This artifact basically features five destinations for a vacation in 19th century America. The artifact is in the link below.
http://humanitiesc2a1.blogspot.com/
Reflection:
This artifact relates to the topic of Invention, Ingenuity, and Entrepreneurship, because the idea of a travel company relates strongly to business and entrepreneurship. This artifact can also relate to the topics of HUman Movement and Migration, as well as Communication and Transport Revolution, since the tour goes across the whole United States, making use of revolutionary transport methods that had been invented at the time. I chose to work with Neil and Konig simply because it was much easier and more effective to have more people working in tan artifact like this. Instead of making a real 19th century travel agency, I decided to use the idea of traveling back in time because it removed many limitations on time. By using the idea of traveling back in time, we can also use presentation methods like websites and online maps, all of which are more effective presentation methods for online portfolios. Overall, I learned quite a few things. For one, I learned a lot about notable destinations and their histories in America. I also learned about 19th century entertainment, fashion, and transportation. This artifact turned out pretty well, but it certainly wasn't my very best work. For one, it didn't turn out to be quite as magnificent as the goal I had in mind. However, I don't really mind this, because I think that the differences from what I had in mind also has to do with the fact that working in groups always leaves lots of space for compromise. Overall, I spent around 3 hours working on this artifact. It took so long because this particular artifact is very lengthy, and contains a broader range of topics than the other artifacts. Overall, I would give this artifact a 1 for enjoyment, because although some of the destinations were very interesting to learn about, to the point where I wanted to visit them, there were some complications with the technology I was using that really frustrated me. It gets a 3 for originality, since I feel that our way of presenting the places is unique and shows individuality. It gets a 3 fro impact on portfolio, since the website of the travel company itself is fun to explore, with lots of information, visuals, and entertainment related items. Its gets a 3 for impact on learning, since because of its lengthy nature, this artifact taught me a lot. However, it was more of a starting point. Even though there were lots of things I learned, I didn't really make connections.
Artifact 4: Gapminder Analysis
Gapminder Analysis: United States
Analysis 1: Gapminder USA
For this Analysis, as you can see from the snapshots, I decided to use a gapminder map, since it was the most effective and straightforward way to present westward expansion. This is a map of the US United States US Louisiana , Arkansas , Missouri , Illinois , Indiana , and Michigan US Iowa and Wisconsin California , Oregon , Washington , and Utah , which are all to the farther west regions of America Colorado , Montana , and Wyoming
One thing that surprised me was that even though the Civil War took place (1863-1866), the Westward expansion did not halt. I think that this was because even though the Civil War destroyed traditional economies and lifestyles, it allowed for industrialization to expand. For one, it lead to the eventual abolishment of slavery, leading the way for an economy that was not agriculturally based.
Analysis 2: Life Expectancy vs. Income Per person
The general trend is that the US US US America America had yet to become a gigantic world power like Britain or France America US America
Analysis 3: Life expectancy vs. Children per woman
In this graph, there are very few fluctuations and the path of the US North America was steadily improving in economy and social/political stability. In a more detailed explanation, the birth rates fell due to advances in industry, the growth of the city, increasing women’s rights, and a technology based economy. These stats reflect that the industrial revolution had moved to contain the US , and not just Great Britain Great Britain and the United States US was greatly influenced by Great Britain US and ideas such as growing women’s rights were all influenced by Great Britain US
Reflection:
This artifact relates to the world through a telescope, since it uses states in a visual way so that it is as if you are looking at places from a far-off perspective, as if using a telescope. It can also relate to communication and transport revolution, because a lot of this artifact focuses on westward expansion, which could only have happened with transport revolution. I chose these topics because they had stats from the 19th century, and reflected a lot of information from the topics I wanted to focus on. I spent around 2 hours creating this artifact and organizing it. This artifact reflects some of my best works and ideas, as I feel like I made some pretty good inferences from the graphs based on the limited knowledge i had of America at the time. I also feel like I did better in this analysis than in my last gapminder analysis. This artifact gives a 3 for impact on portfolio since I believe that gapminder analyses make people think and make connections. It gets a 3 for level of enjoyment since I think that making connections and deductions was exciting (almost felt like Sherlock Holmes for an instant!). It gets a 3 for level of learning, since I learned a lot about analyzing data and about the consequences of events that took place in 19th century America. It gets 1 2 for originality, since all the ideas are original ones that come from my own unique perspective. However, I could have made some more personal connections.
