Timelines and Google Tour Builder

As a student, I remember numerous occasions where I was asked to create a timeline.   I stumbled upon Google Tour Builder last week, so I wanted to share it with you.

Originally created so veterans could document and preserve their memories of their time in military service for their families, Google Tour Builder allows you to document places on Google Earth and incorporate text and images along the way.  I immediately saw this being used to recreate the settings of a book or in social studies to document different historical locations.  Students could use it to share important life events of their own as a getting-to-know you activity at the beginning of the year.  

Because it is Google, your account is already linked, though you may have to sign in.  You get started by giving your "tour" a name.

I did a test tour on a book that I'm reading, so I called my tour the name of the book.  Once your tour is created, you can start adding pins to the map, text, and photos.  Photos can be uploaded from your computer, or searched through Google images.
My novel covers a span of time and a variety of locations, and Google Tour Builder allows you to add up to 25 locations.  For each photo/video/location, you can add text that describes what is happening for that particular pin on the timeline.

Here is a glimpse as to what a completed tour will look like.  Click here for a link to this tour.

Tours can be shared with a link and posted in Google Classroom for others to view when complete. 

If students find that their tours are not saving, have them restart their computers.  Thanks Mr. Olson for the tip!

Some other timeline links to try:
Time Toast
Timeline Maker

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