Social Studies Inquiry: The Evolution of Television

The Evolution of Television

In our Inquiry studies we have been looking at different ways of communicating with each other.  When we investigated this we found that we use lots of different ways of communicating with each other.  For example we use the telephone, emails, texts and the radio.  We didn’t have time to investigate all of them so we decided to focus on television as a way of communication.  To do this we compared the differences between televisions in the past and compared it to televisions now (in the present).  To help us in our Inquiry we asked ourselves several questions.

Q1.  Who invented television?

Q2.  What was television like when it was first invented?

Television was invented by many people doing lots of research, and sharing their knowledge and ideas with each other.

In 1862 Abbe Giovanni Caselli invented a machine that transmitted one picture from one place to another.  The picture was a simple one that did not move.  Then in 1880 Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison shared a theory that outlined a way of transmitting pictures as well as sound.

Later, in 1990, at the World’s Fair in Paris a group of people met to share ideas and theories about electricity.  This was the first time that the work ‘television’ had been used.  Just before this Paul Nipkow invented a mechanical television.  Then in 1920 John Logie Baird invented a television that could reflect light rather than just a simple silhouette. 

The early televisions were black and white, so they were not very realistic.  Then in the 1940’s an American man invented colour television and in 1953 the first commercial broadcast was made and some ordinary families got to see it.  

Television was invented by many people doing lots of research, and sharing their knowledge and ideas with each other.

In 1862 Abbe Giovanni Caselli invented a machine that transmitted one picture from one place to another.  The picture was a simple one that did not move.  Then in 1880 Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison shared a theory that outlined a way of transmitting pictures as well as sound.

Later, in 1990, at the World’s Fair in Paris a group of people met to share ideas and theories about electricity.  This was the first time that the work ‘television’ had been used.  Just before this Paul Nipkow invented a mechanical television.  Then in 1920 John Logie Baird invented a television that could reflect light rather than just a simple silhouette. 

The first televisions were black and white, so they were not very realistic.  Then in the 1940’s an American man invented colour television and in 1953 the first commercial broadcast was made and some ordinary families got to see it.  





Question 3:  How and why television is used by people?
We watch television every day and our families watch television every day.  We watch television to have fun and sometimes to get information about things that we are interested in.  At the moment we are interested in dinosaurs and Maths.  Some of us are interested in watching television because our cousin is an actress in a television programme.  Our parents, our grandparents, aunties and uncles watch television to learn about the news and sometimes they watch programmes about where they come from.  Our families come from all over the world such as, Africa, Austria, Cook Islands, Fiji, India, New Zealand, Philippines, Samoa and Tonga.  We especially like watching television about the places that we and our families come from.