The “Presidential Timeline” Project

Click to view a preliminary concept of a sample page from the Presidential Timeline Web site

In May 2005, The Learning Technology Center received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and began working on a “We the People” project to promote knowledge and understanding of American history and culture. The LTC is working with the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and the 10 other presidential libraries and document projects, the University of Texas at Austin Libraries UTOPIA Project, faculty in the Colleges of Education and Liberal Arts, and the Austin Independent School District (AISD) on the development of a Web-based resource to give the public access to the libraries’ rich archives of historical artifacts. The two-year $233,000 project also includes funding from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation and the UTOPIA Project.

The “Presidential Timeline” Web site will feature an interactive timeline of the 20th century based on the administrations of American presidents. The timeline will contain digitized artifacts and primary historical resources, such as audio and video clips, photographs, and documents from the collections of the Presidential Libraries to illustrate or provide in-depth information on events. For example, information on the Gulf of Tonkin crisis during the Johnson administration might include President Johnson’s daily diary and audio files of conversations he had leading up to his address to the nation about the matter. Through the Presidential Timeline, students and the general public will be able to examine original source materials that were available in the past only to serious scholars, providing them insight into the complexity and confusion that often surrounds presidential decision-making.

Dr. Paul E. Resta, director of the LTC and principal investigator for the project says, “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the Presidential Libraries on this important project. Together we will combine vast 20th century historical resources with technology in ways to help make history come alive for students across the nation.” His team, led by Ken Tothero, Coordinator of the LTC’s IDEA Studio, manage the project and are working closely with the project partners to develop the Web site design and programming.

Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, Director of the LBJ Library, assists the Learning Technology Center by coordinating the work of the libraries. Says Dr. Flowers, “The Presidential Libraries are enthusiastic in their support of the “Presidential Timeline” and confident that the materials they can contribute from their archival resources will be of enormous benefit to students of history and the general public for years to come. The NEH has provided the foundation for an exciting project that will continue to grow and develop.”

Another major aspect of the project will be the development of curricular materials to allow teachers to effectively integrate the resources of the Presidential Timeline into their instruction. All the project participants will contribute to the design of these materials, and AISD teachers will pilot their use in the classroom. In particular, the education specialists at each of the presidential libraries, who have already developed teaching units for use with their own collections, will be able to share their knowledge and resources to create modules that explore themes such as “Civil Rights” throughout the entire timeline. Templates to help teachers create their own instructional units will also be provided on the Web site. All of these instructional resources will take advantage of the Presidential Timeline’s source materials to strengthen students’ skills in research, analysis, problem solving, and teamwork.

The Presidential Timeline will be housed on the Web servers of the University of Texas at Austin Libraries UTOPIA Project. Associate Director Mark McFarland states, “UTOPIA will not only provide the technical platform for the Timeline, but will ensure the long-term availability to the public of this important content.” The Timeline will also have links on all the Presidential Library Web sites.

With UTOPIA as a permanent home, the Presidential Timeline will continue to flourish even after the project time period has ended, as more artifacts are digitized and placed in the timeline and as more curriculum materials are developed. The Presidential Timeline will become a treasured resource for all students and citizens who wish to discover more than a textbook can teach them about our nation’s rich and colorful history and the presidents who shaped it.