Within the past few months, a new crop of web 2.0 timeline applications have sprung up. The first application I played around with is http://www.dipity.com/. Dipity has some great features for your personal blog and has some pre-fabricated time lines for you to use in the classroom (http://www.dipity.com/election). A personal favorite of mine is the History of the GUI (http://www.dipity.com/hewittteacher/The_History_of_the_GUI). Sign up now while the platform is still in beta for free and use for your classroom.
The second offering is http://www.allofme.com/. AllofMe.com (also free and in beta) offers similar features to Dipity. Check out the sample on the page using Forest Gump history as a backdrop. (http://www.allofme.com/T/1006773/Forrest_Gump).
The third and final site is http://www.ourstory.com/. OurStory was the first of the bunch to incorporate photos, videos, etc. into your story (timeline). It is still free now, but sign up soon. The site already is restricting the free features in lieu of a paid membership.
All three offer many features for your own of classroom time lines. Imagine the possibilities for your students! Digital story telling has never been so easy (and free).
Michael J. Elson
Thanks looks easy enough. Going to try with Social studies next week.