1 What is Wordle?

What is www.wordle.net?

How can I use www.wordle.net in my classroom?

• Word Chunks: (i.e. –an pan, man, fan, etc.)
• All About Me or All About My Family
• Character Traits/Analysis- Type name of a character or famous person and attributes that describe him/her.
• Synonyms (for those over used words students use when writing)
• Cover of a class book (Type title and then add authors’ names.)
• Vocabulary/Terminology
• Word Poetry
• Reflections
• Parts of Speech
• Figurative Speech
• Phonics
• Rhyming Words
• Characteristics of Genres
• Mind Mapping
• Descriptive Writing
• Living/Nonliving
• Forms of Energy
• Earth Forces
• Weather
• Math Factors
• Fact Families
• US Constitution
• Biographies (Inventors/Famous Americans)
• American Revolution
• Math Concepts
• Renewable/Nonrenewable/Inexhaustible Resources
• Facts about a certain topics (i.e. Indians, biomes, animals, habitats, Solar Systems, States, holidays, etc)
• The sky is the limit with this application!
  

Visit the below sites for more examples on how to use Wordle in the classroom.

• Back to Wordle
• Using Word Clouds
• Using Word Clouds to Remember Words and Texts
• Wordle
• Exploring, Learning, and Communication with Wordle

Tips on using Wordle

• Type your words into a Word document so you can make changes if needed.
• If you want a word(s) to appear larger, type the word once and copy/paste it several times.
• If you want some of your words to be grouped together, use the tilde symbol (~) between the words. Example: All~About~Me
• Once you type the words you want, copy the text and go to www.wordle.net. Click Create and then right-click in the text box and select paste. Then click Go. Once the “wordle” is created, you can click Randomize until you find the style you like. Use the toolbar at the top to customize the font, color, etc.
• CAUTION: The gallery has some examples that are NOT appropriate for kids so you would need to monitor students closely if they use this tool. Addtionally, the creator of Wordle does not suggest using Wordle in an educational setting because the creations are not censored. Students should begin at the following address.http://www.wordle.net/create
• Checkout some of the examples below:

I want to thank my fellow colleagues, Kim H. and Shannon McD. for their assistance in compiling the information for this post.

0 Wordle - Did You Know?

• You can join words together in Wordle by using the tilde character (~)
• For example the words, Staff Development - type Staff~Development
• You can also create a Custom Palette
• Go to the Color

• Choose the number of font colors you want to use

• Click on each Foreground color > Select a color > OK
  
  Presto!

0 Activate:The Journal of Technology Rich Learning

The Journal of Technology Rich Learning

This is a great web-based learning module site. According to the site, "These web-based resources are intended for students, parents, teachers, administrators, library media specialists, and technology coordinators.

Each new article contains the volume, number, and date for the purpose of citation. The articles were designed for use as conference sessions or professional development workshops.

Check it out!!!

0 The Networked Teacher

Recently, I presented at the TCEA Areas 10/11 Technology Conference and showed this great short video called, The Networked Teacher. This video is a wonderful "visual representation of the modern teacher, showing how educators today are more “interconnected” with resources than a teacher not even ten years ago could imagine." http://magazine.edublogs.org/2008/02/02/visualizing-the-networked-teacher/

Also, consider signing up with Edublogs Magazine at http://magazine.edublogs.org/. This is an online magazine dedicated to everything and anything education technology related, with an edubloggy slant. They feature articles and posts by edubloggers from around the world and aim to provide news, views, information, ideas, help and stimulation for all those working with or studying education and technology.

Happy Blogging!

0 How About Social Studies Point to Point Video Conference Ideas?

• Where in the United States: Each classroom creates a presentation about its city or town. The other classrooms, using maps, the Internet, textbooks, and other resources, will try to 'guess' where all classrooms are located.
• Create Travel Advertisements or brochures of a place in your community. Share these with a partner class. During the videoconference, share a virtual visit of some of the places by using photos or a video.
• Back In Time: 5th Grade classrooms present a newscast for the other groups which describe a specific event in history. The other classes take notes and guess the event.
• Civil War Debates: Two classes take different sides to a Civil War issue. Students research the issues and develop speeches to support their side. Students can take a figure of the time and give the debate acting and dressed up as that person.
• When Was That?: Each classroom will put together a presentation on a given decade. The presentations will include information on: History/Politics, Religion, Science/Technology, Fine Arts, and Leisure. The other classrooms would try to guess the decade the presentation represents.
• Where in the United States: Each classroom creates a presentation about its city or town. The other classrooms, using maps, the Internet, textbooks, and other resources, will try to 'guess' where all classrooms are located.