Integrating Websites into the Classroom

     The site that I have chosen to look into is xtimeline. This is a social science site that offers timelines and a brief outline of numerous events throughout history. For younger children, it can be used when a teacher picks a topic and the students work with the designated timeline; older students can pick their own timeline to work with. The reason I think that the teacher should be picking a topic for younger students is that there are many topics that are not appropriate for an Elementary School (such as a timeline on Philip Morris and the indsutry of tobacco). The most interesting aspect of this website is when you have a topic's timeline, you can click on the the event list. This brings you to a page that shows all the dates with links to more detailed and in-depth information. There are also many timelines on subjects that are often discussed in schools, such as Anne Frank, Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims, the Civil War, and so forth. This can make it easier on the teacher, as well, so they can have one less resource to have to find for the students that is accurate.
     This website can be used in the classroom for students who are studying a particular topic. The students can use the timeline of their topic to get more detailed information of specific dates. They can make a journal in the point of view of someone within the time period they're studying, based on the events that are happening in the timeline. Another way this can be used in class is for older students to pick their own appropriate (approved by the teacher) topic and research it. They can present their information to their class, or use the information they find to make a slideshow.
     Beyond the classroom, this site could be used to extend learning opportunities by creating a portal into many different histories of many different topics. People can use this site to explore the history of something that interest them (famous actors, big corporations, video games, etc).
     All in all, this website is a very good resource for learning detailed information within subjects, down to what happened on specific days. Print Page in IE