Running head: BEYOND THE BASICS PRODUCTIVITY TOOL PROJECT 1

Beyond the Basics Productivity Tool Project

Shannon Herndon
Kennesaw State University










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Using Beyond the Basics Productivity Tools in the classroom can help both the student
and the teacher. The student can become efficient producers of useful and interactive
presentations, in which other students can benefit. Teachers can utilize the advanced software
programs to engage students. Not to mention the presentations or end product will be much more
visually appealing to all parties. TimeLiner is discussed by Roblyer; he states, it costs over
$1,000 to equip 30 computers with TimeLiner software. (2013, p. 336) Therefore, it is vital for
teachers to be trained on all of the resources provided by the school district. If teachers do not
know how to use the software, they will most likely avoid the hassle of figuring it out. This is
where Instructional Technology leaders/specialists can help make the millions of dollars spent on
technology for the school district put to good use.
The Beyond the Basics Productivity Tool that will be utilized by ninth and tenth grade
students in Honors World History is TimeLiner. I have used this program in the past for basic
timeline creation. By the end of this project, I hope to be able to incorporate TimeLiner into more
of my lessons. The standards that will be addressed in the project are the Georgia Performance
Standards for World History; SSWH14, The student will analyze the Age of Revolutions and
Rebellions by examining absolutism through the rules of Louis XIV, identifying the causes and
results of the revolution in France, and explaining Napoleons rise to power. The National
Educational Technology Standards for Students will be included by the utilization of the
Communication and Collaboration standard where, Students use digital media and
environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support
individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students will communicate
information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
(ISTE, 2007).
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Timeliner will be used to examine the events of the French Revolution using several
media sources to elaborate on the key events of the period. Through the identification of key
events student will clearly comprehend the causes and results of the French Revolution. As
students evaluate the events of the French Revolution, they will be able to understand how
Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory and began to create the French Empire. After the
creation of the interactive timeline, students will be able to review all of the key events during
the era. This review will be comprehensive and greatly increase their preparedness for the French
Revolution Unit Test.
This activity would fall under the LoTi Level 4B, Integration. Students will synthesize
their prior knowledge of the French Revolution from the texts and activities completed before
this activity. Students will study the key events of the French Revolution from various sources to
judge which events are necessary for full comprehension of the revolution. Students will identify
important details to include on the timeline from their research. The final interactive timeline
will be a culmination of prior knowledge, research, and collaboration to encompass the true
ideologies that spawned from the French Revolution.
The students will create a truly interactive timeline versus just listing dates and the
corresponding events. My students have used Timeliner in the past to organize information.
However with this activity, the students have to judge what events are important to the ultimate
goal of a full understanding of the events that make up the French Revolution. I hope to learn
how to utilize Timeliner in high-order thinking skills and activities. Students need to create
meaningful and authentic products that truly encourage mastery of the Georgia Performance
Standards through the inclusion of modern techniques following the National Educational
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Standards for Students. Students will have the freedom to choose the events, timeline format, and
interactive links. This action should help students become more engaged in the activity resulting
in a deeper comprehension of the revolution.
Timeliner is loaded on all of the computers at Harrison High School, so there should not
be any problems with student access at school. However, students will not be able to access and
complete a Timeliner project outside of school. If the internet was not working on the day of the
activity, the students could use their notes, textbook, and reference books to research and choose
their dates for the timeline. To finish the project, students could create the virtual timeline and
link sources and multi-media when the internet connection was working. The image pasted
below is a student sample from the Timeliner activity.




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References
Georgia Department of Education. (2012). Social studies world history standards. Retrieved
April 28, 2013 from
https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Georgia%20Performance%20Standards/Wo
rld-History.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National educational technology
standards. Retrieved April 28, 2103 from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-
standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th
ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon Publishers.