A word collage or word cloud is an artful display of words that are contained in a narrative. The words most often used occupy the largest amount of area or space in the cloud. Take a look at the example of the Word Collage or Cloud below.
When mentoring our pre-service and in-service teachers we need to describe and model both research-based and clinically tested best practices, and demonstrate how these best practices can be applied in the real (i.e. physical) and virtual (i.e. online) classroom for both teaching and teacher training. The combination of face to face instruction in a physical setting and online learning is called blended learning. In this section of the blog we will describe how the internet can serve as a supplemental resource for instruction and the mentoring of pre-service and in-service Jewish educators. In this post we will begin our discussion of Wordle, a website that enables users to create their own word collages or web clouds.
Assumption: The teacher or mentor teacher has a interactive white board (i.e. SMART Board, Promethean, etc.), a Tablet PC (also called a Slate or Blade), a computer presenter or computer with internet access attached to an LCD projector in the classroom. It would be ideal if students or mentees had access to their own laptop computers or Ipads. Given parental and school approval, and the development of specific guidelines, smartphones can be used to enhance instruction as well.
Note: Although Wordle can be applied in the Judaic Studies blended learning classroom, it can be also be used for training pre-service and in-service Jewish educators for professional or staff development. It is our hope that Jewish educators around the globe will form an online community of practice, a CoP, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession, to enhance the delivery of instruction and training of Jewish educators. For example, here is a CoP you might want to join.
What is Wordle?
Wordle is a web-base tool that enables its users to create word collages or word clouds.
Where is Wordle located on the web?
http://www.wordle.net/
Note: Wordle can be used in both a Judaic Studies physical and virtual classroom.
Note: Wordle can be used in both a Judaic Studies physical and virtual classroom.
Where can you find helpful tutorials on how to use Wordle?
Click on the links below to find tutorials on using Wordle for making word collages or word clouds:
- http://www.wordle.net/
- http://bobsprankle.com/bitbybit_wordpress/?p=461
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL5D9nz5aI
Where are examples of word collages or word clouds that were created by using Wordle?
On the next post we will share how Wordle can be used to promote learning.
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