Artifact 5: OPVL
Massacre at Wounder Knee
Check out the primary source here: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm
Origin:
This primary source is an eyewitness account made by Philip Wells, a mixed-blood Sioux who served as the Army’s interpreter. His Sioux blood came from his grandmother. Philip Wells was born on December 5, 1850 while his parents were on a trading expedition. He learned to read and write the Sioux language while living in Minnesota Minnesota in 1875 and went to the Dakota Territory where he then became an interpreter for General George A. Custer, and enlisted in the United States Army as an Indian Scout until 1880.This eyewitness account was recorded and written in the book North Dakota History, Volumes 14-15. North Dakota History is a series of volumes recording the history of North Dakota North Dakota , and edited by a history professor in the University of North Dakota
Purpose:
This eyewitness account exists because it was part of an investigation done by Army officials to the details of the Massacre of Wounded Knee shortly after the battle. The author of North Dakota History probably chose to record the account exactly as it was because it provided perspective from a person who actually participated in the battle. Wells gave this account in order to make clear the events that lead to the Massacre of Wounded Knee. The account itself is very simple and straightforward, but there are still underlying facts that can be found from this article. For one, it gives information about the underlying misunderstandings, prejudice, and tension going on between the American Army and the Sioux tribe. This account even implies that the battle was unnecessary and caused by a series of misunderstandings. For example, the part “Whitside then said to me, 'Tell the Indians it is necessary that they be searched one at a time.' The young warriors paid no attention to what I told them.”, had the young warriors not taken up their weapons, the battle might have been prevented. However, underlying tensions and inadequate communication led to them attacking the Army soldiers.
Value:
From this article, we can tell that Philip wasn’t particularly biased towards either side of the battle, and had a generally neutral stance. However, we can also tell that in the battle, he was on the side of the Americans, and did not know a lot about the Sioux way of life even though he had descended from them. This piece can also tell a lot about what was going on at the time, as it shows the animosity between the Native Americans and the white people. We can also tell that the Native Americans felt very suppressed and believed they had the right to the land taken by the white people from their inferences to the “Ghost Dance”. The ghost dance was a part of a religion or belief that began to surface among Native American tribes at the time that spoke of a place where they would have their land back. The belief is brought up in the section “During this time a medicine man, gaudily dressed and fantastically painted, executed the maneuvers of the ghost dance, raising and throwing dust into the air”. This article, as mentioned earlier, reveals controversies about conflicts in the beliefs about lifestyle, religion, and land ownership going on between the Army and the Sioux people. From the author’s words, we can tell that he was on the American side of the event. For example, Philip said that “I was interpreting for General Forsyth”, and Forsyth was from the Army. This piece accurately reflects the causes and details of strife that often occurred between the native tribes of America
Limitations:
The content of this article can be verified with other books recounting the massacre of Wounded Knee . Some of these books include Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown, Eyewitnesses at Wounded Knee , by Richard Jensen, and The Last Days of the Sioux Nation, by Robert M. Utley. This piece does not give some information, though. For example, the piece itself doesn’t really explain the events and historical background of things that lead up to this battle. For example, this piece doesn’t talk about what ghost dancing was, or about why the army was investigating the Sioux tribe for weapons in the first place. This article also does not say how the battle ended, since Philip was taken away to have his injuries treated. The article gives a good and accurate account of the Massacre at Wounded Knee , but a better understanding of it and of the situation at the time would require more additional research. This account also does not have any more emotional or detailed descriptions, since it was an eyewitness account.
