How Did Thomas Edison Get That Light Bulb Over His Head?

An Internet WebQuest on Thomas Alva Edison

created by Stuart Partin

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge/ Research/ Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Introduction

Thomas Edison was and is widely accepted as being one of the greatest inventors in the world, but why did he invent his inventions? Was it money? Pure innovation? To fill a quota? When you complete this Webquest, you will find out.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

The Task

Your task for this Webquest is to answer the question: "Did Thomas Edison's life influence his inventions?" You will accomplish this task by researching Thomas Edison's life and inventions, and then preparing a presentation on this topic.

The Process

In this Webquest, four people will be working together. You will divide up into 2 biographers and 2 invention researchers and learn as much as you can about those topics. (If you have fewer than 4 people, then you can take on the roles of more than one part.) Then you all will collaborate and try to find a common link between his life and his inventions.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Background Knowledge:

Everyone must read these two biographies of Thomas Edison and his inventions to gain some rudimentary background knowledge before you go deeper into your topics.

Edison, Thomas Alva- An Encarta Encyclopedia Entry - 5 page Encarta entry about Edison's early and adult life, as well as some of his inventions
Biography.com's Biography of Edison, Thomas(Alva) - Relatively short overview of life and inventions.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Research For Task

Instructions:

1. Each member now must pick one of the following roles, making sure there is only one member per one role. If there are three people doing this Webquest, have one person be either an all-around invention researcher or an all-around biographer, taking on the roles of both team members of a certain part. If there are two people doing this Webquest, then one will be an all-around biographer and one will be an all-around invention researcher. If there is one person doing this Webquest, then he or she will do all of the roles.

2. Research the sites provided according to your specific directions.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Biographers

Biographer of Early Years

Biographer of Adult Years

Study the following sites, the background knowledge sites, and maybe some of your own in order to learn about Thomas Edison's early life up to when he was 25. Make notes of the events you consider to be important to both his life and the main task. Study the following sites, the background knowledge sites, and maybe some of your own in order to learn about Thomas Edison's adult years from 26 years old to his death. Make notes of the events you consider to be important to both his life and the main task.

Edison Public School - Very detailed biography of Thomas Edison. Goes into much more detail of his early life as well as his adult life.
Timeline of Edison's Life - Very long timeline of important events in his life. Is continued by clicking the link 1879-1931.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Patent Researcher # 1

Study the following sites on the phonograph, the light bulb, and the kinetoscope/kinetograph. Prepare notes about the inventions, how they work, and anything else that you feel relates to the main task.

How to Make a Phonograph - Step-by-step instructions to make a phonograph that functions very similarly to the one Edison made. (NOTE: Because of the possible danger involved, I just recommend looking and not doing.)
How a Phonograph Works - Brief description of how Edison's phonograph works.
How to Make a Light bulb - Step-by-step process of making a light bulb of your own. (NOTE: Because of the possible danger involved, I just recommend looking and not doing.)
Did Thomas Edison Invent the Light bulb? - Interesting article saying that Thomas Edison didn't invent the first light bulb!
History of Edison Motion Pictures - Details invention of movie cameras and projectors by Edison.
Cyber Film School - Sidebar contains info on the kinetoscope and the kinetograph.
Encarta Encyclopedia Entry on 'Motion Pictures, History of...' - Tells some info about the kinetoscope down in I-B.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Patent Researcher # 2

You need to research some of Thomas Edison's less known inventions. Seeing as he has more than 1,000 patents, you shouldn't have any trouble finding interesting ones. Using the sites below, pick 3 inventions that are not the ones that patent researcher # 1 is doing. Then, look at the patents for them (You need Adobe Acrobat Reader, the link is on the second site) and tell about the inventions and how they work. You might want to use some of your own websites in addition to these once you find the inventions you want.

Patent List - Complete (1,093) list of US patents obtained by Thomas Edison. Find what little-known invention you want here, then go to the next site to find the patents themselves!
Thomas Edison's Patents - Once you found which inventions you want to research, go here and scroll down to the bottom to find PDF files of the actual United States patents filed by Thomas Edison.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Final Project

Now, compile all of your information in a discussion group. Try to look for common bonds between Thomas Edison's inventions and his life, and draw conclusions from them in order to find out if and how Thomas Edison's life influenced his inventions. As a final project, make either a PowerPoint presentation or a short play outlining both your information gathered and your answer to the main task.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Real World Feedback

Now, you will E-mail me your project. If it is a Powerpoint, E-mail me the presentation as an attachment, but if you made a play, E-mail me the script.
Your Contact is: Stuart Partin

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Rubric

	A	B	C	D	F
Early Biography	Great information, goes beyond listed sites, no cut-and-paste, no grammar and spelling mistakes.	Good information, has a lot of information, no cut-and-paste, few grammar and spelling mistakes.	Mediocre information, neglects some facts, so-so grammar and spelling, and little cut-and-paste, but cites sources appropriately.	Is mostly cut-and-paste, bad grammar and spelling, and/or has some important information.	Is almost all cut-and-paste, horrible grammar and spelling, and/or left out much important information.
Adult Biography	Great information, goes beyond listed sites, no cut-and-paste, no grammar and spelling mistakes.	Good information, has a lot of information, no cut-and-paste, few grammar and spelling mistakes.	Mediocre information, neglects some facts, so-so grammar and spelling, and little cut-and-paste, but cites sources appropriately.	Some cut-and-paste, bad grammar and spelling, and/or has some important information.	Is almost all cut-and-paste, horrible grammar and spelling, and/or left out much important information.
Invention Researcher # 1	Shows very good understanding of inventions, no cut-and-paste, no grammar and spelling mistakes.	Shows good understanding of inventions, no cut-and-paste few grammar and spelling mistakes.	Shows some understanding of inventions, so-so grammar and spelling, little cut-and-paste, but cites sources appropriately.	Shows little understanding of inventions, is mostly cut-and-paste, and/or bad grammar and spelling.	Doesn't show understanding of inventions at all, almost all cut-and-paste, and/or researched wrong inventions.
Invention Researcher # 2	Shows very good understanding of inventions, no cut-and-paste, no grammar and spelling mistakes.	Shows good understanding of inventions, no cut-and-paste few grammar and spelling mistakes.	Shows some understanding of inventions, so-so grammar and spelling, little cut-and-paste, but cites sources appropriately.	Shows little understanding of inventions, is mostly cut-and-paste, and/or bad grammar and spelling.	Doesn't show understanding of inventions at all, almost all cut-and-paste, and/or researched wrong inventions.
Final Project	Gave a lot of thought to the task, real world feedback really liked it, used research as a large majority of the evidence, and the parts of the project mesh together as a whole.	Gave thought to the task, real world feedback liked it, used research as at least half of the evidence, the project mostly meshes together as a whole.	Gave some thought to the task, submitted to real world feedback, used some research as evidence, some parts of project mesh as a whole, but some don't.	Didn't give much thought to the task, real world feedback got only a partial/shoddy work, didn't use much research as evidence, and/or parts of project do not flow into one another.	Didn't show thoughtful answer to the task, neglected to complete real world feedback, did not use research as evidence, and/or parts of project do not mesh together as a whole.

Intro / Task / Process/ Background Knowledge / Research / Early Biographer/ Adult Biographer/ Patent Researcher 1/ Patent Researcher 2/ Final Project/ Real World Feedback/ Rubric/ Conclusion

Conclusion

True genius comes from many sources, as you have probably learned from completing this Webquest. In addition, you all have also learned much about Thomas Alva Edison's life and his inventions.

Genius takes a lot out of you...

Content by Stuart Partin, spartin@pinecrest.edu
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/webthomasast.html
Format from Filamentality

Thomas Edison picture from Microsoft Encarta at: http://encarta.msn.com/find/MediaMax.asp?pg=3&ti=761563582&idx=461540052

Light bulb from Microsoft Clipart Gallery

Phonograph picture from http://freeweb.pdq.net/headstrong/phono.htm

Another Edison picture from: http://www.minot.k12.nd.us/mps/edison/edison/edison.html

"Sneeze" movie by Edison Pictures; animation from http://www.cyberfilmschool.com/mschool/2_history/birth_cinema.htm

Edison w/ phonograph picture from: http://encarta.msn.com/find/MediaMax.asp?pg=3&ti=761563582&idx=461551269

Kinetoscope Parlours picture from: http://www.nmpft.org.uk/insight/onexhib_cin.asp

Telephone picture from: http://encarta.msn.com/find/MediaMax.asp?pg=3&ti=761563582&idx=461551270

Lightbulb picture from: http://encarta.msn.com/find/MediaMax.asp?pg=3&ti=761563582&idx=461551268

Final Edison picture from: http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=14518