user guide & lesson plan
TRANSCRIPT
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User Guide & Lesson Plan
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Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Regimes ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Timelines ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Breadcrumbs ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Thresholds ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Exhibits ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Using ChronoZoom in the Classroom: Sample Lesson Plan .......................................................................... 9
Homework............................................................................................................................................... 13
Answers to Homework ............................................................................................................................ 13
The Future of ChronoZoom..................................................................................................................... 14
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Introduction Language changes how our brains perceive and interpret information. The very words we use to
describe the world can transform our perception of it.
Did you know that Aboriginal Australians don’t have a word for left or right? Their language developed
around their method of orientation to the points of the compass. A native speaker of the Aboriginal
language wouldn’t say turn left at the crossroads. Instead, the native speaker would advise someone
looking for directions to turn east. This focus in their language shaped how the Aboriginals view
information about geography and orientation.
ChronoZoom is an intuitive online tool used to visualize all of time, from the Big Bang to today, using the
concept of zooming into the canvas to express the scope of time. This subtle difference in how
ChronoZoom interprets time might seem a little strange at first. Native English speakers have been
trained to think of time sequentially and expressed solely in terms of a number line. However, solely
using dates to chronicle points in time can hide the magnificent scope of the breadth of time. For
example, students who read that the Big Bang occurred 13.7 billion years ago may not be able to
comprehend how vast that length of time is. When you see ChronoZoom zoom from the Industrial
Revolution all the way back to the Big Bang, you can visualize time in a new way via depth.
You can browse through history on ChronoZoom to find data in the form of articles, images, video,
sound, and other multimedia. ChronoZoom links a wealth of information from five major regimes that
unify all historical knowledge collectively known as Big History.
In the next section, we go into detail what are the five regimes. By drawing upon the latest discoveries
from many different disciplines, you can visualize the temporal relationships between events, trends,
and themes. Some of the disciplines that contribute information to ChronoZoom include biology,
astronomy, geology, climatology, prehistory, archeology, anthropology, economics, cosmology, natural
history, population, and environmental studies. We expect to expand the number of disciplines over
time, providing users with more information to help them develop new insights into the past as well as
the future.
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Regimes Big History divides time into five major regimes:
Cosmos
Earth
Life
Human Pre-History
Human History
A Regime covers a specified period of time. Some regimes are vastly larger than others. For example, Humanity covers an infinitesimal fraction of the time covered by Cosmos.
Figure 1: The Regime Key
The Regime Key can be found in the upper-right corner of ChronoZoom as shown above. Each color represents a specific Regime and this color scheme is followed throughout the timelines inside of each Regime.
The physical representation of the regime scales is not completely accurate. Humanity and Human-Pre History have been artificially inflated to show the user where they are at all times. Vertical order represented in the key is not reflected in the canvas.
By clicking on one of the Regime names, you can zoom to that Regime. The lines in the grey box contrast
the differences in length of the Regimes and where you are currently located.
ChronoZoom visually moves the screen through every Regime until you hit your target.
Timelines A timeline is a specified period of history within a Regime. Each timeline can be divided into additional
sub-timelines. Different disciplines, such geology and history, categorize time in different unit and thus
some Exhibits (collections of multimedia content tied to a specific historical event of interest) may show
up in more than one sub-timeline.
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Figure 2: The timeline of all known history of Life
Breadcrumbs ChronoZoom tracks your progress into Big History via the breadcrumbs in the upper left-hand corner of
your screen. The term comes from the trail of breadcrumbs left by Hansel and Gretel in the popular
fairytale.
Figure 3: Example of a breadcrumb
Breadcrumbs allow users to track their journey through ChronoZoom. In the example above, the
breadcrumbs show that the user has zoomed all the way to Human History. Click on a desired Regime or
Timeline to zoom in or out to that topic.
Figure 4: Example of a truncated breadcrumb.
Breadcrumbs will slide to the left and may become truncated as the user goes deeper into time. In some
cases, you will zoom in far enough that the first Breadcrumb is replaced by a “…” and you will need to
click on one of the higher Breadcrumbs to advance in the timeline.
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Thresholds A Threshold is a moment in time where the universe has experienced an exponential increase in
complexity. We know of eight distinct Thresholds:
Origins of the Universe
Origins of the First Stars
Origins of Chemical Complexity
Origins of the Earth and Solar System
Origins of Life
Origins of Human Beings
Origins of Agriculture
Origins of the Modern World
Figure 5: Timeline displaying eight Thresholds
You can access a Threshold by mousing over one of the colored points on the timescale and then clicking
on the specific Threshold.
Figure 6: Click a Threshold for more information
You can select a Tour of the Threshold or zoom directly to the timeline.
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Exhibits Exhibits are collections of multimedia content tied to a specific historical event of interest. Exhibits
might include documents, videos, pictures, and other historical data.
Figure 7a: An exhibit, see Bibliography at the bottom
Bibliography A Bibliography is a list of sources for the information in the Exhibit. This is important to verify the
accuracy of information and to provide Academic credit to the appropriate individuals.
At the bottom of every Exhibit is a click to the Bibliography. Click the link to view the source materials.
