Read Write Think, Interactive Timelines

Let's face it, for kids, creating timelines is boring. as teachers we can see the many benefits; sequencing, historical context, organising information etc. But for many kids, it is a pain in the bum.

Read Write Think is a website that includes numerous educational tools. Over the coming months I will look at a couple of them in this blog. Today I am going to evaluate the time line tool.

This is a very simple website. I have experimented with many timeline tools over the years. Some of them are FANTASTIC and the possibilities are endless. However, as an introduction, for kids, this gets the thumbs up.

Timeline is a graphical tool. Information can be arranged sequentially. This can be organised by day, time, date etc. Students are given that option when setting up their timeline. Unlike other timeline tools "Timeline" does not require a vast amount of detail to set up. This allows students to focus on creating short descriptions for the events etc.

This is the starting page for the timeline. So simple and clear. Students are easily able to set up their timeline.

For this example I have selected to set up a timeline by date.

My timeline, on completion, will look like the above. There isn't the detail of an evenly distributed scale with weeks, months and years showing, but students can easily input that detail in the description. This is also an god opportunity to have a class discussion about timelines are usually created and set up.

A double click with the mouse allows students to begin entering details. It doesn't matter the order that they enter information. It is quite simple to drag things into place at any point in the process.

After entering basic information, or more elaborate detail students are given an option of including a picture or not. If they select to include a picture, their timeline will look very simple and plain, maybe even less attractive.

Just select the tick to see the timeline.

If at a later date your students wish to include a picture, or edit the information they have entered they can simply double click on the entry.

Probably is a good idea to encourage your students to include an image to make this timeline more visually appealing.

When all events are entered students can then drag things around to place into the correct order. This can even be a demonstration using a smart board or data projector to check student understanding of sequence within a lesson delivered.That means, as a teacher, you have the fun of creating your own timeline!

Now for the fun part. Students have the ability to manipulate their timeline. They drag events into order, or even change the layout.

Students can share the completed timeline quite simply. It saves as its own file type online using a login and on device. 

Or can be shared by emailing. Great idea if students need to submit to a teacher for marking.

After finishing students are able to print their timeline to hard copy if it is needed. A great idea to add to a poster or paste into a workbook.

At this point student again have an option to save. This time the timeline will save as a pdf. Great! You now have a product that can inserted into documents or added to websites. At this point it will depend on the website/blog tool you are using. For example, I use google sites for school. I would have to upload a pdf as a file that would be added to the file section at the bottom of the page. And that my friends, is a subject for another day.

There are many uses for a timeline in music. The first that comes to mind is for students to create a timeline of the different periods of music, then there are the composers themselves. The list can be long if you put your mind to it.

Go ahead. Try to create your own timeline. See how easy it can be.

Read Write Think

Yours in the music classroom

Teresa