Tool: http://wordle.net
Many of you may have already discovered this web site already, but for those who haven't, check out Wordle!
What Is "Wordle"?
The Wordle web site generates "word clouds" from text. The more frequently the text appears, the larger the size of the text in the cloud. The site provides the opportunity to change fonts, layouts and color schemes to customize your "cloud". When you are finished, you can save them, print them, or save them to the Wordle Gallery for others to admire!
| Here is an example of one from the gallery: |
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Wordle offers three ways to generate a "word cloud."
- Simply type or paste text into a field.
- Enter the URL of any blog, blog feed, or any other web page that has an Atom or RSS feed.
- Enter a del.icio.us user name to see their tags.
| Here is the cloud generated from this blog: |
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| This is my cloud from my del.icio.us account: |
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Why Use “Wordle”?
Students will enjoy seeing their writing in a visual format.
Instructional Ideas for "Wordle"...
I shared this site with a graduate class recently and we brainstormed a few ideas of how to use this site in the classroom. The teachers thought that they could use Wordle to...
- Introduce keywords in a story to elementary students.
- Create an "about me" page that emphasized personal information. Student would have to enter the most important characteristics or interests several times to increase the word's prominence.
- Develop character maps from books they have read or are reading.
- Summarize new stories to examine the writer's perspective or emphasis.
- Reflect and critique student writing for overuse of words and encourage vocabulary development.
Other ideas for using Wordle in the classroom...
- Verify student writing is on topic by examining word frequency.
- Reflect on a lesson / chapter / unit / course and enter their key thoughts into Wordle as a closure activity.
Please add your ideas for using this tool in the classroom by submitting your comments to this post!
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