Wordle

Wordle is a great vocabulary diagnostic tool.  Reminds me of the word splashes I've used to introduce vocabulary at the beginning of a unit to determine what the students do and do not know.  They are also very "visually appealing" and so much easier to create with this tool than the word splashes I've created with Microsoft Word.

It was a lot of fun and I had to force myself to stop fiddling with all the options adjusting layouts and color and font - so many choices!  

My first go around at using Wordle was to compare the NETS T standards from 2000 and 2008 in a Wordle and summarize my take on the direction that the NETS T have taken in their most recent refresh.  

2000 NETS T Standards

2008 NETS T Standards

After comparing the Wordles above, I noticed that the 2008 focus is more on students as opposed to student. The 2008 standards promote engaging students, develop, model, promote, support.  The shift is to be involved as opposed to receive the information. It supports Web 2.0, a more dynamic web pages - where the student is involved not simply reading/receiving information. Teachers are encouraged to actively engage the students using technology. Previously, technology was thought of more as an online encyclopedia.

NETS T Standards: This tool can be used to meet the first standard: facilitate and inspire student learning ad creativity.  The students could create Wordles themselves and this would give them a chance to become familiar with the words prior to introducing them. And it would be fun.....