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Timelines….a common discussion topic in the homeschool community. So many popular homeschool methods and curricula encourage timeline creation, so most likely it is part of your home learning.
I was going to let you know all the wonderful things about using timelines, but realized some other bloggers have said it better than I can. Check out Why You Should Make Time for Timelines @ The Unlikely Homeschool or Why Timelines Matter When Teaching History @ Our Journey Westward.
I am a history lover, organization freak , and visual learner, so I pretty much geek out over timelines. To add history to our unit studies, our family has used multiple methods over the years to create timelines. We've done the a drown-yourself-in-paper timeline notebook, the large hide-it-under-the-bed posterboard and the take-over-a-wall-in-your-home timeline methods.
Now that I’m embracing the whole digital learning thing, I’ve recognized that I need some online timeline creation tools to offer my girls. As 21st century learners, they need to apply what they learn. They need to create something to process the information they learn, putting the knowledge into action.
[Read more about the needs of digital learners]
I found these 5 timeline creation tools for my kids to try. Fortunately, I don’t need to “teach” them how to use these tools. My girlies are so much more digitally literate than I am (I’m sure you can relate).
Prezi
Prezi is a presentation tool that uses of one large canvas, allowing you to pan and zoom to “travel” to various points of interest. You can use templates or create Prezis from scratch. This is my family's preferred tool for creating timelines. Check out this timeline we created as part of the Famous Birthdays Online Unit Study.
Sutori
Sutori is an online timeline creation tool allowing you to add images, video and quizzes. Even though it is intended for schools, you can set up your family as a “class” to keep all the timelines in one place.
Timetoast
Timetoast is the simplest online timeline creator in this list. You can add images and descriptions of historical events to create an interactive timeline.
Emaze
Emaze is an engaging multi-media presentation creation tool. It enables you to move beyond simple slideshows to create your own unique presentations online by using pre-designed templates.They have a great timeline template and so many more possibilities for other visual projects.
Timeglider
Timeglider offers a webtool for creating interactive timelines. You can zoom in and out to see time spans in more detail. Click HERE to see a sample timeline created with Timeglider.
So, what is your experience with timelines? Have you tried any online timeline creation tools? Think you'll give any of these a try? Leave me a comment below.
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Okay, we are going to have a lot of fun with this. I have signed up for Hstry and have gone through the tutorial. I get it – generally. We are starting a civil war unit, so I will let you know how it goes.
I am sharing this post, because these are very powerful tools.
I look forward to hearing how it goes.
I LOVE these ideas!!! P.S. Thanks for including a link to my post!
Hi Beth,
It’s Thomas here, one of the founders of HSTRY.
Delighted to write this comment to let you know that we’ve released real-time timeline collaboration to HSTRY. It was our most requested feature and we’re happy it is now up and running. With the school year just beginning, you can now seamlessly make students collaborate on group projects or create class-wide timelines that all can edit and contribute to in real-time!
If you have any feedback on the new feature, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
Best,
Thomas
We are definitely going to try one of these now to decide which one ?. It was our plan to do a wall timeline; however, we are not able to… Thanks Beth you always come through with your tech smarts ?.
?God bless you?
Yes, digital timelines are the way to go. [email protected]