ICT Tip: Wordle Word Clouds

Quick overview: The Wordle website (wordle.net) allows you or your students to copy text from any document (Word document, web page, student essay, etc..) and paste it into the Wordle website. With a click of a button, Wordle will generate a cloud of word poetry (see below image) that places more importance on the most frequently used words form the source document.

How can it be used in the classroom? For students that are visual learners, Wordle could be used to break down a short text and allow your students to literally “see” the most predominant words (i.e – themes) used throughout the text. As an ICT suggestion for the upcoming Canadian and US elections, your students could paste speeches from different candidates into Wordle and see which words come out the most and then initiate a class discussion. Below is an intresting example of pasting Martin Luther King, Jr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech into Wordle: (Source: Steve Quirion, RECIT Univers Social)


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