Reflections:
This artifact relates to the topic of Race Relations, since the Massacre at Wounded Knee resulted from misunderstandings and negative relations between two races. I made this evaluation at home, and spent around two hours on it. Most of the two hours was actually spent researching, since the origins of this article weren't clear. In creating this artifact, I learned a lot about US relations with the native americans, and how the US viewed them as barbarians. I also began to be aware of the third side of America that was rarely mentioned-the plight of the Native Americans. This artifact doesn't reflect my very best work, as I feel that my analyses weren't as organized as they should be. However, I did get the felling that my OPVL this time is better than the one I did in case study 1. Overall, I would give this artifact a 2 on enjoyment, since although the information was interesting and inspirational, I have yet to completely appreciate the merits of primary source analyses. I would give it a 3 for impact on learning, since it widened my understanding of 19th century america and Native American life. This artifact gets a 2 for impact on portfolio, since although it offers some interesting perspective and information, I think that there are more interesting and effective ways of presenting this information than using an OPVL (such as using a prezi or poster). Finally, it gets a 3 on originality, since although the ideas were all coming from my own individual perspective, I think that they lacked voice.
Reflections:
This artifact relates to the topic of Race Relations, since the Massacre at Wounded Knee resulted from misunderstandings and negative relations between two races. I made this evaluation at home, and spent around two hours on it. Most of the two hours was actually spent researching, since the origins of this article weren't clear. In creating this artifact, I learned a lot about US relations with the native americans, and how the US viewed them as barbarians. I also began to be aware of the third side of America that was rarely mentioned-the plight of the Native Americans. This artifact doesn't reflect my very best work, as I feel that my analyses weren't as organized as they should be. However, I did get the felling that my OPVL this time is better than the one I did in case study 1. Overall, I would give this artifact a 2 on enjoyment, since although the information was interesting and inspirational, I have yet to completely appreciate the merits of primary source analyses. I would give it a 3 for impact on learning, since it widened my understanding of 19th century america and Native American life. This artifact gets a 2 for impact on portfolio, since although it offers some interesting perspective and information, I think that there are more interesting and effective ways of presenting this information than using an OPVL (such as using a prezi or poster). Finally, it gets a 3 on originality, since although the ideas were all coming from my own individual perspective, I think that they lacked voice.
Artifact 6: Idea Page
This artifact relates to the topic of Human Movements and MIgration, since it explores the motivation and consequences of the Civil War, which was a human movement. I spent around half an hour in class making this idea page, and another 15 minutes at home processing it. Whilte making this artifact, I learned about many important concepts and ideas about the Civil War, and connected it modern events and people today. This artifact doesn't reflect my very best works. However, it is probably the best idea page I have so far-it's simple, and yet it says a lot, and has ideas that man a lot to me. Overall, I would give this artifact a 3 on enjoyment, since the video I based this idea page off was very interesting, and I enjoyed drawing the picture in the second page. It gets a 2 on level of learning, because even though I didn't actually learn many solid facts, I gained important understandings on not only the war, but human nature. It gets a 2 for impact on portfolio since although the picture and content is interesting, I could have included a bit more illustrations and made the notes neater. Finally, it gets a 4 on originality, since it contains a lot of my voice-my ideas and beliefs and personal connections are all in the idea page.
Artifact 7: Google Sketch-up: Making a Civil War Battleground
This google sketch up scene features Fort Ward. Download it Using the link below!
http://www.mediafire.com/?b4ckb421vk25tyk
A bit about Fort Ward:
The Union fearing a Confederate attack on Washington, DC after the Union defeat at Manassas in July 1861, increased their efforts to secure the national capital. Due to this, a system of 164 forts and batteries along 37 miles was eventually completed. These defenses, only attacked in the summer of 1864, were in all likelihood too difficult for the Confederates to capture by siege or by storm. Fort Ward, a part of this system, protecting Alexandria, Virginia, was completed in September 1861 and enlarged by late 1864 to hold 36 guns along an 818 yard perimeter.
For more background information, visit this website!
