This week Hannah Bullock has written the education app of the week article. She is on work experience here at Jigsaw24 and is working in the marketing department. Hannah is 16 years old and is about to start A levels at West Bridgford School sixth form.
With our app of the week, key events in history can be condensed into a single app on an iPad. 34,984,804,900 years in only 17cm to be precise. Timeline Eons is lighter, cheaper and easier to use than any history book and provides eons of really interesting information.
What is Timeline Eons?
Timeline Eons is an interactive timeline, which starts at the beginning of time and shows almost every event in history. This makes it easy and fun to learn about history as it documents everything from wars to the extinction of the Pinta Island Tortoise, Lonesome George. A direct link to Google through the app allows pupils to research events further.
How does it work?
When you open the app, you are on the present day. The app is really user friendly after a quick read of the instructions. Each event comes with a title, a brief description and an appropriate picture of the event so that the pupil can see what was happening.
By tapping on the picture then on the link button in the bottom right hand corner, you automatically search the event’s title in the Google searchbar which allows pupils to dig much deeper into the desired events. Double tap the blue bar that runs along the top to make the entire timeline fill the screen, with the beginning of time on the left and the estimated ending on the right, allowing pupils to see when the events happened in relation to the present day. 34,984,804,900 years spread across 17cm - now that’s a lot of information! You can make it play through the events in chronological order then pause whenever you need to, or just scroll through the events as you wish.
How could it benefit the classroom?
Timeline Eons can benefit pupils by simply allowing them to easily step back in time to research events. Comparing the app to a history book, the app is cheaper, easier and lighter to use (being on an iPad). Pupils can add in events to their timeline and they can also group events into categories, which can be useful for organising information. They can also search specific dates so that they don’t have to waste important lesson time scrolling through the whole of time.
What's the most useful feature?
I think that the most useful feature is probably the link to the internet meaning that pupils can easily and quickly search the desired event, which would be really useful in creating projects and expanding knowledge. Editing and adding to the timeline could be a really useful feature too, if the desired event isn’t there you can just add it in or add more detail to the events that are already on the timeline.
How can I see myself using it?
Being a student that has recently studied history I think that this app would have been really useful during revision as it comes with a few events from the course but not all therefore all the others could be added in to fill areas of the timeline with revision notes. This could be done from memory to test your knowledge or from the textbook for use later with revision.
Where can I get it?
Timeline Eons (maani.us, free) can be found in the App store or via iTunes. You can get the app free but after 15 days you are only able to see from 1950-2050 and can only add in up to three events. For just £4.99 you can buy the full version and you have unlimited access to every year and can add in any number of events. It’s also available under Apple’s Volume Purchase Programme (VPP), which means you can get it half price (£2.49) if you buy in bulk of more than 20 app licenses.
Want to know more about our favourite apps and Apple iPad for the classroom? Get in touch with the team on 03332 409 333, email learning@Jigsaw24.com, follow @Jigsaw24Edu on Twitter or ‘Like’ our Jigsaw24 Education Facebook page for all the latest technology in education news, reviews and articles.