# Web 2.0 and Emerging Learning Technologies/Wordle

Wordle is a free Web 2.0 Google App Engine (a platform for developing and hosting web applications in Google data centers) on-line application for generating “word clouds” from any text that is provided. It was created by an IBM researcher, Jonathan Feinberg.
It uses the frequency of occurrence of a word in the text to determine its size. The text can be edited by modifying the clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color scheme for the background and the font. Then, an image is generated and can be used for different purposes:
* it can be printed out;
* it can be saved to the Wordle gallery to share it with other Internet users;
* the embed code found next to the created picture in the gallery can be used to insert the image in a blog, wiki or webpage;
* it can also be saved as an image in the hard drive by using the computer’s screen capture (Print Screen) and then copying that screen capture to a software programmer like Paint or Photoshop to save it as graphic;
* the screen capture may also be copied directly to other programmes such as a Word document or Powerpoint.
Wordle uses Java, a computer programming language which allows you to play online games, chat with people, view images in 3D, etc. As a result, Java's applets have to be enabled in your browser so as to be able to use Wordle.
How Wordle’s webpage is composed of:
Up above in the home page, the following hyperlinks can be found:
* Home: it leads Internet users to the main page.
* Create: it provides a link to the actual page in which the Wordles can be made.
* Gallery: it directs Internet users to the gallery which shows other users’ creations with this application.
* Credits: it mainly includes the author’s acknowledgments to other people that collaborated with him to make the page.
* News: it leads Internet users to a blog in which further matters related to Wordle are posted and commented.
* Forum: it provides a list of links to different topics posted and commented by Wordle users.
* FAQ: it is the Frequent Asked Questions section; it is very complete and useful.
* Advanced: it leads Internet users to a page in which more sophisticated “Wordles” can be created, as weighted words or phrases can be pasted there and then their colour and size can be changed; the background colour can also be specified by using hex codes (as a result, it is not recommended for Wordle-beginners).
In addition, there are several other links that lead Internet users to some “Wordles” created by other people, to the Wordle’s creator, to the “Terms of Use” and to the “Subscribe” link in which recent “Wordles” can be seen.
The following are examples of "Wordles" made by Internet users; these and others can be seen in the Gallery in http://www.wordle.net/
These are the titles and authors of the pictures above: 1) Wordle, by Group#10; 2) Declaration of Independence, by Anonymous; 3) Lincoln Bicentennial 1, by Anonymous; and 4) Words I can't spell, by Anonymous.
Teaching and Learning Possibilities
Because this application gives greater prominence to the most frequent words from the supplied text, the word clouds create a great learning visual for students: these reduce a text to its essential elements, allowing learners to approach it in a more accessible way. As a result, Wordle makes the process of working with texts more motivating. These clouds can be then made into posters, for instance.
As Wordle is in an electronic format, it can be easily transferred to a number of other media such as paper, interactive whiteboards, blogs, wikis, etc.
The word clouds this application creates can facilitate teachers and students’ approaches to texts in different ways:
a) as a pre-reading activity: as the more frequent terms will show up bigger than others, students can make predictions about the reading (e.g.: plot lines, characters, genre, themes, etc.); and b) as a post-reading activity: students can create a summary of the text they have been working on. They may be even asked to keep a list of the words they believe are important/relevant in the passage, so they can show their own opinions or feelings about what they have read.
Example Links
"The Power of Tags, The Power of Words" - Wordle Tutorial by Bob Sprankle
http://bobsprankle.com/bitbybit_wordpress/?p=461
This “Wordle Tutorial” is very complete as it explains what this application is and how to tackle it, shows us how to create a word cloud and give it format, and gives us several ideas to use it.
"Creating a Wordle" - YouTube Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiWeh208RvM
This is a tutorial in which a Wordle is created and then, we are shown how to insert it into a blog.
"Wordle: Using word clouds in a lesson"
http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=103
This website provides us with one lesson plan in which Wordle was used.
"Wordle's Gallery"
http://www.wordle.net/gallery
This is the gallery of Wordle’s official page. It displays the most recent word clouds done but, by pressing the button called “Older”, we can access to the older “Wordles”.
“Nik's Learning Technology Blog”
http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/2008/09/using-word-clouds-in-efl-esl.html
This is a blog which provides examples about different ways Wordle can be used in ESL and EFL. It also explains how to create the word clouds.