Virtual Fieldtrip through the History of Technology
[ This worksheet was designed for use with this webpage ]
History of the Telephone
To start, you should be on the webpage called “The Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers”
(If you’re not, click here)
Click on Image 3 – The Scientific Notebook from 1876 (Click it again to make it full screen)
1) What is drawn in the picture?
2) Where was Mr. Watson during this experiment and what did he have with him?
3) What did Bell shout to Watson through the phone?
4) Did it work? Did Mr. Watson hear the message?
Now we’re done with this site, head back to the Virtual Fieldtrip Page
Next, watch the first video on the page, “Far Speak – The History of the Telephone”
5) What happened in 1878?
6) What was the loading coil?
7) What did the vacuum tube do for telephony?
8) What happened in 1915?
Finally, watch the last video on the page, “First Phone Call”
9) What did Bell spill on himself during the experiment?
10) Was Bell happy with his invention at the beginning?
All right, we’re done with this section, head over to the Audio Recording section!
History of the Audio Recording Industry
You should be at the page, “The History of the Edison Cylinder Phonograph”
(If you’re not, click here – All the answers are in the first paragraph)
11) What two machines was Edison working on which helped him create the phonograph?
12) What happened when you would speak into the mouthpiece of his original machine?
13) What was the first thing Edison recorded?
Now we’re done with this site, head back to the Virtual Fieldtrip Page
Check out the next paragraph on the page and then you’ll have some videos to watch.
14) What was the name of the first recording device?
15) What happened in 1877?
16) What happened in 1888?
17) What happened in 1948?
18) Where did tape recording come from?
19) What was the first step towards portable music?
20) When was the CD invented?
21) When was the MP3 invented?
Great work, now watch the second video!
As was briefly mentioned in the last video, Edison wasn’t the first to record sound. A
Frenchman by the name of Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville actually beat him by about
17 years. However, he had no way to listen to the recordings he made.
Watch the second video and when you’re done, head on to the Film section of our trip!
History of Film
You should be on the site “History of Edison Motion Pictures”
(If you’re not, click here)
22) What was a magic lantern?
23) What was the Zoopraxiscope?
24) What did Edison think of the Zoopraxiscope?
25) Who did most of the work inventing the Kinetoscope?
The next paragraph on our virtual fieldtrip page has a link to visit and you’ve got one question
about that page:
26) In your own words, describe how the Kinetescope worked (4 sentences).
Next on the page, you’ll find a video, “A Brief History of Film.” Please watch it while answering
these questions:
27) What was a Zoetrope?
28) Who invented the flexible film that Edison could use?
29) Who invented the projector that finally worked?
30) What was the first “movie?”
Watch the second video and when you’re done, head on to the Computer section!
History of Computers
You should be on the site “A History of the Computer”
(If you’re not, click here)
31) What was the Abacus? (Click on the link below the picture)
32) What was the Difference Engine? (Same page as the Abacus)
33) What was ENIAC built for? (Under the Transistor page)
34) Who was Doug Engelbart and what did he do?
35) How much did a minicomputer cost in the 1960s? (Same page as Engelbart)
36) What company invented the first 8-bit microprocessor? (Under the Apple II Page)
37) By 1980, which company had 50% of the personal computer market? (Under the Apple II Page)
Now we’re done with this page, head back to the Virtual Fieldtrip Page
While you’re watching the first video, answer the following question:
38) In your own words, how does a computer work? (5 sentences)
Next, watch the second video on the page and answer this question:
39) List 5 events (The date, the name of the event, and its importance) that are described in the video
(2 sentences each).
Finally, watch the last video on the page (you’ll need the information in them for your final
reflection) then head to our last page – The History of the Internet
The History of the Internet
For this section you should be on the page, “Internet History”
(If you’re not, click here)
40) For this section, please write a 5 sentence summary of each decade. Include dates and the 5 most
important events on each page.
The 1960s:
The 1970s:
The 1980s:
The 1990s:
Now we’re done with this page, head back to the Virtual Fieldtrip Page
41) While you’re watching the last video, “The History of the Internet,” write a 12-sentence
summary about what you learned.
And you’re done! Nice work! Email me this worksheet and you’re all finished.