#ntbootcamp: Wordle and Tagxedo

Last night I ventured into the world of Tagxedo. I must admit it was less intuitive than Wordle to use at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. I want to make more Tagxedo clouds because of the shape functionality, I think it is way more fun and visually stimulating than a Wordle cloud.

I learned from reading the tweets for #ntbootcamp and reading some blogs of other teachers participating in the bootcamp on ways you can use word clouds in the classroom.


From Whitney @ Never Left First Grade:


- Print off Wordle in black and white and have students color words by category for science, math, and more.

- Small groups could brainstorm on a particular topic, create a Wordle & use to present to the other groups

- Use for the vocabulary at the beginning of a new unit. Make sure the words are only outlined or black and white. Brainstorm meanings and have the students color the word after the class defines it.


You can also use Wordle/Tagxedo for an introduction / ice breaker activity. You can have the students make their own wordle with words that describe their characteristics, personality, favorite things, etc. and can have them display it to the class through a VoiceThread. That would be a great day 2 activity since the students will need time to create and make a wordle their own way.


I'm excited to use it next semester in my practicum since the program I am with will be trying to increase content literacy in mathematics. Tools like the word cloud and other visual organizations of vocabulary and ideas are crucial to the success of the program.