Tracking  Time                          Visualization  of  History  using  Timeline  3D    

   

A Proposal to the IDC Committee  

By

Kathleen Affholter

Natural and Behavioral Sciences March 18, 2011

 

   Introduction  Timeline  3D,  by  Bee  Docs,  is  a  program  that  allows  the  creation  of  visually  exciting  linear  timelines  on  many  scales.    Information  such  as  text,  pictures,  videos  and  sound  can  be  added  to  the  timeline,  and  events  on  the  timeline  can  be  scrolled  backwards  or  forwards  across  a  screen.    More  than  60%  of  students  learn  with  visual-­‐spatial  presentations  .1  This  timeline  program  has  the  potential  to  be  able  to  help  students  understand  history  and  trends  in  science  by  putting  details  in  context  of  a  bigger  picture  in  a  visually  pleasing  way.    The  scale  of  the  timeline  is  flexible.    Although  the  geologic  timescale  covers  billions  of  years,  and  the  history  of  the  beginnings  of  geology  in  Scotland  and  England  takes  place  over  tens  of  years,  a  timeline  can  be  created  for  any  story  length.    There  are  many  places  to  customize  the  timeline  by  changing  scales,  adding  different  colored  backgrounds  and  markers  for  events.    I  propose  obtaining  a  site  license  that  would  allow  a  copy  of  this  program  on  24  laptops  available  for  student  use  in  geology  classes  and  on  1  instructor  console.    Applications    The  discussion  of  geologic  time  is  fundamental  to  geology.    Historical  Geology  is  the  description  and  study  of  4.6  billion  years  of  Earth’s  history.    Throughout  the  course  of  the  semester,  changes  in  rock  types  (Figure  1),  plate  tectonics,  flora  and  fauna  are  tracked  from  Earth’s  formation  from  a  swirling  mix  of  gas  and  dust,  to  the  explosion  of  life  in  present  day.    The  Geologic  Time  Scale  portrays  that  history  by  dividing  time  from  4.5  billion  years  to  the  present.    Some  parts  of  the  chart  represent  vast  expanses  of  time  in  billions  of  years,  whereas  other  divisions  may  represent  thousands  of  years.    

Figure  1:    Banded  Iron  Formations  (above)  are  not  found  younger  than  2  billion  years.  After  2  billion  years  Red  Beds  are  found  indicating  a  difference  of  oxygen  levels  in  Earth’s  atmosphere  before  and  after  2  billion  years.  

     The Geologic Time Scale is divided into eons, eras, periods and epochs. Numerous versions are available on-line, with the oldest time unit on the bottom and the youngest on top. The chart is further divided with the greatest expanse of time, the eon, on the left, and the smallest, the epoch, on the right. Names are given to the different units in the time scale, and all told, even using the simplest example (Figure 2) the number of different names, unfamiliar to most students, adds up to about 30. In some on-line examples, flora and fauna are added to the table at the time unit where representative fossils of them have been found. To be able to integrate and discuss geological concepts, it is important for students to learn the names of the time units in the geologic time scale and be able to record changes in the positions of tectonic plates, and changes in flora and fauna through geologic time. One way to do that is with the help of the program, Timeline 3D by Bee Docs.

Figure 2: Time scale (http:geomaps.wr.usgs.gov)

The New Way of Looking at Time The program, Timeline 3D by Bee Docs, provides the capability of creating an interactive linear timeline on different timescales depending on the information portrayed. At any mark in time, a description of events, pictures, and sources can be added. In the case of a Historical Geology timeline, since distance is equal to a certain amount of time, the events are seen with sometimes great and sometimes small amounts of empty space between them giving a physical picture of the different amounts of time between events. This important concept cannot be easily illustrated on the standard geologic time scale seen at the right..

Timeline 3D is easy to use. With this program students could create their own timelines as the class progresses through Earth’s history. By creating their own timeline, students would be required to find information to make their timeline accurate, find and choose pictures that would best represent the time unit, and list events that took place during that time. By spending their own time creating their own interactive timeline, the facts that need to be committed to memory would be meaningful. The timeline would become their journal of the geologic history of the Earth. Each timeline could be different, as different events during a time unit may interest different students A snapshot of a portion of the linear interactive geologic time scale follows (Note: a new version of the timeline includes geologic time with “Before Common Era” labels instead of the “BC” labels in this example.) In addition to event labels, descriptions and illustrations or photos can be added at any place in time (Figure 3). Individual events can be highlighted and brought forward (Figure 4) for emphasis.

Figure 3: A snapshot of a portion of a timeline created using a personal copy of Timeline 3D by BeeDocs which was launched March 15, 2011

Figure 4. One event is “highlighted” and brought forward during a presentation.

Timeline 3D could also be used by students in Concepts of Geology classes to understand geologic history, to compare information and to emphasize recent geologic worldwide events. The serious study of geology began by gentlemen, James Hutton and Sir Charles Lyell, who traveled throughout Great Britain and Europe. Both spent time in London and Lyell is still there, buried at Westminster Abbey. The ideas of these men inspired observant people after them such as Charles Darwin, and are mentioned in all introductory geology textbooks. The American naturalist, John Muir added to our understanding of geology. A segment of a timeline with information about the contributions of these men is shown in Figure 5. Other unique histories could be tracked using Timeline 3D. For example, students could illustrate the history of women in geology, or the path that led to plate tectonic theory, one of the foundations of modern geology. Other topics might be creating a list of recorded tsunamis in Japan since the 7th century overlain by a list of the moon at perigee (when it is closest to the earth) and apogee (when it is farthest from the earth) to see if there is a relationship. Tsunamis (caused by underwater earthquakes) and tides (caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon on the earth) are caused by two completely different processes, but are often confused even though there is no relationship of one with the other. A student could plot volcanic eruptions on Iceland with an explanation of how volcanic eruptions affect climate, or a student could plot super-volcano eruptions throughout history and superimpose climate changes. The ideas are endless, and students would not only be learning an easy technology that could be

applied in any subject or grade level they choose to teach, but would be investing some of their own thought in a creative process.

Figure 5. Founding fathers of geology and naturalist John Muir. Materials The NEXT classroom has 24 Apple computers and an instructor console with Mac OS X that could be loaded with the Timeline 3D program. Pre-Test and Post-Test A pre and post-test covering the history of geology and the history of chemistry would be designed and administered to assess student achievement.

Budget An education license for 25 seats would be $450 dollars. From Bee Docs:

Education Licenses

Individual $39 PURCHASE

10 seat $250 PURCHASE

25 seat $450 PURCHASE

75 seat $750 PURCHASE

150 seat $950 PURCHASE

250 seat $1,250 PURCHASE Education licenses are limited to current teachers, students, and faculty. 1

Upside-­‐down  brilliance:    The  Visual-­‐Spatial  Learner,  Silverman,  L.K.,  2002,  Denver,  DeLeon  Publishing