society. One of them are a group of technologies collectively referred to as Web 2.0. These are principally social networking technologies. For the first time in history we can quickly and easily connect with people anywhere in the world. For instance, businesses are finding customers in other parts of the world. Some people are even finding their ideal marriage partner from other parts of the world using Web 2.0 technologies to connect.
To find out more about social networking using Web 2.0 technologies and what this means to people, watch this video brought to you by Common Craft:
Most teenagers these days are very familiar with a variety of Web 2.0 applications which they use every day. But they may not be aware that these applications are amongst a new generation of web applications collectively referred to as "Web 2.0".
So what is Web 2.0?
Well, in the beginning, the World Wide Web (or just "web" for short), was a one way street. People, who usually possessed specialist programming skills constructed their web pages in HTML (hyper-text markup language) and posted them on their web servers. It was a one-way form of communication. Those who owned a web server could communicate with the rest of the world, but not the other way around.
Around 2003/2004 a new generation of web applications began to be developed (based on technologies like AJAX) that allowed web users to interact more easily and in a larger variety of ways with the site. This facilitated greater information sharing and communication. Sites like Wikipedia and Flickr are considered to be "Web 2.0" because the information on these sites was put their by the sites users, not only by the sites owners. It's easy to forget that some of the most popular Web 2.0 sites today - like MySpace and Facebook - are less than five years old!
Anyway, others can explain Web 2.0 better than I can, so here are a couple of videos (from the most successful Web 2.0 video sharing site YouTube) that will explain the concept in more detail.
Firstly, a video to give a clear definition from Utech:
Next a more animated video to give you a feel for what Web 2.0 is - but pay attention or you'll miss it!
I want to start 2008 by explaining a rather complicated historical concept. This is the notion of "ages" or "eras". An age or era is a period in human history characterized by broad categories of lifestyle, culture and technology. Whilst it's a rather simplistic way of categorizing history, we can think of history as having five major eras (so far!).
The Prehistoric Era The Prehistoric Era is so named because it was the era prior to the human invention of writing. Therefore there was no history recorded in writing (although it's important to remember that prehistoric tribes and communities did have oral histories - that is, that remembered their local histories and spread them from one generation to the next through telling stories orally). In this era technology was still very simple. Humans used stones, bones and other naturally occurring products as tools. There were no domesticated animals or crops. People lived in small bands or tribes and were hunters and gatherers. This means they lived directly off the land. When the food and water supply in one area depleted, they moved on to another area. The main source of energy for these people was food and human muscle.
The Ancient Era This is the era when agriculture began to be adopted on a large scale by many societies. Some of the earliest agricultural societies occurred in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan), the Ganges Valley (modern northern India), central China, the Aztec in central America, and around the Mediterranean, notably Greece and Rome (modern Italy). Farming allowed human communities to store food (known as a surplus). This meant also that not everyone needed to be involved in food production and allowed for some people to pursue specialized trades like for instance blacksmiths that made metal products. Early agricultural societies were responsible for the earliest forms of writing, and hence we have some written records from these ancient peoples.
Because agricultural societies had a surplus of food and specialization of labour, many people chose to settle in ever enlarging cities. These cities were the first in the world, but were not as big as today's metropolises. Because ancient people had access to and were able to work out how to domesticate certain animals (e.g.: horses, cows, chickens, pigs) and crops (e.g.: wheat, rice, barley, olives, potatoes, apples) they were able to increase the food supply and use animal power to increase their productivity. A horse or ox could plough more fields more quickly than a man. So animal power became more important than human power alone.
Industrial Era The Industrial Era began in northern Europe in the late 18th Century. It was brought about by the invention of machines and in particular the steam engine. The steam engine allowed humans to harness enormous amounts of energy deposited in coal to be used to power machines in factories that could produce far greater quantities of goods than ever before. Later the internal combustion engine, jet engine and nuclear reactor allowed humans to convert the energy in oil and uranium to be used to power larger machines, and to produce electricity. This much greater degree of production of food and goods led to an exponential increase in the human population. There was greater specialization of the work force and more urbanization (meaning more and more people came to work in cities in factories and stores instead of being farmers).
Where are we now? Currently we are living on the fuzzy boundary between two ages: the end of the industrial age and the beginning of the Information Age. The Information Age is still in formation so it's still not too easy to know what it will look like. But we can say a few things about it. Increasing use of complex technology is transforming society and leading to even greater specialization of the work force. Many of the jobs that are in demand today didn't even exist 30 or 40 years ago (e.g.: computer programmers, medical imagers, nanotech engineers, futures traders). Society is more complex than ever before. The Information Era is also the era of globalization. Instantaneous and ubiquitous communications to any part of the world is now available for virtually no cost via the internet (including VoIP telephony, email, instant messaging, teleconferencing).
Yet for the most part we're still using the same forms of energy. But this cannot continue for too long because we will soon run out of oil, then uranium, then coal. Already many societies are investing more in the production of renewable forms of energy. Indeed, renewable forms of energy will replace the non-renewable sources of energy used during the industrial era.
What does this mean to me? Well, you are living at a time of unprecedented technological change. There are many perils facing human civilization because the current world population cannot be sustained by the earth's limited resources. Pollution, resource depletion and climate change threaten the way we live and the prosperity we enjoy. Tough decisions and clever solutions are needed for us to continue living this way. But if we understand how we got here, and the nature of the challenges we face, we will be able to make the changes necessary to live in harmony with the earth and each other. Are you ready for this challenge?
I am a teacher in Perth, Western Australia and I've started this blog in order to start a conversation and share ideas with my students and anyone else out there that shares an interest in topics like climate change, peak oil & resource depletion, world history, alternative energy, internet and the WWW, global culture, and the changing patterns of work as we arrive at the threshold of either the Infromation Age or a New Dark Age.
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