Communication by Electricity

Program Description As electricity became more prominent and its uses more widespread, its uses for communication immediately became apparent. Whereas writing letters or carving symbols was good for shorter distances or for situations that required slower response times, electricity allowed for more urgent messages to be sent and received promptly, allowing quicker actions to be taken. Though we take for granted the ability of phones and instant messaging nowadays, even with this faster, electricity-based communication, there were still several pitfalls faced and skills needed in order to translate the information as accurately as possible. In the following activities, students will explore some of these earliest forms of electricity-based communication which helped to jumpstart our modern information era.