200 years, 200 countries, 4 minutes

Our inquiry focus at the moment is significant things that have shaped us into who we are. There have been significant changes in the world over the last 200 years that have shaped us all. The world has changed a lot. We are also looking at statistics in maths and on Friday we spent some time looking at scatter graphs. Modern technology is making the communication of statistics more fascinating and easier to understand. Here is a really interesting and powerful representation of changes to our world over the last 200 years. It is amazing to see the changes resulting from the industrial revolution. Enjoy.

Industrial revolution

Planes, computers, skyscrapers, tanks, plastics, electronics, lawn mowers, spaceships - all things that wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution is when the invention of machines and factories changed the world. The majority of the world lived rural and were involved in agriculture or small scale business. Everything changed including world population, where people lived, what people could afford, and what people did. There is nothing that has shaped the world in the last 200 years more than the industrial revolution.

The students started off by watching some of the London 2012 Olympic games opening ceremony. Britain is where the industrial revolution started and as part of the ceremony did a big show about it. They have watched other videos, read articles, and are preparing to write an article about the industrial revolution. The students have looked into one of the early inventions which bought major change. You can look out for these presentations on their own blogs.

Globalization

We have taken a fascinating look into globalization - what it is, its influence on the world, and the advantages and disadvantages of it. It was fascinating and surprising to look at all the products we import and export. We definitely are interconnected with other countries. There are definite advantages, like more people being able to afford things,but there are also a number of disadvantages, such as the loss of cultures, local jobs, and environmental damage. What will the future look like? What will be the consequences of further globalization? Are we too connected to other countries? All interesting questions to ponder.