WORDLE!

Word Clouds in the Classroom

By Alison Paul

What in the Wordle…is Wordle?

• Wordle is…– an online tool for generating “word

clouds” from text that you provide.

http://www.wordle.net/create

This is a word cloud, or “Wordle” cloud.

*I used the USC Libraries’ Mission Statement to create this Wordle cloud.*

You can provide text by:

1.Inserting text manually.

You can provide text by:

2. Copying and pasting text.

You can provide text by:

3. Entering the URL of any blog, blog feed, or any other web page that has an Atom or RSS feed.

You can provide text by:

4. Entering a del.icio.us user name to see their tags.

1.Insert text manually here.

2.Copy and paste text here.

Enter URL here.

Enter del.icio.us. user name here.

Bigger, Bolder Words• The clouds give graphic emphasis to words

that appear more frequently in the source text.

The circled words appeared most frequently in my research paper about instruction in academic libraries: ‘library’, ‘students’, ‘English’, ‘academic’, & ‘faculty’.

1. Type the following Web address into your browser: http://www.wordle.net/create

Let’s practice!

2. Manually type text into the “Paste in a bunch of text” box. *For this practice exercise, please write an introductory

paragraph about yourself.

Manually enter text into this box. Enter text about yourself: include your name, interests, favorite things, words that describe you, words that your friends or family use to describe you, etc. …

3. Once you have finished typing, click the “Go” button below the text box.

Click on me with your mouse!

Wordle will then generate your beautiful word cloud!

• Wouldn’t this make a great icebreaker activity for a class?• Or a business card, even?

To edit your Wordle…

Use the tabs in this toolbar or the “Randomize” feature at the bottom of the screen.

Edit the color scheme of your Wordle using the “Color” tab.

Use the “Layout” tab’s features to edit the physical layout of your Wordle.

Use the “Font” tab to change your Wordle’s font. Or click the “Randomize” button to

see randomly generated designs!

When you are finished and ready to output your work…

Three ways to output your Wordle:• As a printout

– Use the “Print” button feature.

• Link to webpage to be viewed in a public gallery – Click the “Save to public gallery” button

• Manually screen capture it and create a digital image. – Here is a link to a video on how:

• http://youtu.be/PE-5BD474cw

To print your Wordle To save your cloud to the public gallery

Wordle clouds…

• Are visual representations of text!• Put emphasis on keywords!• Are aesthetically pleasing!• Are fun to create! • Can serve educational purposes!

• Can be applied in many ways in instruction!

Wordle in the Classroom• Example 1: Literary analysis

– Copy and paste the text of a poem.

* The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

More literary analysis…

• Enter text from a chapter or an excerpt from a book

*An excerpt from James Joyce’s Ulysses

Analyze text from a blog or discussion board that is relevant to your class.

* Here I used the URL for my Session Topic Tour Guide blog

Analyze a Speech

* For this I copied and pasted the text of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech

Have your class create word clouds for the Dewey Decimal Classification System

The 200s, Dewey Decimal System

Word Clouds: The Sky’s the Limit!

• More great examples for your classroom:

– http://www.slideshare.net/mberner/38-intersting-ways-to-use-wordle-in-the-classroom

– http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6666671.html

– http://www.edgalaxy.com/journal/2010/1/22/the-ultimate-guide-to-wordle-for-educators.html

The End