Reflection:
This artifact relates to the balance of powers, since it relates to the Civil War, a battle in which powers would shift within a Nation. I chose to do a google sketchup on Fort Ward because among the many battlegrounds I found, this one was the best for presenting in a google sketch up-it wasn't too complicated or boring, and was suitable for a beginning sketchup user like me. I spent around 3 to 4 hours working on the artifact at home. This was mainly because I was very bad at using sketchup in the beginning, and my work progress was considerably slowed. While making this artifact, I learned some of the more comlplicated parts of wars, such as strategy and supplies. This in turn made me think about and learn about the causes for the North's victory in the Civil War. This artifact doesn't reflect my best work, since I'm still a beginner with sketchup. However, i think I did the best I could given the situation, and am overall satisfied with my artifact. I would give this artifact a 0 on enjoyment, since I personally really disliked using google sketch-up, finding it very restrictive and confusing. I'm hoping, though, that I will come to enjoy making sketch-ups more as I get familiar with the program. It gets a 2 on level of learning, since I actually didn't learn about many specific or key events in the Civil War, although the sketch-up increased my understanding of the Civil War in some areas. It gets a 3 on impact on portfolio, since it adds variety and is a good alternative to all the other writing based artifacts I have. It gets a 1 on originality, as due to my unfamiliarity with google sketch up, I wasn't really on the level of adding personal touches to my model yet.
Artifact 8: Free Choice: Book of Poems
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| picture of the book |
Page 1: Walt Whitman, Dirge for Two Veterans
This poem is from Leaves of Grass, and is basically a poem describing a sad and painful procession in which two war veterans, son and father, are buried together. I chose this poem because I like how Whitman's poems don't take any particular side in war; rather, he seeks to speak a deeper part of people that is fundamentally the same no matter what side of a war the person is on. Whitman's perspective in this poem is unique compared to many other Civil War poems, and in a way, his perspective is very similar to ours, because just as he is looking at both sides of a war, we, as students, are trying to study both sides of the Civil War and find our perspective on it.
Page 2:Paul Laurence Dunbar, We Wear the Mask and Sympathy
These two poems show the perspective of an African American slave. Personally, I really liked both of these poems a great deal both for the meanings it held, and the inspirational and beautiful writing. The first poem, we wear the mask, was a really great poem in my opinion because it expressed the grief, frustration, sadness of the African Americans more vividly and realistically than any of the other poems I could find. The poem gave me a greater understanding of what their lives were like; the slaves weren't just confined or restricted. Rather they had to hide their pain and anger behind a mask of contentment to survive in a racial society. This poem also reflects the fact that the white men did not see slaves as humans; they didn't try to see the expression behind these "masks". In the next poem, Sympathy, Dunbar compares himself to a caged bird, and writes about how he can empathize and sympathize with the bird. This poem was very inspirational to me because of the way in which is captured the slaves' desire for freedom, and the risks they had to go through in order to achieve that freedom. This poem is also great because it doesn't just speak to African Americans. It reflects one of humankind's most basic desires-a desire to be free. In this way, it captured the perspective of many people involved in the American Civil War.
Page 3: John Pierpont, I Would Not Live Always
I chose this poem because it was written by an abolitionist, and I felt that an abolitionist's perspective would be interesting. I often wondered what drove the abolitionists to do what they did for slaves. Today, the idea of helping races reach equality seems to be little more than common sense. However, back then, Pierpont would have grown up thinking that having slaves was normal. This poem helped me understand to a better extent what drove people back then to fight against or for slavery. In the poem I would Not Live Always, I can see how much Pierpont feels for the slaves, to the point that he even began to feel their suffering. It also seemed to me that he was burdened by his beliefs to help the slaves. He could not stand just sitting and watching as people were unjustly mistreated.
Page 4: Emily Dickinson, Death leaves us homesick, who behind, and the bustle in the house
These two poems, written by Emily Dickinson, reflects yet another perspective of the American Civil War- a woman's perspective. I think that these two poems really reflect how women in the 19th century must have felt during the Civil War. Women back then didn't fight-they normally stayed home, removed from the war itself. These two poems reflect that, as they talk about how women felt lonely or empty after the death of their loved ones. However, compared to the last few poems, there are no ideals or purposes behind these deaths, as the women, in my opinion, didn't view deaths as sacrifices or contributions to a war, but just as sad events. The second poem, the bustle in the house, also shows how women often lived a life without a husband after their husbands died, and never moved on.
