Web2.0: Wordle

It’s a great time to be an educator. When I first began my teaching career the Internet was incredibly limited (aka the ole’ “web 1.0”). If I needed lesson plans my main option was “ERIC” references (and I’ll tell ya it was a heck of a way to get a masters degree years ago).

Today’s educators have literally millions of resources they can choose from to supplement or drive their curriculum. Many of these are a part of the new “web 2.0” firestorm.

While there are so many worthwhile applications, I’d like to share one of my absolute favorites: Wordle.

Wordle is a computer generated “toy” (their description) that generates word clouds with text that you supply. There are limited fonts, layouts, and color schemes, but these can be changed by the user. No password is needed, no software t o be installed. You can post your work to their gallery as well, although I would not recommend it, or sending students there for that matter. Wordle is NOT moderated to contain educational content only, so I direct my students to the ‘create’ tab and keep them away from everything else.

Here are some pictures of Wordles I’ve produced based off of student content: