St. Lawrence University

There are a variety of approaches and platforms associated with the creation of timelines.  At present, we recommend the following:

TimelineJS

TimelineJS is an open-source tool that enables anyone to build visually rich, interactive timelines. Beginners can create a timeline using nothing more than a Google spreadsheet. Experts can use their JSON skills to create custom installations, while keeping TimelineJS's core look and functionality.

It can pull in media from a variety of sources and has built-in support for Twitter, Flickr, Google Maps, YouTube, Vimeo, Vine, Dailymotion, Wikipedia, SoundCloud and more.

Drupal combined with TimelineJS

An excellent formula for projects that involve significant narrative detail and other forms of visualization.  It allows for options such as searching, filtering of texts and more.

Other

Additionally, platforms such Prezi, StoryMapJS, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator can also be used for timeline creation.  Here, for example, is a Prezi-based timeline and also one using StoryMapJS.

Considerations:

  • Will the project be web-based AND publicly accessible?
  • If there is referenced content - how stable are the links?
  • Mobile-friendly?
  • What are the gradeable elements?

 

Timeline Example