naming conventions

Submitted by Paizha Stoothoff on February 17th, 2021

Short Description:

Digital timelines enable us to tell stories visually by connecting non-linear moments: events, reactions, and experiences. This assignment includes a lesson plan and worksheet for teaching with timelines. Timelines work best when they are created as a project for a course, since they take time to develop. Project ideas include: alternatives to the research paper in humanities and Literature courses; embedding timelines in website projects where students also create bibliographies of secondary sources; and library archival projects to showcase student work or a collection with an open-source tool if space or platforms are limited.

The lesson plan and worksheet are designed around Knightlab TimelineJS, but can be adapted for use with other timeline tools. Also included is a guide for selecting a timeline tool for instructors.

Attachments:

Attachment	Size
Timeline Lesson Plan.docxdisplayed 854 times	35.18 KB
Timeline Worksheet.docxdisplayed 829 times	27.96 KB
Choosing a Timeline Creator_for instructors.docxdisplayed 740 times	35.51 KB

Relevant links:

Creating Timelines with Knightlab LibGuide

Learning Outcomes:

Students will:

Demonstrate an understanding of the scholarly discourse and/or cultural, historical context for a topic.
Use basic digital skills required for developing digital projects including use of URL links, embed code, alternative text for media.
Select appropriate materials for timelines including images, articles, and other resources available through library databases, library archives, and open web resources.

Discipline:

English History Library and Information Science Multidisciplinary

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated):

This lesson plan was implemented in a Victorian Literature upper division English class. The Professor assigned students a final website project as an alternative to the research paper. On their website, they included the following pages: About, Timeline, Reflection, and Works Cited. This workshop aided students in creating and finding resources for their timeline, and provided citation guidance as well. Archives and Special Collections at our University has also used Knightlab Timeline to create a digital exhibit with student interns to be embedded into a departmental project.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.):

A supplemental LibGuide, Creating Timelines with Knightlab, was designed by the Humanities Librarian for all instructors/librarians/archivists interested in using the tool in their projects or courses.

LibGuide: https://libguides.calstatela.edu/c.php?g=1124920&p=8205317

Assessment or Criteria for Success

Assessment Short Description:

Assessment may include student's grades for course projects. Professors did not use a rubric for grading the timeline, but there may be opportunities to develop a rubric for them in the future.

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips:

Part two, registering for Knightlab, will take time. There are some technical nuances that come up with using the Timeline (which the FAQ in the LibGuide aims to address). To avoid spending the whole library session on registration and using the tool, have students register in class and spend the remainder finding sources. Students can 'plug in' their content at home and follow-up with any questions. When piloting this worksheet and lesson plan, about 5 students reached out with some technical questions to the Librarian. Updating the FAQ to answer common questions proved useful for the Librarian and for students.

Also, tailor the resources you share based on the context for the timeline. For example, if it's being used for a Victorian Literature class, I would emphasize the British Library, ArtStor, free Images, and Britannica Online. If it's being used for 19th Century Novel, I would emphasize 19th century newspapers, ArtStor, free images, and possibly Women's Studies Archives.

Suggested Citation:

Stoothoff, Paizha. "Creating a Timeline with Knightlab." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2021. https://projectcora.org/assignment/creating-timeline-knightlab.

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All assignments contributed to this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike United States License

Submitted by Ryer Banta on November 2nd, 2016

Short Description:

This lesson introduces undergraduates to personal digital archiving (PDA) as an instructional bridge to research data management.

PDA is the study of how people organize, maintain, use and share personal digital information in their daily lives. PDA skills closely parallel research data management skills, with the added benefit of being directly relevant to undergraduate students, most of whom manage complex personal digital content on a daily basis.

By teaching PDA, librarians encourage authentic learning experiences that immediately resonate with students' day-to-day activities. Teaching PDA builds a foundation of knowledge that not only helps students manage their personal digital materials, but can be translated into research data management skills that will enhance students' academic and professional careers.

This lesson was developed by Sara Mannheimer and Ryer Banta and is licensed CC-BY 4.0.

Relevant links:

Slides Lesson Plan

Learning Outcomes:

Students will apply file naming conventions, folder structure and other data management standards to their own digital files.
Students will explain the significance and impact of data management, and lack thereof, for personal, school and work digital files.