Page 5: My own poem on the Native American Perspective
I basically wrote this poem because I feel that a native american perspective was necessary in understanding the civil war, and yet I couldn't find any records left by the Native Americans from during the time of the Civil War. The Native American perspective is important because it shows that was can't be justified, no matter how great the ideals behind it. The Civil War was fought for freedom for the people, and yet at the same time the war was being fought, Native Americans were still being driven out of their lands. Well, this is my poem. I hope you like it! I haven't written anything remotely like a poem since seventh grade English, so please feel free to offer suggestions on how I can improve it.
Grandfathers,
Look at our brokenness,
Look at what the world has become.
Look at how the human race has strayed from the right path
In a way no other creatures in all creation have done
Look at how we are divided and broken
How our sweat and tears fall and make a river
For we are weary beyond measure.
The river of tears flows from our hearts
Washing out our memories of freedom
Of the wind and the eagle and the buffalo
It carries us to new fields of sadness and despair
Where the trees are gone, and not a soul flies in the air.
But the trees will grow, and the animals will follow
Grandfathers,
Teach us love and happiness
So that we may move on,
So that we may heal each other,
So that we may heal our children
and so that we may heal the earth.
Reflection:
This artifact relates to the topic of human expression through the arts, since poetry was a way of people back then and today to express their opinions and perspective regarding certain ideas or events. I chose to do an artifact on poetry since poetry was, to me, a great way of showing American perspectives during the Civil War, and we focused a lot on perspectives in class. I decided to use the idea of a book because I had just made a book cover for an English project, and enjoyed working on it. I spend around two hours working on this artifact, and my work process mainly centered around looking for poems, making the book cover, and giving short analyses on the poems. Overall, this artifact doesn't actually reflect my very best work. Giving a few extra hours to work on this artifact, I would devote them to improving the detail and quality of the decorations, assembling more poems, and giving more in depth analyses. Overall, this artifact gets a 3 for level of enjoyment, since I enjoyed making the book, and really liked some of the poems I chose. It gets a 3 for level of learning, since I learned about both the perspectives of people related to the civil war and American culture, and also gained a more wholesome understanding of the motive behind actions regarding the Civil War. It gets a 2 for originality, since even though I wrote a poem of my own, it was in a Native American perspective, and not in my own perspective. Finally, it gets a 3 on impact on portfolio, since I think that the poems widened the variety of enjoyable works of art in my portfolio. If anything, I would have wanted to scan the pages of the book and actually put them up (when I tired using a camera, the pages were unclear and unreadable).
Artifact 9: Free Choice: Poster on Democracy and Freedom
This is a poster on Freedom and Democracy in the 19th century and today.
Reflection:
This artifact relates to the topic of the human mind, since the ideal of freedom and the system of democracy all developed out of human beliefs and wishes. This poster can also relate to creation of the nation-state, Race Relations, Gender Roles, Human Movement and Migration, and human expression through the arts, since the poster is about freedom and democracy, and these topics all have elements of that. I chose to make this poster after Mr. Kinzer told us to prepare for our final exams by designing a poster. The idea of doing something like that really excited me. I started thinking about how we might not actually be making posters for the exam, and how we were limited in time, and began thinking about how it would be a pity if I couldn't make the poster I had in mind. With these thoughts in mind, I decided to actually make the poster as an artifact! I chose to draw a picture of a native american and a black woman because I feel that their the roles of african americans, native americans, and women in 19th century america really symbolized the fight for freedom. On top, I decided to arrange the words into a butterfly, because it reflects my cultural background. To many Asians, a butterfly is an ultimate symbol of freedom, This belief is strong in my dad, so naturally, it is also my belief. In creating this artifact, I learned about American events in the 19th century such as the civil war and the underground railroad. Most importantly, I managed to gain a better understanding of all the things we have learned for case study two, and connect these things together. I think that I really did the vest I could for this poster. I spent 4-5 hours making it, and overall, I think that this is a type of work that I have never really tried before, but have succeeded in doing (of course, I think that with experience, I could still make a much better poster). I would give give it a 5 on enjoyment, because although it was hard making this poster, i never really disliked doing it, and the satisfaction I felt after completing this poster was great, if anything. It gets a 3 for impact on portfolio, since although I think that the poster came out really well, the picture is a bit small (the actual poster is about 8 pieces of A4 paper sized), and the words are hard to read. It gets a 4 for level of learning, since in making this artifact, I gained a crucial understanding of the American Dream, and a 4 for originality, since I sincerely feel that I managed to creatively express and depict information in an interesting way.