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Figure 7b: Sample Bibliography
Information citing the source and link are provided. In addition, there are websites and journal
publications also listed enabling you to conduct deeper research. You can close the Bibliography by
clicking the X.
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Using ChronoZoom in the Classroom: Sample Lesson Plan Students today have access to more information than ever before, thanks, in great part, to widespread
Internet access. ChronoZoom puts Big History directly into the hands of the students and allows them to
explore where their interests take them.
Imagine that you are a student who has been assigned to create a presentation on the Industrial
Revolution.
1. To start, enter Industrial Revolution into the Search function.
ChronoZoom will return all of the results for timelines and artifacts that match your search
parameters.
2. Click the Industrial Revolution timeline to zoom from the Big Bang to the Industrial Revolution.
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Figure 8: Search results of "industrial revolution"
You have the option of zooming out to timelines before and after the Industrial Revolution, which is
highlighted by the color of the Humanity Regime. There are multiple timelines inside of the
Industrial Revolution timeline.
3. Click the Search icon to close the Search function.
4. Explore the Wave 1: Britain timeline, by clicking on it.
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Figure 9: Wave 1: Britain timeline
5. Want to know more about the Steam Engine Revolution? Click the timeline to explore.
Figure 10: Steam Engine Revolution timeline
6. Click the Exhibit on the upper-left corner. ChronoZoom will zoom to an Exhibit about Thomas Savery
and his patent on a steam-powered pump in 1689.
Figure 11: Exhibit on Thomas Savery
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7. Click Bibliography to take a look at the source documents for this Exhibit.
Figure 12: The Bibliography provides reference resources for an Exhibit
There is a link to additional information about the Exhibit.
8. Close the Bibliography and then explore the rest of the Steam Engine Revolution timeline.
Figure 13: Advancements by James Watt timeline
9. Take a look at the Advancements by James Watt timeline for an interesting personal story.
How is this part of the Industrial Revolution different than later aspects? Let’s explore other
timelines to find out!
10. Zoom out back to the Wave 1: Britain timeline. The power of ChronoZoom is that it includes all
manner of disciplines such as economics, history, science, and literature. Look for Charles Dickens.
Figure 14: Life of Charles Dickens timeline
You can explore details about the life of one of the most important writers of the time, Charles
Dickens. He wrote a great deal about the changes in his society caused by the Industrial Revolution.
11. Zoom out a bit and you can compare the Life of Charles Dickens timeline to others.
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Figure 15: Important events that occurred during the life of Charles Dickens
During the Life of Charles Dickens timeline, there are a number of other important events such as
the Steamship Revolution and the Railroad Boom.
Homework In this lesson, we explored one of the timelines within the Industrial Revolution. Now explore the next
two timelines on your own to answer the following questions.
1. What industries made the most differences in Britain, the United States, and Europe?
2. How did the early Industrial Revolutions affect the later Industrial Revolutions?
3. What social changes occurred because of the Industrial Revolutions?
4. What started the U.S. industrialization?
5. If you were to look at all timelines during the Industrial Revolution, what was happening in the
decade of 1850?
Answers to Homework 1. The steam engine changed Britain forever. This new technology allowed the British to start the
mechanization of labor. In the United States, the steam engine allowed for the creation of the
developing textile industry. In Europe, the railroads made it easier for countries to trade and
become more connected.
2. The British Industrial Revolution empowered the United States and helped them get started
with their textile factories. This later influenced countries like France and Japan that had to
modernize quickly in order to compete in the emerging world market. The invention of the
steamship opened Japan to foreign markets and moved them out of a long period of isolation.
3. Some of the social changes caused in part by the Industrial Revolutions include the abolishment
of slavery, the French Revolution, and the rise of modern publishing.
4. The Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was set up in 1793 by Samuel Slater and Moses
Brown. This was the first American textile factory, and was closely modeled after others
previously established in Britain. Slater Mill is the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in
North America to utilize the Arkwright system of cotton spinning as developed by Richard
Arkwright
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5. In the United States: railroad construction, in Europe: Marxism and the Communist Manifesto,
in Japan: the American fleet was demanding Japan open up its port, in West Africa: British
missionaries were increasing their work.
The Future of ChronoZoom We envision a world where scientists, researchers, students, and teachers collaborate through
ChronoZoom to share information via data, tours, and insight.
Imagine a world where the leading academics publish their findings to the world in a manner that can
easily be accessed and compared to other data.
Imagine having access to the best lectures from top researchers and professors from around the world
to give you better understanding of significant events and concepts that you would not have gotten if
you weren’t a student in their course.
Imagine a tool that allows teachers to generate tours specific to their classroom needs and enables
students to build their own stories and share them with other students around the world.
This can happen with your support. In this beta release of ChronoZoom, we need your feedback and
support to continue to mold this project to suit your needs.
Help ChronoZoom evolve and vote for features by taking this survey so we can provide the best possible
future features: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EFZBLQL4B/
Join our Facebook Community to know the latest updates and when new features are added:
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If you have high quality expert content to be added to ChronoZoom contact us at