Google Timeline

Okay, I apologize in advance if this has already been gushed over in MILI. I just stumbled across it and had some fun. The Google Timeline was promoted by a fellow media specialist on our MEMO discussion group. Here's what she said:

"You can see the news for today or any day you select. It shows general news, Wikipedia events, and the Time magazine on the day OR topic you select. For example, I searched for Franklin Roosevelt and selected to have it show by decades. It was marvelous. You can customize by using 'Add More Queries' and choose sports teams, different magazines, blogs, media like music or movies, etc. Studying something in the '60s - try Decades. Social Studies teachers will really like it but everyone can find something interesting here. Just leave plenty of time to explore. And have fun!" - Dawn Nelson

But when I searched for the Beatles, the decades view wasn't very useful. Fine. I went to "years" and took a look at the 1950s. Hmmm. The top 1955 story was about John Lennon's death. . . I wasn't alive in 1955, yet I clearly remember when he was shot . . . in the 80s. How does this tool work? It might be useful to use with students so that they can check for accuracy and errors. Or it's kind of fun to just ding around for a while. This might become a key component of future media literacy lessons for me . . .