Digital Nation blog

This world is far to technology based for anyone to become detached. I see technology as addictive, because once you use it, it hard to stop. For example, in the documentary there are children who have to take medication because they are addicted to their electronic games. It is crazy because literally the world is being taking over by technology. Our dependence on technology has come to the point to make us as humans lazy. I say that because a child should not be stuck in the house playing video games, they should be outside running and playing on the playground. Also technology brings laziness because everyone looks to it to get simple things done instead of doing it themselves. I also think with the need and want for technology is making human minds slower because there is no brain stimulation or thinking process since everything can be done now with a click of a button.

Though the utilization of technology has made us dependent on it, what it brings is far more than its downfall. For example, everything is faster in the world, and with fast actions come fast results. So by using technology people are able to get things done quicker and more efficiently. Also with technology it is easier to keep in contact with other people or to socialize with individuals that a person does not even know. It advances the world because new things and new discoveries are always being found from the usage of technology. So people cannot really say it is totally destructive, because if one really looks at it, technology has helped us as a whole.

I qualify with the assumption of my generation being the “wired generation.” Yes, we might use technology almost all the time but, most times we don’t know how to use it or what’s the significance to using it. Young adults always have a form of technology around them, whether it is a cellphone, a computer or anything else. We have grown up with it so we do not know anything else but technology. However, to say that we are the “wired generation” is a faulty generalization. Just the other day I came across a young man who did not know how to use something technology based. It was to advance for him to get a grip of so he just said forget about it and did something simpler. So again, it is not totally true that our generation is wired.

Engineering an Empire: Persia

The Persian Empire was once the strongest and the largest empires the ancient world has ever encountered. The Persian Empire was an unstoppable empire at its prime because its industrialization. It manufactures, various land marks with its expansion. For example, as the empire started to grow it began to build roadways and different links so that its conquered land can come together. As it grew it became a rival to Greece which ultimately led to its downfall because of all of the wars.

            The greatest king that the Persian Empire had was known by Cyrus. This King made the ancient civilization of Persia flourish because of his different tactics. For example, he destroyed and crushed all rivals, allowed different religion and built one of the best militaries the ancient era has ever witnessed. After Cyrus died his son Darius I gained control and started to expand Persia even further. With Darius’s new expansion Persia started to become wealthy, because he too also built buildings and had a work force just as his father.

            With King Darius’s expansion the Persian Empire grew its boarders to a size raging from modern day Iran to India. He also was responsible for the connection between the Red and the Mediterranean Sea. Another advancement that Persia contained was its stone highways which were called the Royal Road. The roads conned part of Africa and India together. Over all Persia became and industrialized ancient civilization.

            When the Persian Empire started to increase in its sized it promoted stability within its lands. The Persian Empire grew far beyond the Roman Empire and with that new found growth war began to start. With all of the Persian wars the vast and mighty Persian Empire eventually fell. It was defeated by its rival the Greeks. Though they lost the war it did not stop the Persian Empire yearning to expand. Some years after a new king emerged by the name Alexander “The Great.” Under his rule, the Persian Empire had stability for thousands of years.

Cultural analysis blog

 

                In Egypt the Nile can be viewed as the foundation of the Egyptian civilization’s success. During the old kingdom and the middle kingdom the Nile River resources played a major role in how ancient Egypt thrived. In this time, the Egyptians were going through revolutionary development and the Nile River was the source for most of the civilizations growth. For one, the Nile River supported Egyptian life because it provided transportation, growth and promoted overall life for the society’s people.

                In order for a civilization to develop there has to be some contribution that aids in that process. The Nile River was one of the prime resources that enabled the Egyptian society to grow.  Since the river brought annual flood it stimulated crop growth. With this new vegetation growth the ancient civilization’s population increased during the Middle kingdom. Since there was more people living in ancient Egypt the civilization started to expand.

                The Nile River made Egypt’s land very fertile. It allowed the people to manage crops even though its climate is hot and arid. Since the river supported other forms of life, the Egyptians were able to live off of that for example, fish and other various animals. During the time when the Hyksos invaded Egypt, they looked to the river to supply them with their resources because they were limited. The river supported life for the Egyptian society because it allowed them to survive when food and nutrients were scarce.

                Transportation of various resources by the Nile River aided in the growth of the ancient civilization. If there was not a way for the people to import and export their materials or resources then the civilization would not have flourished that way they did. The Nile’s transportation system allowed the Egyptians to trade with other civilizations, which allowed them to gain other resources they did not have before. The river was a good source for regular transportation. Since the Nile was vast in size it was easy for the people to go anywhere because the Nile would take them down its stream

                Every form of life ties back to the river. One can conclude that the Nile was a major and important factor that gave Egypt the ability to thrive and flourish. It brought transportation, growth and promoted life for the civilization. Many can see that the river brought prosperity to ancient Egypt and without it; the civilization would not be what it was then or now.

