UniServe Science Timelines in the Science Curriculum Kaye Placing, UniServe Science

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1 Timelines in the Science Curriculum Kaye Placing, UniServe Science Timelines are a convenient method of organising data in a chronological sequence. Scanning of a widely used text book for Stages 4 & 5 reveals the construction of timelines as a common extension activity for students. Examples taken from Science Focus 3 & 4 (2004) published by Pearson Education Australia: Construct a time line of major [volcanic] eruptions in the last century. Research gene switching and gene expression. You could start by considering the work of F. Jacob, J. Monod and H. Harris. Summarise your findings using a time line. Research the lives of the Curies and use a time line to summarise key events in their lives. UniServe Science has added a new page to the professional development section of the web site to encourage teachers to incorporate timelines in their teaching and to facilitate the development of timelines by students. The web page consists of five sections: Examples of science based timelines available on the Web; Web sites for developing simple paper based timelines; Online tutorials for creating more sophisticated timelines using common application programs such as Word, Excel and Inspiration; Interactive timelines; and Timelines to support NSW syllabuses that have been developed by UniServe Science using the some of the resources identified and featured on the web page. Possible topics for timelines The development of the theory of Plate Tectonics The concept of Gene Expression Discovery of the radioactivity Controlling the spread of malaria Ways of preserving food Climate Change in the 20 th Century Planck and Einstein The Space Race Big Bang Atomic Theory What we recommend Timelines produced by the two web sites offering interactive timelines listed on the page (Interactive Timelines from ReadWriteThink and Time Line Generator from Teach-nology) do not produce true timelines as they do not display the information reflecting the time span between events. They are however useful in summarising milestones in scientific discoveries, scientific developments, formation of theories and report writing.

2 If you are looking for a way to produce a printed version of a timeline in which the events are spaced proportionally along the timeline, then we recommend the How to Create a Timeline in Excel tutorial which can be found at The task is started by entering the data into an Excel worksheet. Some of the formulas are quite complex but it is possible to copy, paste from the instruction page then modify to cater for your data. Having entered the data required for the timeline, the instructions for creating the chart are clear with links providing illustrations to check you are on the right track. Excel charts reflect changes in data. It is recommended that a template is set up and saved which can be used with different data sets. Figure 1 was produced using this tutorial. It summarises events in the life and times of Albert Einstein and Max Planck that support the dot point: process information to discuss Einstein and Planck s differing views about whether science research is removed from social and political forces Planck vs Einstein Einstein granted Sw iss citizenship Einstein renounces German citizenship Einstein publishes three papers Einstein Nobel Prize in Physics Einstein resigns from KWI, to Princeton Einstein w arns of potential German atomic bomb A lbert Einstein born Einstein graduates World War I ends World War I Einstein dies aged 76 Manhattan Project begins World War II ends World War II begins Max Planck born Planck Professor University of Berlin Planck blackbody radiation Planck signs Manifesto of the 93 Intellectuals, professor University of Berlin Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany (Nazi) Planck Nobel Planck meets Hitler Prize in Physics Planck President of KWI Planck saves KWS from disbandment, dies aged 89 Figure 1. Timeline of events relating to Planck and Einstein Planck's son, Erw in implicated in assassination attempt on Hitler Erw in killed by Gestapo One improvement to the timelines produced using this tutorial would be to have different series of events being represented by different symbols. This can be achieved by putting related events into different columns and adjusting Step 3 in the procedure (Create the Timeline Chart) by adding additional x series (one or more) which in turn reflect the column in which the appropriate data can be found. This tutorial can be used to create other diagrams which illustrate relative times and distances such the one shown in Figure 2 which illustrates the relative distance of the planets from the Sun.

3 Distance of the planets from the Sun Uranus Neptune Pluto Mars Earth Venus Mercury Jupiter Saturn Astronomical units Figure 2. Chart showing relative distance of the planets from the Sun Wanting to add an interactive timeline to your web site? Or looking for an assessment task with a difference? xtimeline xtimeline is a web-based application for the development and hosting of timelines. It has been produced by Famento Inc., a small, multinational team dedicated to creating social tools that help people capture and share their interests and personal stories. The number of timelines is growing rapidly as xtimeline is easy to use and produces an excellent looking product. It can be found at Registration is free but necessary. Figure 3. Timeline of events in the Planck Einstein controversy

4 Figure 4. Screen showing single event Figure 5. Data entry screen for single event

5 Timeline Creator Timeline Creator is an application program produced by Center for Educational Resources, Johns Hopkins University. It can be downloaded for both Windows or Macintosh from The web site includes a very useful instruction manual and some interesting examples. This tool allows individuals without multimedia development skills to create an interactive timeline for teaching or presentation purposes that can be published on the World Wide Web or displayed directly from a computer. The interface can display up to six simultaneous timelines to compare and contrast various events with descriptive text and digital images. The program is in two parts: Interface Configuration where the title, author, duration of the timeline and its overall appearance, colours and fonts are set; and Events each event can be identified with general information (where and how it will appear on the timeline) and details including the option of including a graphic. The details and images are only displayed when an individual event icon is clicked. Figure 6. Timeline of indications of climate change over the last century Figure 6 is a sample screen from a timeline of Indicators of Climate Change produced by UniServe Science using Timeline Creator. In the case illustrated, an icon appears on the Heat waves tab. Clicking on the diamond icon (1995) reveals more details of one such event. Large areas of the Larsen A ice shelf in Antarctica disintegrated in 1995, and the image shown is in fact the Ross Ice Sheet photographed in 2005.

6 If there is more than one event at the same time, a coloured icon appears with an number indicating a number of events and it is in turn linked to the individual events. Having entered a number of events, it is simple to reorganise them so that they are displayed in a variety of ways e.g. these climatic changes could be displayed by regions rather than type of events. One thing that would enhance this program would be the ability to include active web links into the summary information. A number of sample timelines can be found on the UniServe Science timeline page at Using these activities with your students help to cover the mandatory areas of incorporating information and communication technologies: 4/5.18e Students learn to use drawings, diagrams, graphs, tables, databases, spreadsheets and flow charts to show relationships and present information clearly and succinctly 4/5.17d Students learn to organise data using a variety of methods including diagrams, tables, spreadsheets and databases