Assessment 2 - Dipity Timeline

This tool should not be my favourite as some other tools are a lot more practical and enriched with effective elearning potential, for example a wiki. However I simply can not help it! I find Dipity from a history perspective as being a valuable practical tool to use. Even outside of history it can be used as a planning tool. One that I will no doubt will be putting into practise in the classroom.

Dipity is a multimedia interactive online time-line that is a great resource for teaching in a classroom. The students are able to embed links, digital images, you tube videos, podcasts and more into there timelines. People automatically assume timelines are only to be used in a historical context. It can be used as an activity for the students to understand the development of events and cultures in chronological order, in an e-learning environment to adapt to today’s digital learners. For a History subject in particular, the content is linked to its source, which can include visual aids, short documentary clips and citations.  Though this is not all that it can be used for. It can be created and shared interactively on any subject or topic. They can be used as topic planners, as a personal timeline in conjuction with students blogs and wikis.  This is a feature where Dipity takes your username and  URL code to automatically upload your information into a timeline. This can be done from any supported social networking site. Ie, Blogs, youtube and wikis.

 They can be created by students individually or as a class and posted on blogs, wikis or webpages to share with the class.    

Another great application of the Dipity timeline is that it can be viewed in four ways: Timeline, List View, Flipbook and Map View.

  

It can be extremely time consuming which could limit students use to larger independent projects or collaborative assignments. However once the student has the information at hand to be imputed it would be quicker. An issue I am not quite sure whether to see as a weakness or not is that the timelines can be copied quite easily. I found this by attempting to embed a timeline created by someone else on my wiki. However copying can be done regardless of technology so can it be seen as a weakness for Dipity?

Under a paid subscription, a teacher can be sent statistical reports to observe their students use of the resources given. 

Dates can be added or edited as a group when the creator selects the option, allowing members to contribute.

I had a play on Dipity linking it with my Wiki page on inspirational figures in History.

I created a biography timeline on Muhammad Ali the American boxer. I did this in order to demonstrate how online biographical timelines would involve a number of sources to create it. The experience exposes students to people whose dedication and achievements inspire and motivate them. A more in depth approach to the multiple sources available to them online as well as catering for a number of learning styles.

A brief biography of Muhammad Ali' life on Dipity.