Word+Clouds


 * Word Cloud Creators[[image:Picture_2.png width="480" height="278" align="right" caption="Created with Wordle"]] **

**Links to Popular Sites:**
 * **Word Sift:** @http://www.wordsift.com
 * **Wordle:** @http://www.wordle.net
 * **Tagxedo:** @http://www.tagxedo.com

** Description: **These three tools all create word clouds but each has unique features depending on what you are looking to accomplish with the tool. Accounts are not needed for any of these tools. Here are the key features of each:
 * **Word Sift:** this site is a bit of a "mash up" because the site creates a word cloud but also provides a work space where the user can move words to create their own word cloud, include images, uses a visual thesaurus, etc.
 * **Wordle:** This is a favorite of teachers--the more times a word is typed the larger it appears in the word cloud. Users can manipulate the color, format, font, layout, etc.
 * **Tagxedo:** Tagxedo is a bit more complex with more options but teachers like the ability to put the word cloud into a specific shape or in the shape of an uploaded image.

**Follow the steps at each web site to create a word cloud.** You will be taken through the steps to create a word cloud at each of the sites. Here is a text document to save some time that we can use as a sample:
 * Documents to use for text to copy and paste: [|Media.pdf] ~ [|Media.doc] ~


 * Ideas for Using These Tools: **


 * 1) **Media/Literature: ** Create a word cloud of adjectives to describe the characters in a book.
 * 2) **Science: ** Create a word cloud to represent safety in the science lab
 * 3) **Link to an article on 52 ways to Use Wordle in the Classroom:** @http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/2626
 * 4) **Mystery Book:** Students use words to describe the book they have read (a Golden Sower for instance) by creating a word cloud of descriptive words. Other students try and guess the book based on the descriptors.