Artifact 10: Free Choice: Playing Star Spangled Banner on the Flute
Reflection:
This artifact mainly relates to the topic of Nationalism and Liberalism: Creation of the Nation-State. The Star Spangled Banner is basically a song created in the spirit of the American people and their identity as a nation. Therefore, I think that the topic is very suitable. I chose to do something music based for this artifact because when looking through my case study 2, I found that i had very little videos. I personally think that music is a beautiful and effective way to express ideas, as it is a form of art that speaks to anybody and everybody. I chose to play the flute because it is the only instrument I can play, and I felt that it would be an interesting experience to put my music up online, since I've only ever really played the flute for my teacher and my family. While playing this, I learned a bit about the history of the Star Spangled Banner. That was certainly a valuable experience, as although I have known about the song itself for many years, I've never really taken the time to appreciate it and learn its history. I made this artifact at home, and it took me around an hour in total; half an hour finding the song and researching it, 20 minutes playing it, and another 10 minutes editing my video. This artifact doesn't actually present my best work. Even though I feel that I did a nice job playing this song, I think that I could have added more expression to it. This song was also a bit easy, and not as grand as it should have been because I didn't have any piano accompaniment. Given more time, I would add more videos with different songs that reflect America as a nation. Over the rest of the month, I'm planning to add "Stars and Stripes Forever" and possibly "Fifty-Nifty United States" (the last one is just for fun). Overall, I would give this artifact a 4 for enjoyment, since playing music is almost always an enjoyment for me. I would give it 3 for impact on portfolio, because it gives my portfolio variety. However, I think that I could have made the video more pleasing to look at. I would give it a 2 on learning, since even though I learned a bit about the Star Spangled Banner, this artifact didn't make me think on the level I did with the other ones. It gets a 3 on originality, since I think that music is something more personal and is different and original with every person.
Artifact 11: Timeline on History of 19th century America using both a White man's and a native American's perspective.
This artifact gives an overview of two perspectives of Westward Expansion. I mainly tried to show the events that took place, such as the Battle at Wounded Knee and the building of the transcontinental Railroad to focus on Native American perspective.
timeline of america on Prezi
Reflection
This Rtifact relates to the topic of Globalization through imperialism, because I mainly tried to depict American Westward expansion not as a fulfillment of dreams, but a series of imperialistic actions. I chose to once again focus on the Native Americans because recently, my dad showed me a few TED videos and National Geographic articles that made me think a lot about the difficulties Native Americans faced and still faced today. After watching Dances With Wolves, I also became fascinated by Native American culture. I also wanted to do a timeline, and yet I wanted to do a unique timeline that had more than just simple facts. Overall, I spent roughly 2 hours on this artifact, mainly researching to add to my knowledge after watching the TED video. While making this artifact, I learned about a lot of shocking things that had a great impact on my perspective of america in the 19th century. Even though the artifact itself isn't lengthy, I feel that in this artifact, I learned more than I did in many of the artifacts, such as the Travel Company. This artifact reflect some of my pretty high level work; I feel that I made very good use of certain technologies like Prezi. Overall, I would give it a 4 for enjoyment, since I learned a lot of extremely interesting things and I was already interested in Native American life. It gets a 3 for learning, since as I mentioned earlier, I learned a lot of new and interesting things. It gets a 3 for impact on portfolio, since this is my first artifact for case study two that uses prezi, and I think that prezis are very effective for visual and information enhancement. Finally, it gets a 4 on originality, since I think that my way of using a timeline is unique, and I showed my perspective on the events I included.
America and the Guilded Age
Captains of Industry vs. Robber Barons
Teach yourself all about the Captains/Robbers in this website! http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/industrial-age-america-robber-barons-and-captains-industry
Political Machines and the Spoil System
Trusts vs. Monopolies
America and the Guilded Age
Captains of Industry vs. Robber Barons
Teach yourself all about the Captains/Robbers in this website! http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/industrial-age-america-robber-barons-and-captains-industry
Political Machines and the Spoil System
Trusts vs. Monopolies
