Presidential Timeline Web Site Receives Presidential Libraries Funding October 8, 2012

The Learning Technology Center is pleased to announce it has received $375,000 from the Office of Presidential Libraries of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration to continue the activities of the acclaimed Presidential Timeline Web site.

“This grant will allow us to continue to add resources to the site and provide professional development activities for teachers during the rest of the current fiscal year,” said Ken Tothero, LTC Coordinator of External and Special Projects, who manages the PTL project. “We will also be able to add some great new functionalities to the site that we’re very excited about.”

Top on the list of improvements is to convert the Timeline’s multimedia platform from Flash to HTML5. This will allow users to view and interact with the site through a variety of mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones. Many of the site’s pages will be updated with new graphics, featured content, and more powerful search capabilities. And on the site’s back end, a new portal system will allow the presidential libraries to more easily deliver new resources and information for inclusion on the Timeline.

The grant will also fund the continuation of the project’s teacher professional development activities, including a Webinar series and two summer institutes to be held at presidential library sites. These efforts support social studies teachers who wish to use digitized primary source materials from the Presidential Timeline, as well as other online resources, to integrate historical thinking activities into their instruction. For more information about the Timeline, contact Ken Tothero.

—Laurie Caldwell, LTC Communications Coordinator