Wordle - creating word clouds

Hello, everyone!

The other remaining task we are supposed to do is to write a post about a web 2.0 tool our friends presented in the classroom. We are free to choose the one we are interested in. I personally chose to introduce a website named Wordle. I am going to write why/how it is used and suggest some ideas for its use in language teaching in my post.

What is Wordle?

Wordle is a web-based tool that allows you to quickly create beautiful word clouds from the text you provide. It is free to use and there is no sign up or registration required. It is really fun and easy to use. You can easily customize your word cloud by changing the font, colors and layout to your preference. After you have created your word cloud, you can take a screenshot of it, save it as a png file or print it out.

How to use Wordle

1. Go to Wordle and click on “Create” to get started. 

2. Type your text directly or copy and paste it into the empty box. (You can also enter the URL of any blog, blog feed or website with RSS feed to create a word cloud from the text on that blog or website.) For the words you don’t want separated, simply put a tilde (~) between them just like in my sample image below. If you want to emphasize some words, type them multiple times to make them appear bigger. After you have finished, click on “Go”.

3. Your randomly created word cloud will appear in the box.

4. You can change the appearance of your word cloud by using the “Font”, “Layout”, and “Color” tabs on the top. Those tabs will enable you to change the color and style of your words and layout like horizontal or vertical design. Under the “Language” tab, you can make all words upper or lower case, remove numbers if there is any and remove common words of many languages. You can also click on the “Randomize” button at the bottom to make Wordle randomly select a design for you. Here is my self-customized word cloud of the book 1984:

5. After you have finished, you can take a screenshot of your word cloud, save it as a png file or print it out.

ADVANTAGES
Free to use
No registration required
Simple interface
Appealing visuals
Able to customize the design

DISADVANTAGES
Not able to change the design into a specific shape
Not able to share the design via social media

Overall, Wordle is so simple and easy to use. It is really making something boring much more appealing and fun. It is ideal for students to get creative like creating posters while practicing their vocabulary knowledge. They can easily learn or practice vocabulary through word clouds. They can create word clouds to describe people or write poems. Teachers can also use Wordle to revise vocabulary of a topic that students have studied before. They can create a word cloud by putting some keywords of a specific topic before starting a lesson and then ask students to guess the topic they are going to study.

I would highly recommend Wordle to the teachers who are bored of traditional methods of teaching and are looking for an engaging and a fun one way to include in their lessons.  

Make Beliefs Comix - creating comic strips

Hello, everyone!

We have two new tasks. One of them is to write a post about about the tool my partner Elçin Çepni and I presented in the classroom. The tool we presented was a website named "Make Beliefs Comix". In my post, I am going to introduce the website, and write why/how it is used. I am also going to suggest some ideas for its use in language teaching and include the materials we have created for our presentation in my post as well.

What is Make Beliefs Comix?

Make Beliefs Comix is web-based comic strip creator that allows you to create digital comic strips online. It is free to use and requires no login or sign up. You can easily customize your comic by changing number of panels, adding various characters, expressions and emotions, talk bubbles, thought bubbles and prompts. You can also adjust the background to your preference. After you create your comic strip, you can share it via email or print it out. 

Make Beliefs Comix is mostly used for the purpose of digital storytelling in classroom environment. Students can express themselves, use their creative and imaginative side as well as improving their language and media literacy skills while creating their own comic strips. 

How to Use Make Beliefs Comix

Step 1. Go to Make Beliefs Comix and click "Enter Here!" to get started.

Step 2. This is the page where you will create your comic strip.

Step 3. Name your comic and type your own name in the text fields below.

Step 4. Choose a character from the grid.

Step 5. Click on the selection window and the character will appear on the first panel.

Step 6. Use red arrows under the selection window to select different expressions on a character. Here are two examples of other expressions for the professor:

Step 7. Select different backgrounds and background colors, add various words and objects to use in your panel. Panels can also be added up to 4.

Step 8. Use red arrows under the selection window to select various objects, scenes and words. Here are some examples:

Step 9. You can add talk and thought balloons and choose prompts to make your characters communicate in your panel. 

Step 10. To select another panel, simply click on it. A red outline will appear around the panel to be worked on next.

Step 11. Additional characters can be added to the panels.

Step 12. Click on the grid that is on the left side of the page to choose from a variety of options including move, scale and flip to adjust your character. You can also click on the top left of the grid to be forwarded to printing or emailing the comic. 

Step 13. After clicking "print/email" icon, you will be brought to the following screen. You can either print or email your comic from this screen.

Sample comic strip that my partner and I have created:

There is more...

The website also offers sections for teachers, parents and students with special needs. 

ADVANTAGES

Free

No account needed to create comic strips

Easy to use

Simple interface

Able to change expressions and emotions of the characters 

Able to add prompts

Sections that provide valuable resources for teachers, parents and students with special needs.

DISADVANTAGES

Limited background and object selection

Limited panel selection

Limited emotions and facial expressions for the characters

Font size and style cannot be changed

Comics cannot be saved in order to be worked at a later date

CLASSROOM USES

Students can pair up and create amusing dialogues on a specific topic using comics. Then, they can act out their dialogues. 

Students can work in groups and create their own short comic story.

Students can individually create and analyze a character.

Overall, Make Beliefs Comix is a great digital storytelling website that allows students to express themselves and use their creative and imaginative side. It provides lesson plans, resources and printables for teachers, thought-provoking exercises for students as well as parenting tips for parents.