Innovation is often considered disruptive because it leads to changes that can be sweeping and difficult to predict. Innovations that “stick” are often controversial and produce strong feelings in the people of the time. Throughout history we see well-educated people deny a new technology that is clearly, in retrospect, transformational. We should appreciate that hindsight offers clarity and try to learn from those in the past who could not recognize the important change happening around them. In this lesson, aim to foster a sense of historical empathy in your students for two groups of people: those in awe of new technology and those who could not recognize the change they were witnessing.

In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson, Sewall Crocker, and a pitbull named Bud are credited with the first successful cross-country road trip in an automobile in the United States. Jackson took up this journey on a $50 bet against naysayers, who saw the car as a passing fad. Students will view three clips from the documentary Horatio’s Drive. They will complete a note-catcher containing guiding discussion questions while viewing the clips. After sharing their responses with the class, students will complete a primary source analysis of The Vermont (the car that made the journey) and compare it to a modern-day primary source on virtual reality (VR) technology. Finally, students will make predictions about how virtual reality will reshape schooling in the United States.

Essential Questions:

• Why is it often difficult to identify technology, in the moment, that will change the scope of our society and life?
• How does progress in technology change the landscape of our lives and society?

Objectives:

• Students will explore historical responses to innovation and compare them to their own reactions to current innovations.
• Students will conduct a digital primary source analysis of The Vermont in order to compare it to some of today’s disruptive technologies.