Many Web-based instructional practices have evolved from the new technologies that have appeared over the past ten years. As multimedia browsers replaced text-based dinosaurs, graphics became an integral part of website development. Plugins for applications from word processors to hypermedia development tools created a whole new wave of breakthroughs in website innovation, as did the advent of JAVA, dhtml, active server pages and much, much more.

One such use of the Web is the virtual timeline. With the powerful capabilities of browsers today's browsers, it has become possible to create a visual representation of a timeline that allows the viewer to interact in order to access deeper layers of information. More importantly from a teacher's point of view, though, these timelines can also demonstrate relationships - connections - between different kinds of information.

Here is a sampling of the best of what is currently available in the domain of virtual timelines. I tried to gather a collection that cuts across interests and disciplines. Here's hoping there's something you can use! Thanks as always to Jerry Blumengarten for contributing his suggestions for consideration. Happy New Year, and here's to a fabulous 2001 to all my subscribers!

• Ages of Classical Music - http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/2091/
  Here's a colorful vertical timeline that presents each age of the classical period with links to audio files which play examples for the listener. There is also a search tool with which you can search for artists, songs or keywords from the classical era. The site could use some expanding and some links to artists as well as songs, but it's a good starting point for classical music studies.
• The Food Timeline - http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html
  Nutrition is a theme revisited again and again in K-12 curricula, but how can we inject new material and enthusiasm into the topic? The food pyramid was the last great innovation for teachers. Well, here's a whole new way to look at food and nutrition. Not exactly cutting edge technology, but the volume of material will have your kids discovering all kinds of information about when and how foods have evolved over the centuries.
• Harry Potter Timeline and Calendars - http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/timeline.html
  The Harry Potter Lexicon offers this virtual concordance of chronologies, with quotes, excerpts and significant events from the popular Rowling series. There's a time line of the Marauders era, a time line of the attack by Voldemort on Harry's family (including the missing 24 hours and the Priori Incantatem mystery), and a History of Magic timeline, as well as day-by-day calendars for each story and an interesting piece on problems with the use of time in Harry Potter.
• History of Inventions - http://www.cbc4kids.ca/general/the-lab/history-of-invention/default.html
  The Canadian Broadcasting Company presents this scrolling timeline "from pottery to computers". It offers a chronological rendering of manmade creation over time from more than 8000 BC to the present. The use of frames is a little disconcerting, but the value of the material is clear to any elementary teacher.
• History of Toys and Games - http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/toys/timeline.html
  This is an especially popular topic for elementary teachers wanting to tie in history, technology and popular culture. The History Channel presents this wonderful look at the kinds of toys and games that have been developed from 4000 BC (Chess) through 1993 (Beanie babies). There are links for further exploration, so be sure to check them out yourself to see all the possibilities for integrating this high-interest topic across your curriculum!
• HyperHistory - http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
  Talk about a dynamic timeline, this is a prime example. Click in the left frame to select people, events, maps or history. Then click in the right frame to select a time period. THEN look in the center frame to see the awesome timeline that emerges. This is so intensive it's almost overly stimulating for young eyes. But think of the possibilities for older students!
• Medieval Technology Timeline - http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/~tekpages/Timeline.html
  Here's an example of an educational timeline that integrates well with history, simple machines, and technology. Items can be referenced chronologically or by subject and the references include both on and offline resources. While this is not on the high end of web technologies, it's a good reminder of what can be done with a topic of substance.
• The Newseum - http://www.newseum.org/cybernewseum/html/index.htm
  For the general public, this concept can be a tough sell: a museum about the history of news. But for educators looking for substantive coverage of the media's role in American culture over the past century, this is a no brainer. The icing on the cake is the wonderful advanced technologies used to present chronologies of events. Take some time to immerse yourself in "Stories of the Century", "Every Four Years" and "Capture the Moment". You'll be glad you did.
• Roller Coasters: Inventing the Scream Machine- http://coasters.eb.com/
  Remember how dry physics used to be? How about how difficult those simple machine units could be when it came time to look at real world applications? This interactive timeline allows students to look at the evolution of the roller coaster and the men who have made it what it is today. From the Russian Mountains through Coney Island and the linear induction motor of the future.
• Technology Timeline - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/telephone/timeline/f_timeline.html
  PBS' the American Experience series offers this timeline from 1750 through 1990, from Franklin's lightning rod to the Hubble Space Telescope. This format begins to approximate the true design of a timeline, with nicely implemented graphics and great links that help you to explore each innovation more in depth. Notice how the movement of your mouse can facilitate movement of the timeline!
• Timeline of Art History - http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm
  None other than the Metropolitan Museum of Art has put together this highly cutting edge, nontraditional timeline. Jump right in using a world map interface or select specific epochs to begin the journey of human expression through the visual arts over time. The wealth of information and visual riches in store for you and your students is priceless!
• Timeline of Computer History - http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/index.page
  From 1945 through 1990, this fascinating look at the rise of the digital age includes a yearly focus on Software and Languages, Computers, Components, Companies, Robots & Artificial Intelligence, and People & Pop Culture. Each entry has links for additional information, so the learning and go deeper and the connections can be made across the span of recent history.
  

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Please send in URL's of high quality sites which may be of interest to our readers to walter@surfaquarium.com! Also, I'm always looking for new topic ideas and input!

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