If you read yesterday's post, you know that it started with a Wordle image of some Saint Patrick's Day words. Have you played with Wordle yet? This is one of those online Web 2.0 goodies that I simply forgot about for a time -- but was quickly hooked again once I tinkered with it recently. With Wordle, you can type (or copy/paste) a body of text into its word creation generator and -- poof! -- it's art! You can then alter colors, fonts and word orientation. You can also enter a URL, and it will automatically generate a Wordle image from the words found there:
If a word is used with more frequency, it will be larger than the other words (think of a word cloud generated from tags in the sidebar of your favorite blog -- bigger means it appears more often). Below is a Wordle created from the home page of my blog, Fueled by Anthracite:
I find that creating a Wordle, then putting it on an interactive white board, is a great way to analyze what was important to the author writing the piece, and what comprised its main idea and themes. It would make a great reflection piece in a school journal, or a way to start a critique of a piece of writing in a classroom.
Tagxedo also offers free online word cloud creation, and their service offers even more customization options. You can randomly select options (i.e. font, color), with up to 3 fonts displaying at a time, or put in more specific customizations (quite a few advanced choices). Also, you can click on the "twist" arrow icon, and have it generate a new look with your current options. The shape options feature of this application makes it extra fun, and extends the creativity in a whole new direction:
Can you guess what is being quoted above? (Think: post title) It's the lyrics to "Falling in Love Again" by Marlena Dietrich. Here's another:
This is the famous "It is a far, far better thing. . ." quote spoken by Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities. If creating fab Dickens art isn't enough of a draw for you (as it was for ME . . . you should see my desktop!), there are easily 101 ways that you can use Tagxedo. Tagxedo also has an online shop (through Zazzle) with previously created word cloud creations. My mind is already popping with great ideas for gifts -- and with wonderful lesson plans -- using online cloud creation tools. What have you done, or intend to do, with Wordle and Tagxedo? Please add a comment below and let us know.
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