Section IV: Lesson #2: Wordle: Using Word Clouds in a Lesson

Name: Kevin Webster

Title: Wordle: Using Word Clouds in a Lesson

Link: Technology and Education: Box of tricks

http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=103

(found on a Google search)

Summary:

Earlier in this blog, I found a tool, Wordle.net, that makes word clouds out of text that you put into the word box. The tool arranges words based on the parameters selected by the user. For example, to analyze the word choice of a particular author, all his or her works could be inserted and a word cloud could display the frequency of each word (higher frequency words would display larger than the others).

For this section, I wanted to see how teachers were using this tool, and I found an example of a way it could be used in the classroom.

The lesson went very well and I found Wordle to be an useful and interesting tool to use to engage my pupils in text analysis, looking at language and vocabulary in detail. My pupils liked the way Wordle automatically picked up the gist of any given text so much that they asked me about how to use Wordle to help them revise in other subjects.

1. What content would you be teaching with the lesson?

What’s great about this is that the content here can be varied. It can be text analysis, vocabulary, word choice or data representation. It could also be used with multiple content areas. I myself, like in the link, would use it to show how correlative two separate pieces can be. It shows relationships between texts and when used backwards (when the word cloud is showed before the original text) it stimulates the higher order thinking of the student; their conclusions will have to have some sort of reasoning, and they will enjoy it.

2. What group of students would you be teaching–grade level, content area?

I would use this with any grade level. From elementary on up to 12th grade. The lesson is very versatile and can be fostered to about any group. It also introduces technology into the classroom. Also, other content areas
such as history and math would benefit from this tool.

3. What do you like about the lesson?

I most like the interactivity of using this tool in the classroom. It breaks down literature and textual analysis in a way that has never been thought of before and it is easy to set up. When looking at word clouds in attempt to interpret the original meaning, we have to put on our thinking caps and dig through the meaning of words and the significance of word choice.

4. What would you modify in the lesson?

The only way I would modify this lesson is to make it another lesson. I would have students create their own word clouds after having used them to analyze texts. It could be a introspection into their own ability as writers. They could examine their own word choice, whether they like their word choice or not, and they can shift their own focus. It’s is useful that students can not only analyze other writing but also their own.