Wacky Wednesday: Falling in Love Again

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.

Wacky Wednesday: Tweet, Tweet! #seriously

My husband will tell you that I am not someone who "got" Twitter right away. I found Facebook's constant invites by "friends" to farm or fish or whatever very annoying. Please, I do not need any more distractions! Does anyone? Twitter seemed like "Facebook, only shorter", and I could get behind that -- I just didn't want to go the whole "@someone, I ate #breakfast and it was #fun." route. Why would I want to continually tweet my whereabouts and happenings? Where is the return on my time and (heh) talent?

My initial misgivings quickly melted when I gave it some thought. Social networking provides great parent-teacher-student connectivity opportunities and is much quicker and efficient than a daily website update. Here are some Twitter-driven suggestions to get yourself up and running (if you are not already hash-tagging everything in sight):

• Begin slowly, with an account for personal use (@yourname). Watch some how-to videos on tweeting, adding tags and how to add followers. 

• Type in some #education-type searches in Twitter's search engine, and begin to follow your favorite bloggers, teachers, publishers, education groups and government agencies on education. The content to which they will link you will be worth the effort alone.

• Spruce up your profile with a uniform, but fun for you, look (see my Fun Friday post on Themeleon). This is more than a "time waster" activity. A smart-looking Web presence is a good thing to have when dealing in professional circles.

• When you feel comfortable with Twitter, register a Twitter feed handle for your classroom or organization. Be sure that you are very careful in how you use this feed, as this is the "face" that you put on your classroom, teaching ideas and professional contacts. Avoid discussing topics that are not school- or child-appropriate in this feed.

• Remember that Web presence makeover you did for your personal Twitter feed? Do the same for your classroom feed, and begin to "make your brand" by using school district colors, images (to which you have the rights) that tell of your content area or education interests or other style choices that resonate with what you are trying to say about yourself and your classroom/organization.

Wacky Wednesday: A Recipe for Valentine's Day Success

A tried and true activity that many teachers and parents use with their children is to create a "recipe" for a concept, rather than cookies or quick bread (i.e. "recipe for success", "kindness recipe"). Jazz up that assignment with the help of the Valentine's Day recipe template available from Smilebox:

Digital recipe card made with Smilebox

[Note: I included a "Reflection" area on my recipe card to relate some information about a best friend that I had. If teachers create a reflective component to their reading, writing, art and other assignments, it's a major BOGO ("Buy one, get one free") moment -- creating the project itself and doing some higher level thinking (i.e. comparing and contrasting, evaluating, defending position) and communicating about it.]

If you do not already use Smilebox, you will soon begin to see a variety of ways to use this application in your home and school projects. With templates for recipes, collages, slideshows, scrapbooks and much more, you can take your favorite assignments and bring them into a Web 2.0-friendly format with a few clicks (and little tech-savvy is needed). Have you signed up for your free Smilebox Teacher's Toolbox account? You get all of the advantages of the ad-free, paid version of Smilebox at no expense, and will have a powerful technology tool with an ever-growing number of templates from which to choose.

Tomorrow, I will include another Smilebox project incorporating Valentine's Day (instead of my brooding, serious "Thinking" section, heh).

Wacky Wednesday: Go Read a Book!

Yes, I did. I took the title of my Wednesday blog segment from the Dr. Seuss book (credited to "Theo LeSieg" on its cover -- one of his pseudonyms). Theodore Geisel has been on my mind for a few days, as I just finished reading a biography about him written for the "Who Was?" series, Who Was Dr. Seuss?

I really enjoy this series of books, and think that they are a great way for children to be introduced to nonfiction, and the genre of biography. 

So, today's Wacky Wednesday advice is simple: Go read a book. Like, now. TODAY. Make it a children's book, something that you will finish in one sitting. The educator in all of us -- teachers, parents, caretakers -- needs to be nourished, and a good book is worth the time, no matter the age group for whom it is targeted. When you are done, find a child with whom you can share the book and your impressions of it. Enjoy your day!