Using tech to study the past: English II's Holocaust Tiki-Tokis

For a fear years now, students in my English II class spend the better part of a semester focusing not only on literature and grammar, but on an important part of history: the Holocaust. The terrible things that happened throughout Europe in the 1940s occurred a long time ago, but they're just as important—actually, more important—to us today, which is why we spend so much of the semester reading literature like The Diary of Anne Frank, Elie Wiesel's Night, and this year, Art Spiegleman's Maus, a graphic novel written by the son of a Holocaust survivor. We also will watch a few movies, write a few reports, and possibly even get to have a firsthand look at some Holocaust history. ^{[HINT HINT]}

Aleena Hsu's Tiki-Toki

Another new addition to the class this year is the addition of a semester-long project using the web-based timeline program Tiki-Toki. As students read, they'll be adding in information they find into one "master" timeline that will chronicle everything we study in the semester. Right now, the only events on their timelines have to do with The Diary of Anne Frank, but hopefully, by the time the semester is over, they'll be filled with one in-depth resource that they can share with others who don't know about the Holocaust.

Below are the Tiki-Tokis of the English II students. As we progress through the semester, they'll be adding more and more to them, so check back periodically to see the powerful things they are studying.

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A-Day		B-Day
Angela C. [Rec'd] Belle [Rec'd] Betty L. [Rec'd] Billy Calvin [Rec'd] David L. Eddie Grace Y. Kelly Kevin M.	Krikki Martin Max [Rec'd] Miyuki [Rec'd] Samuel Takako [Rec'd] Wade	Aleena [Rec'd] Alex Amanda Amy Ben Brian Cameron Christine Grace C. [Rec'd] Jass [Rec'd]	Joanne Jonathan H. Joyce Kathrina [Rec'd] Kevin C. [Rec'd] Nancy [Rec'd] Rachel Robert Sabrina Sally

^[Rec'd] = Really, really good examples

Using Tiki-Toki.com for your Holocaust semester projects

I've teased it, I've hinted at it, and, at one point, I even directly told you, but now it's official: English II will be beginning our final, end-of-the-semester project today, right in time for midterms! (Hold your applause.)

First off, I've asked you guys to go and try out Tiki-Toki, the timeline website where our project will take place. Once you sign up for a free account (I don't have a class code for you, so just make it the regular free account), you can start entering in events. Here's how:



Ok, got it? Hopefully. If you'd like to see an awesome example of a completed timeline... too bad. There's none. You will be the first students ever to do this (for me). However, if you want to see my terrible example of a completed timeline, it's right here.

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Now, to go over some of the intricacies of this site, CREATE A NEW STORY:

You will see this under Basic info.

Under Basic info:

• The Title must be a quick sentence fragment that just gets the point across (e.g. "Anne Frank born").
• The End date must be the same as the Start date.
• Intro should be one short sentence that gives a very basic idea of what the event was. More detail than the Title, but still not a full paragraph.
• A Category for Anne Frank must be set.
• Any website used must be added in on Link.

You will see this under Story media.

Under Story media:

• Click + ADD NEW MEDIA to add a picture, video, or audio file.
  
  
  
  
• The Source should be the link to where the picture is located. (If the picture is on your computer, load it to your blog and then put the link in.)
• Make sure the Type is set to the right thing (Images, Video, Audio).
• You may use more than one picture for each timeline event, but at the very least, you need one appropriate, applicable picture or video per event.

You will see this under Extra info.

Under Extra info:

• Write a full paragraph about the event (in your own words) under Full text.

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Got it? The first 10 events will be due by next Wednesday, March 7th.

What is English II to do?

Rabbit Rabbit! Just wanted to leave a quick reminder to my English II students about what the assignments were for today:

1. Watch 'em: Take a few minutes to watch your classmates' videos from the Point of View projects. They're posted here, to my blog, and they're completely awesome! If you like what they've done, go let them know by leaving a comment for them!
   
   
2. Rate 'em: Remember, I need everyone to take that Group rating quiz, for each member of your POV groups (including yourself). Make sure you get this done by Friday so I can give you points for it by the midterm. Remember: be honest!
   
   
3. Test 'em: Lastly, go to Tiki-Toki.com, sign up for an account, and start playing around with this program. Even if it's just for 15 minutes, you'll become more comfortable with adding events in. Just create a timeline and add a few dates in your life to it, and practice using the Categories feature, too. Remember, we're going to be using this for the rest of the semester as your Final project, so the better you know it now, the easier it will be later!
   
   
   

That's all!