Reflective Essay

Jasmine Franklin

WISE history 201

Professor Underwood

December 3, 2010

Semester progression

                                    Reflective essay: Semester Progression

            At first being in a WISE history class seemed pointless to me because I didn’t get why technology mattered when dealing with history. I could not get over why we had to write in a  blog for our assignments or do our quizzes over webct if we could turn them in or do them in class. As the semester continued I got why we used technology in our history class. It was a base for understanding how to write in a matter that gets straight to the point and so we could see how as a whole we evolved from technology.

             With the cultural analysis it was kind of difficult to grasp the concept because I had to take a point in history and analized how they survived in various circumstances. Though it was hard, it made me a better writer for history. For one, looking up quotes that pertained to my thesis was difficult because it had to relate to my point. I could not just throw a random quote without a meaning to it, I had to analyse what was going on. Also with citing the quotes it was a challenge because not only did we had to use notes, we also needed to format a proper bibliography. It was tedious and took a great deal of time and work.

             The cultural analysis, allowed me to have a more focused mind that was needed for historic base writing, because it needs to be straight to the point. When writing the paper I noticed how I became more in tuned with tying ideas and concepts together with the utilization of quotes. After I finished with the paper I felt satisfied because with writing the paper I learned about a civilization’s history and I also learned how to properly write with historical context. The paper also aided in my growth by giving me practice in citing in CMS citation.

            I thought writing the civilization essay was joyful because not only could we use regular sources, we could incorporate our experiences from the civilization game. With this essay I had to emphasize how a civilization as a whole survived and what elements were needed. I understood why we had to form our learning experiences from playing the game. It gave me as a student understanding of how much work it really is to keep a civilization at its prime best. When I had to sit down and actually write about how a civilization uses its resources to live, I found it easier for me to display the aspects that they needed.

            A weakness that I have in this class is trying to explain the historical significance in all of the writing. I am a good writer overall, but when it comes to interpreting history it gets confusing because I have to make sure I hit the “why is this important” and the “who cares” aspects in historical writing. Though it is a challenge I noticed that I am getting better at conveying my ideas historically. Some of the strength that I had in the class is actually getting my ideas across.

            In the beginning of the semester the blogs were assignments that I did not get. After I started to write them it became clear why we had to use this form of technology in our writing assignments. Blogs got me to stop adding unnecessary detail, and just get straight to the points. The outcome that I have now with writing blogs is having more effective writing without the unnecessary specifications. I have a new outlook on blogging because I thought I was not going to enjoy writing them, but I do because it taught me how to write differently.

            In the WISE history class I learned how to use technology for basis of writing. Overall I enjoyed the class because as a student I become engaged in the lectures and that allows me to understand what has happened over periods of time. Being in this WISE history course has allowed me to grow as a writer and shape my over all writing skills when it come to getting straight to the point.

The World at 1500

              During the sixteenth century, the world was in a transformation that would forever shape its future. In the 1500’s individuals became aware of art and literature, started to explore religion and culture, and developed a human trading system. On different continents, the different circumstances that were being taking place ultimately developed economic growth and human diversity for its time and in the common world.

            In Europe, individuals became aware of the beauty of art and literature. For example, during the Renaissance literature and art began to become the basis of how individuals learned and saw the world. The literature, such as forms of poetry started to become seen in different forms of education. Art was used to display human emotion and was highly valued among the people.

              New branches of Christianity began to form from the split of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther was the starter of this reformation because he thought there needed to be a change. The religion reformation allowed individuals to become more aware of different practices and this process was the beginning of different cultural experiences. As different cultures started to arise, European nations began to expand. This expansion was due unification of the people and the want to gain wealth during the sixteenth century.

                The Atlantic slave trade was when Western Africans were caught by Europeans and were being traded to countries like North America and South America. It was started by the Portuguese and lasted 300 hundred years. During this time, it allowed the European traders to grow economically because it began a basis in which growth and development can occur.  Though it allowed growth for the Europeans, the Atlantic Slave Trade brought downfall on Africans. The West African population was decreased so dramatically that in disabled the people’s ability to prosper.

               The events that took place during 1500 molded how the world would be. Without different experiences of the sixteenth century the world would probably not be as advanced as it is today. The 1500’s brought forms of education from the expansion of art and literature, religious diversity among Christianity and opened a new world from the Atlantic Slave Trade.