Wordle

In class today, Dr. B pointed out that two of us used Wordles on our new websites.  I knew what he was talking about, but didn't know it had a name!  I didn't make the Web 2.0 "Wordle" that I used in the last post, but was interested in making my own.  He also discussed that many teachers use Wordle as an educational tool and a great form of Web 2.0 technology in the classroom.    

So I began to investigate.  I searched "education uses for Wordle" and came across several interesting online posts.  I was really surprised to learn that there are so many ways to use this website in everyday learning.  Read 108 Ways to Use Word Clouds in the Classroom for an extensive list of subject area ideas and strategies for all ages.  Check out the Top 20 Uses for Wordle for an additional list, in addition to examples.  

I messed around with the site and came up with an idea that I could have incorporated into my Inventor Biography workshop I did with the 4th graders last term.  Above, is a Wordle I made using one of my student's biographies they wrote in the spring.  She had emailed her writing to me, so I had it in digital form.  I copied and pasted the contents into Wordle, and out popped a word cloud!  I edited the colors and layout, and then found that I could delete words that I didn't want in the cloud.  I deleted words such as "say, like, the" etc.  I could have used this activity as a way to present their writing around the classroom, for students to see which words they use the most, or as a way to turn their biographies into spelling lists.

This application is usable for students of all ages.  I believe children as young as 2nd or 3rd grade would be able to generate their own word clouds with modeled instruction.  And for the younger elementary level, they could be used as a printable visual for spelling words, poems, or a way to search and find certain words.  Read the links above for great ideas for different purposes of Wordle as well as clickable examples.