{"id":1001,"date":"2011-09-17T09:17:03","date_gmt":"2011-09-17T19:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogsksbeedu.wpenginepowered.com\/elcordei\/?p=1001"},"modified":"2011-09-17T09:32:53","modified_gmt":"2011-09-17T19:32:53","slug":"word-clouds-for-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.ksbe.edu\/elcordei\/2011\/09\/17\/word-clouds-for-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Word Clouds for the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Who doesn’t love a\u00a0word cloud<\/a>? \u00a0They’re so fun and students LOVE to create them. \u00a0This word cloud was created using Tagxedo<\/a>, Word Clouds with Style. <\/em>Not only was it fun, but is was EASY to do…and FREE.<\/p>\n

There are many ways you can use word clouds in your classroom. \u00a0This is \u00a0an example of an About Me cloud. Have students start by listing all the words that describe them. \u00a0In my example, I did just that. \u00a0After about fifteen words I was stumped and lets face it, word clouds just aren’t as cute if you only have a handful of words. \u00a0So I chose two words that I felt described me the most and used the handy “Synonym:” method in my google search. \u00a0I copied the results from that search and pasted them into the text field of Tagxedo and presto<\/em>, I had more words to add to my word cloud! \u00a0Here’s what that looks like:<\/p>\n

“synonym:happy”=\u00a0blessed<\/a>,\u00a0blest,\u00a0blissful<\/a>,\u00a0blithe<\/a>,\u00a0can’t\u00a0complain,captivated,
\ncheerful<\/a>,\u00a0chipper,\u00a0chirpy,\u00a0content<\/a>,contented<\/a>,\u00a0convivial<\/a>,\u00a0delighted<\/a>,\u00a0ecstatic<\/a>,\u00a0elated<\/a>,
\nexultant<\/a>,\u00a0flying\u00a0high,\u00a0gay<\/a>,\u00a0glad<\/a>,\u00a0gleeful,\u00a0gratified,intoxicated<\/a>,\u00a0jolly<\/a>,\u00a0joyful<\/a>,\u00a0joyous<\/a>,
\njubilant<\/a>,\u00a0laughing<\/a>,\u00a0light<\/a>,\u00a0lively<\/a>,\u00a0looking\u00a0good,\u00a0merry<\/a>,mirthful<\/a>,\u00a0on\u00a0cloud\u00a0nine,
\noverjoyed<\/a>,\u00a0peaceful<\/a>,peppy<\/a>,\u00a0perky<\/a>,playful<\/a>,\u00a0pleasant<\/a>,\u00a0pleased<\/a>,sparkling<\/a>,\u00a0sunny<\/a>,
\nthrilled<\/a>,\u00a0tickled,\u00a0tickled\u00a0pink,up<\/a>,\u00a0upbeat<\/a>,\u00a0walking\u00a0on\u00a0air<\/p>\n

You might notice in the example that some of the words are larger than others. \u00a0There are advanced features in word cloud generators that allow you to customize the size of text, but an easy way to do that is to just add more of the word you want to enlarge. \u00a0Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

These words, “Web~2.0, Web~2.0, Web~2.0, Create, Collaborate, Social, web-based, global, anywhere, learn,”<\/span> made,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Notice the use of the tilde (~) connected Web and 2.0 together.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tagxedo<\/a> also has cool shapes you can choose from to customize your word cloud, that’s what makes it different than Wordle<\/a>, another cool word cloud creator that was used to create the example above. \u00a0In addition, you can choose your own images to upload to Tagxedo<\/a> to shape your cloud. \u00a0In my example, I used the shape of the Big Island of Hawai’i since that’s where I’m from. \u00a0This is something you’ll want to play around with a little. \u00a0I used photoshop to get my shape just right to work with my cloud (tutorial coming soon).<\/p>\n

How can word clouds be used in your classroom? \u00a0Luckily, there are some awesome bloggers out there who share lesson ideas with the rest of us! \u00a0Here are just some of the great ideas and examples teachers are using in their classrooms:<\/p>\n