Process Paper
Why We Chose This Topic:
When we selected our NHD project, we wanted it to be about someone who greatly influenced our society. We wanted to choose someone who still impacts our life today. While thinking, I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the white ceiling in my history room and looked directly at the lights. That's when it hit me: Lights! Everyday i wake up and flick my light switch on, which gives me the ability to actually see what clothes I am grabbing out of my drawer. Likewise, every time I go to bed I turn my lights off, which allows me to sleep peacefully. No matter where we am, Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb affects our life on a daily basis.
How We conducted Our Research:
Fortunately for us, because of Edison’s accomplishments and how well known he is, it was relatively easy to find information about him and his inventions. We started our research where everyone starts their research: the world wide web. After we began to amass a knowledge of Thomas Edison’s life, my partner and I checked out books to get fresh information from a different type of source. The books were useful, however due to the abundance of information easily accessible on the internet, the web was our most useful source. The biggest problem we encountered in our research happened when we contacted the author of a Thomas Edison book, asking for a phone interview. He responded and said he wasn't interested and that if we wanted information that we should read his book.
How We Selected My Presentation Category:
From the beginning, my partner and I both agreed that creating a website would be the best way to convey the impact Thomas Edison has on our society. The ability to include audio recordings, pictures, videos, and writing made a website an excellent choice for our project category. In order to better our project, we spent much time studying professional websites. We weren't studying them for the content, but rather for how they were constructed and laid out. By the time our project was finished, we had spent approximately 40 hours, in class and out of class, gathering research and creating our website.
How Our Project Relates To The Theme:
The theme this year was Leadership and Legacy. Our goal was to prove that Thomas Edison demonstrated leadership and left behind an unforgettable legacy. Even though he was not the first person to experiment with electric light, he was the one to perfect it. Edison created the incandescent light bulb which we know today. In fact, last year 2 billion light bulbs were purchased in the United States. That's 5.5 million bulbs every day. If that does not prove his legacy, I don’t know what does. As far as leadership goes, Thomas Edison patented 1,093 inventions. His intelligence and creativity separated him from other scientists and allowed him to create inventions that changed society forever.