TimeLiner XE

© 2008 Tom Snyder Productions
$100, Windows, Mac OSX
Teaches: organization, writing, temporal relations
CTR Rating: 87.5%
Editor's Choice

CTR Review

School reports will never be the same, with tools like this new edition of TimeLiner XE, for Mac or Windows computers. So your first question is probably, "What does the XE stand for?" We're not sure, and neither are the folks at Tom Snyder Productions. Apparently, it just sounds good, although we might suggest "X-pensive Edition" given the $100 price. What is clear is that this edition is a lot more than a timeline making utility, as the price suggests. TimeLiner XE is an integrated data organizing package, that can quickly turn Internet searches into a finished timeline, with references. It is also a presentation tool, with a new Slide Show option, that presents the events in your timeline one event at a time. Other content includes hundreds of project ideas, pre-selected research tools, clip art, sample timelines and homework assignments. After you install 418 MB file on your hard drive and enter the registration codes, you are presented with a rather confusing array of project and homework options. A note to designers: add a big "make a timeline" button. Once you've set up your template, the program makes it easy to cite references, and click or drag graphics from the web or pre-selected sources--such as Scholastic's Grolier encyclopedia, Google, Yahoo, Kidsclick, Ask for Kids, Digital History, PBS Online, Encyclopedia Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. You simply find an image, drag it onto your data grid, and the program automatically snags the URL for a reference. While all these extras are nice, they add to the learning curve of the experience. Those already familiar with past versions of TimeLiner will have no problem jumping in and making a project. Work can be printed or exported in PDF format (we would have liked more graphic format options, here). The bottom line? TimeLiner XE is a powerful creativity tool that can help students organize their work. But it helps to use the features.