Wordle & the Wonder of Word Clouds
12 Tips in Using Wordle (Some you may now… but other you may not.) This article is courtesy of 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning.
Here's my Wordle on IDENTITY!
Welcome to a series of posts devoted to the use of Word Clouds. I know you will find new information… whether you are a seasoned user of word clouds, or brand new. I enjoy working with teachers and helping them use word clouds in their lessons because they are a great way to get any teacher started with integrating technology. In this series of posts I will cover:
Over 100 ways to use Word Clouds in the classroom There is more to Word Clouds then Wordle… other awesome word cloud generators Beyond word clouds… cool sites and applications to integrate word clouds To ensure you do not miss one of these valuable posts or other resources covering PBL, STEM, 21st century learning, and technology integration please sign up for 21centuryedtech by email or RSS. As always I invite you to follow me on twitter (@mjgormans). Please give this post a retweet and pass it on to someone not as familiar with technology and Web 2.o. Word clouds and Wordle are a great starting place for teachers just testing the waters. – Michael Gorman at (21centuryedtech)
Word Cloud… Wordle… An Introduction
* Do you already know Word Clouds… then go down to the 12 Tips… I am sure you may learn something new about Wordle
I have long heard of Word Webbing, Words Diagrams, Word Art, but how about a Word Cloud? By now you may be either familiar with a Word Cloud, have googled the Weather Channel to get a better idea, or maybe have taken a look out your window to see if there really is such a thing. The concept of a Word Cloud maintains that “If a picture paints a thousand words, then what can a thousand words paint?” The answer of course is a Wordle. Yes, Wordles are amazing Word Clouds that can be created by all. On a recent internet surf I found that this Word Cloud holds the sky as the limit while providing an abundance of sunshine for the educational setting.
So, Wordle is an application that creates Word Clouds (pictures made of words) based on the frequency of the words that are entered in the Wordle Site. A great explanation can be found at Wikipedia. The University of Oxford even defines a word cloud as “Graphical representation or word frequency that presents a picture of the most common words used with those used more often displayed larger”. As I reflected on Wordle Word Clouds it occurred to me that they were a reflection in themselves. They display our very words and in a sense give an analytical look at who we are, and what we write. This is where my Wordle Addiction first began. I immediately needed a biography on a website and “Wordle It”. Wow, what an awesome idea, kids write a biography of a famous person and Wordle that biography! My addiction did not end there. How about writing a paragraph about my favorite college football team and another on one I despise the most. Wordle them both separately and compare, then contrast! Michigan and Ohio State provided a great lesson and it is hard to walk away without understanding the standard of compare and contrast. Imagine the possible contrasts between the Red Sox and the Yankees! My need to Wordle grew as I discovered summaries of author’s books, main ideas of textbook paragraphs, collaborative thinking of groups of people, menus from restaurants, favorite lyrics from songs, an entire poem or ballad, descriptions of characters from books, movie summaries, and weather reports from across the nation. I found that editorials that I agreed with made great Wordles! My Wordle addiction led to research ways that Wordle can be used in the educational setting. Please take a moment and explore my Wordle tips.
To read all 12 TIPS, please click here!
Here's my Wordle on IDENTITY!
Welcome to a series of posts devoted to the use of Word Clouds. I know you will find new information… whether you are a seasoned user of word clouds, or brand new. I enjoy working with teachers and helping them use word clouds in their lessons because they are a great way to get any teacher started with integrating technology. In this series of posts I will cover:
Over 100 ways to use Word Clouds in the classroom There is more to Word Clouds then Wordle… other awesome word cloud generators Beyond word clouds… cool sites and applications to integrate word clouds To ensure you do not miss one of these valuable posts or other resources covering PBL, STEM, 21st century learning, and technology integration please sign up for 21centuryedtech by email or RSS. As always I invite you to follow me on twitter (@mjgormans). Please give this post a retweet and pass it on to someone not as familiar with technology and Web 2.o. Word clouds and Wordle are a great starting place for teachers just testing the waters. – Michael Gorman at (21centuryedtech)
Word Cloud… Wordle… An Introduction
* Do you already know Word Clouds… then go down to the 12 Tips… I am sure you may learn something new about Wordle
I have long heard of Word Webbing, Words Diagrams, Word Art, but how about a Word Cloud? By now you may be either familiar with a Word Cloud, have googled the Weather Channel to get a better idea, or maybe have taken a look out your window to see if there really is such a thing. The concept of a Word Cloud maintains that “If a picture paints a thousand words, then what can a thousand words paint?” The answer of course is a Wordle. Yes, Wordles are amazing Word Clouds that can be created by all. On a recent internet surf I found that this Word Cloud holds the sky as the limit while providing an abundance of sunshine for the educational setting.
So, Wordle is an application that creates Word Clouds (pictures made of words) based on the frequency of the words that are entered in the Wordle Site. A great explanation can be found at Wikipedia. The University of Oxford even defines a word cloud as “Graphical representation or word frequency that presents a picture of the most common words used with those used more often displayed larger”. As I reflected on Wordle Word Clouds it occurred to me that they were a reflection in themselves. They display our very words and in a sense give an analytical look at who we are, and what we write. This is where my Wordle Addiction first began. I immediately needed a biography on a website and “Wordle It”. Wow, what an awesome idea, kids write a biography of a famous person and Wordle that biography! My addiction did not end there. How about writing a paragraph about my favorite college football team and another on one I despise the most. Wordle them both separately and compare, then contrast! Michigan and Ohio State provided a great lesson and it is hard to walk away without understanding the standard of compare and contrast. Imagine the possible contrasts between the Red Sox and the Yankees! My need to Wordle grew as I discovered summaries of author’s books, main ideas of textbook paragraphs, collaborative thinking of groups of people, menus from restaurants, favorite lyrics from songs, an entire poem or ballad, descriptions of characters from books, movie summaries, and weather reports from across the nation. I found that editorials that I agreed with made great Wordles! My Wordle addiction led to research ways that Wordle can be used in the educational setting. Please take a moment and explore my Wordle tips.
To read all 12 TIPS, please click here!
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