Knight Lab: Timeline

TimelineJS is an easy to use website that allows the user to create an interactive timeline. Users can access the Google spreadsheet provided to create their timelines.

To Begin

Think of a story line you want to use. This will help you piece together your timeline.When you’ve done this, click the green “Make a Timeline” button at the top of the page. This will bring you to a new link.

Note: You will need Flickr and a Google account for this project.

Open the Spreadsheet

Click “Get the Spreadsheet Template.” This will bring you to a new tab in which you select to “Make a Copy.” The new tab which opens is the one you can fill in (below).

Fill in the Spreadsheet

Now, you can start filling in your timeline. Do not edit the first row colored in red and shades of grey. Row 2 is your headline/ main slide. After this, each row represents another page/ time point on your timeline. Here you can fill in the start and end dates, headline of the page, text (description), and pictures. To add each of these components, just click on the box you wish to fill in and start typing. Below I will be using an example of a timeline I made as a review of colonial times in the United States. As you can see, I have the year for each event. These do not necessarily have an end date. The boxes you do not fill in will not appear in your timeline.

Insert Pictures Using Flickr

After adding your information, find pictures for each page. (I did a simple google search to find the ones I wanted.) Save the pictures you want and upload them to Flickr. To sign up, you can use your email. To upload pictures, click the cloud with an arrow in the top right corner. Next, you can drag and drop pictures to the upload screen. Once your pictures are uploaded, click on one image and copy the link in the top. Paste this link into the “Media” box that corresponds to the page you wish to have is displayed on. You can also add media credit and a caption. You can do this for all pages.

Publish the Page

When you are done with your timeline, you must publish the page. Click “File” in the left corner and “Publish to the Web” (as shown by the picture below).

Once your page is published, copy the link at the top of the page, which I outlined in red:

Go back to the Timeline website, and paste this line into the box for step 3.

Scroll down to Step 4. This is where the link for you’re finished timeline will be. You can select the “Preview” button to see what it will look like. If you want to change it, just open up your Google spreadsheet again.

Once done, copy the link and paste into the website where you would like to share it. The first link option is an actual link to the timeline, while the second link option will allow the timeline to appear where you are posting it. You can choose either link depending on what you want.

Below is a link of an example I was working for to review for a Praxis exam.

Tips

1. Think of a storyline before you begin
2. Use no more than 20 slides
3. Make sure to keep your pages in chronological order, this is a timeline after all
4. Take your time and have fun with it!