Wordle

This week in class, my partner and I were assigned to research the Web 2.0 tool "Wordle." We explored the tool and learned how to use it so that we may inform the rest of our class about it and determine how we can all use it in our future classrooms!

What I liked:
I liked how you can click "randomize" and continue changing the format of your words until you are satisfied. At first I thought you could not control how the words were arranged but once I found this button I was very satisfied. I also like that there are many color options you can choose from, as well as create your own color scheme. It opens up a great window for creativity from both the students and the teacher and can be used for so many different things.

What I did not like:
The main thing I did not like the fact that once you create your word cloud, you cannot go back and edit the text that you had originally put into the text box. You can edit the layout and colors of the word cloud, but if you want to actually change the words or link words together, you must start all over and re-type the text into the box. I also like that you can print straight from the website, or save it to your computer for later!

What I would change:
I would make the editing tools more user-friendly. For the layout and language columns, I am not even sure what some of the options are for, so the students would definitely have troubles figuring it out as well. This would definitely require the teacher to thoroughly explain all the options to the students and even then would probably have to give individual help which would be very time consuming.

Classroom Use:
Wordle is a great resource for both teachers and students to use. Teachers can use it to make word clouds for vocabulary words, high frequency words, key words, decorative posters, etc. Students can also use Wordle to create "about me" pages, poems, projects, and many other things in the classroom to show their creativity.