Create Stylish Word Clouds with Tagxedo

The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers Word Cloud

Tagxedo is a free, online web tool that students can use to create very visually appealing word clouds.  As you can see from the image on the left, word clouds can be generated in the shapes related to the topic.  For visual learners this is an excellent tool to highlight or emphasis key terms, concepts or themes.

Tagxedo offers many terrific features such as:
1. customization of fonts, themes, colors, orientation and shapes.  
2.  saving images for printing and sharing
3.  numerous fine-tuning options

Teach-nology:
(the pedagogical rationale for the use of technology in the classroom)  

Skill	Teach-nology
Visual Literacy	To interpret, recognize, appreciate, and understand information presented through objects and/or symbols
Creativity	To elaborate, refine, analyze, and evaluate ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts.
Language Skills	To expand and improve vocabulary by using various language expressions such as synonyms, homonyms, antonyms, etc.

Sample Activities:

The official blog of Tagxedo offers an excellent resource for teachers entitled "101 Ways to Use Tagxedo".  Below is a sampling of some of the great lesson ideas offered:  

1.  Contrast Candidates in a Political Debate - Using debates, speeches, slogans, promises, etc., students can examine the political platform of two or more political candidates.

2.  Current Events - Using key terms from various news outlets (newspaper, radio, television, etc.), students can summarize the latest newsworthy event.

3.  Make a Self Portrait - Using one's dreams, hopes, character traits, goals, etc., students can summarize their personality. 

4.  Make a Tagxedo Poem - Using a favorite poem or one written personally, students can create a word cloud highlighting its theme.  


How to Get Started:

View the video tutorial below to create your first Tagxedo word cloud in minutes!




Tagxedo is a fantastic resource to help students improve a variety of 21st Century skills.  Click here to get started!


This post originally appeared on The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers.

Unlock the Educational Power of Comics with Bitstrips

Comics have a way of piquing the interest of even the most disengaged student.  In fact, I have had younger siblings of former students request to create a comic of their own!  In most cases, these siblings are referring to Bitstrips for Schools, a Canadian-based comic engine that users can access on-line for free.  The reason most cited by students for using Bitstrips for Schools is its fun, engaging, and user-friendly environment.  In fact, the Bitstrips for Schools template format allows users to create and customize characters, backgrounds, drawings, and so much more.  View the sample comic below to give you a better idea as to the functionality of Bitstrips for Schools.  

The Bitstrips for Schools feature not evident in the example above is the private virtual classrooms students are able to work in.  Educators will definitely value the safe and secure on-line environment Bitstrips architects have created mainly because teachers control all student permission settings.  Another very useful feature teachers will appreciate is the dashboard homepage which immediately shows the latest student activity.  By including these two features, teachers can monitor student progress in a few mouse clicks.    


A New De-tech-tive 4 Teachers Feature Segment!                                                     Teach-nology

Incorporating technology into classroom activities is a great way for students to learn 21st Century skills.  However, with any form of teaching, it should be based on sound educational practice.  Teach-nology is just that - the pedagogical rationale for the use of technology.  The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers goal for the 'Teach-nology' segment is to not describe every learning outcome, but to outline the key 21st Century skill(s) students will be exposed to by using a specific technology.

Skill	Teach-nology
Communication	- Use written communication to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade. - To extend & confirm meaning of a visual text.
Creativity	- Write effective imaginative texts to explore ideas & information. - Experiment with various writing styles & syntax.
Organization	- Utilize a variety of strategies to generate, develop, and organize ideas such as considering one's audience, gathering & summarizing ideas, etc.

Sample Activities:

Another valuable Bitstrips for Schools feature is its 'Activities' section.  In it, educators will find a wide selection of prepared activities organized by subject and topic.  Below is a sampling of some of the great lesson ideas offered:  

1.  My Report Card - Students create a comic to reflect on their academic progress in a subject area.  Analysis should include what they have done well and what they should improve upon.

2.  Two Sides to Every Story - To demonstrate their working knowledge of point of view, students create a comic describing a situation about how two or more people can interpret the same circumstances differently.  

3.  People We Depend On! - Students create a comic strip describing what may happen if the people they depend on were not so dependable.

4.  Une Activite Dehours! - Using proper French language writing skills, students create a comic describing their favorite outdoor activities.

5.  Your Province - To demonstrate their knowledge about a particular Canadian province, students create a comic interviewing the province's premier. 


How to Get Started:

Bitstrips for Schools has developed a very detailed support page for its users.  You can access it using the hyperlink below: 

Bitstrips for Schools Support Page

Bitstrips for Schools is an excellent web-based educational tool students will love to use as it allows users to express themselves in a fun and engaging way.  If you are interested in 'unlocking the educational power of comics', click here to get started right away!


This post originally appeared on The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers.

Create Your Own Myth with Story Creator2

Story Creator2, designed by E2BN.org (East of England Broadband Network from the United Kingdom), is an educational web tool that allows students to create their own digital story based on a myth or legend theme.  The animated features Story Creator2 offers are a mix of text, background images, characters, speech, voice-over, sound effects and more.  Click on the links below to view sample stories:

The Legend of Robin Hood
A Mermaid and a Magic Comb

As you can see, the final copy of the story can be uploaded for others to view.  It has been my experience that students, even the weakest writers, enjoy using Story Creator2 because it captures their imagination and creativity by including a visual aspect to the narration.


How to Get Started:

Below is a tutorial you could show your students that outlines the basic features of Story Creator2.  



For more detailed Story Creator2 tutorials, visit the E2BN Tools Page.

**Please note that Story Creator2 functions best when users are registered and logged in to the site.  To do so, teachers must register.  Click here for details.**


Sample Classroom Activities:

1.  Have students re-create an historical myth or legend.  e.g. Zeus, Beowulf, Rama, Quetzalcoatl, Attila the Hun, etc.

2.  Have students write their own myth based on the characteristics of a myth.

3.  Story Creator2 offers a Teacher Resource Page that provides background information about myths and legends, downloadable lesson plans, storyboard templates and an interactive map of selected myths.


Story Creator2 is a fun and engaging web tool that encourages students to creatively write.  I hope you give it a try!  Click here to get started.



This post originally appeared on The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers.