Wordle

 



     I have never used the program Wordle.  However after using it I have placed it in my favorites and plan on using it in my teaching. 

      The below images show the Word Clouds that I created of the NETS-T Standards of 2000 and the updated NETS-T Standards 2008. By looking at each Word Cloud that I created in my eyes I see that in 2000 the standards were geared towards teaching students about technology and learning with technology.  In 2000 technology did not have a big footprint in school so their was a need for students to learn not only about technology but also learn about using it.   

 

NETS T STANDARDS 2000

 

       When the revise in 2008 was done students had been exposed to more technology.  Not only exposed to it but grew up with it.  This change in student experience with technology allowed the standards to shift to more of an application emphasis.  Students are now encouraged to use technology to enhance their learning experience as well as develop and create their own learning experiences.  Not only are students encouraged to enhance their learning experience but educators are held to the same standards with technology.  Educators can now use technology to help advance the profession and improve themselves in their classrooms. 

 

NETS T STANDARDS 2008

     Each set of standards was geared towards the perception of technology for the year it was released.  In 2000 the internet was still something new and in 2008 internet was in practically every home in America.  Are the standards geared towards the internet no, but this example shows how technology has grown and changed over a short eight year time span.

      For a Word Cloud I could use in my classroom I created one of Article One of the U.S. Constitution.  In Civics I always start by teaching about the Legislative Branch and the powers they hold.  Students always seem to get confused when we put the whole pie together and they get the questions of which article of the Constitution pertains to what branch of government.  A World Cloud would give them a nice visual to associate which article goes to which branch.  I liked the way this turned out because two of the bigger words are Representatives and Senate as well as Congress.  These key words will help students to associate correctly. 

Article One U.S. Constitution

 

 

NETS T STANDARDS

     I feel we have covered the following standards:

 

2A- By creating Word Clouds we are asking students to adapt a relevant learning experience using digital tools.  A word cloud could be used to help show students the upcoming key terms or students could create a word cloud to help identify key points from recently covered material.  Also as we did in this project we can compare and contrast two items.

 

2C- Each student can customize their own Word Cloud which would allow them to personalize their learning and would address any diverse learning styles.  Students would be able to show us what they felt were the main points or show what they took from the lesson by utilizing a Word Cloud.

 

3C- With my example I took what I normally hang on my wall in the U.S. Constitution and transferred it with a digital tool to something students would want to take a look at and figure it out. 

 

3D- As stated with 3C I am taking current information and using a digital tool to analyze the information.  In the Word Cloud format I am supporting research and learning for the students as they look at and investigate.

 

 

(For some reason when I went to embed the Word Cloud I created for my classroom it would not let me resize the image to something that was viewable it would only stay small.  To work around this I used Jing and then inserted an image)