How to Make a Timeline Using Google Spreadsheets and Timeline JS

I stumbled across this tutorial yesterday on my Google+ stream. Apparently, it is quite easy for students to create interactive digital timelines! Students use this Google spreadsheet template to chart the progression of an event, including event start and end dates/times, event headings, descriptions of each piece of the event, and links to images or videos that go along with the event. Once the template is filled out, the student publishes it to the web (under "File"), and then copies and pastes the published link into a box on this website created by Northwestern University (IL).

Voila! Interactive digital timeline created!

Here is a small example timeline that I made using Act I of Romeo and Juliet. (I took some liberties with the date and times...)

Bonus: Students don't have to go through the publishing step each time they update their spreadsheets. The default settings make it so the timeline is updated any time the spreadsheets is altered.

Turn In?
There are many ways students could turn in their finished products. Here are a few:
*Post an assignment to your Google Classroom, and have students share the timeline link via the assignment. (This option would keep the link sharing private between teacher and student.)
*Create an announcement on your Google Classroom stream, and have students paste the timeline link into a comment box. (This option would allow students to view each other's timelines.)
*Create a Google Form asking for two things: Student Name and Timeline Link. (Perhaps the easiest for grading?)
*Have students post their timelines to a Padlet page.
*Have students email you the timeline link.

Possible Uses?
Have students create a timeline...
*for a short story, novel, or play
*for a famous person's life story
*to brainstorm for or draft a personal narrative
*to outline an event in history

Overall, this combination of tools has the possibility to be quite powerful in not only helping students visually see an event's progression, but also showing their understanding of the event. Why not let them chart it out?!