Wordle- Why Use It?

Wordle- Why Use It?

Wordle is a tool that generates word-clouds from text provided by the user. The user can, for example, copy and paste the text from an online article into Wordle and the tool will automatically create a cloud. The word-cloud uses larger fonts for words that appear more frequently, allowing students to determine the keywords of the text. The user can then adjust the Wordle by changing the fonts, layouts, and/or color schemes. An example of a DNA-based Wordle can be found below (Peayarlal, 2014):

Using Wordle can contribute to the development of many literacy skills. For one, teachers can use Wordle as a way to display the most important vocabulary for a unit. Then, a word wall can be used to provide definitions and examples for the terms. If I were to use this in class, I could copy and paste the texts from my PowerPoint presentations, articles, websites, and assignments into Wordle and provide my students with a printout. This printout could then be used as a study tool to aid students throughout the unit. I would also consider using the keywords in Kahoot quizzes to emphasize their importance and facilitate learning.

Wordle could also be a great research aid. Let’s say students create a Wordle for an article they intend to use for a research project. The student can then use the keywords and phrases generated by Wordle to search for other articles related to the topic. By finding new articles and adding them to the Wordle, students can refine their search as many times as they want. Research is an important part of science, and especially important for literacy development. We want our students to be able to find, read, interpret, and use relevant texts, and Wordle can help students do that. 

I’ve read that Wordle could also be used to facilitate the analysis of affective and informal literacy assessments (Watkins, 2008). For example, if you had students complete an Interest Inventory in which they write about their strengths, weaknesses, or fears with respect to literacy, you could use Wordle to summarize the most frequently used words. Sharing these results with the class could allow both you and your students to find the strategies that will most likely lead to success. The Wordle results could also help you group students who share similar interests or strengths. You could perform a similar analysis with student journals, blog posts, or even essays as a way to help students reflect on writing. Furthermore, if students are required to write long texts like research papers, they could use Wordle to find out which words and phrases they overuse. I know I personally have a tendency to favor the same transition words when I write, so Wordle could benefit my own writing.

    Wordle could also be used to help facilitate students’ understanding of texts (Lucier, 2008). If students are comparing two texts, they can use two Wordles to see which keywords the texts share. If they are summarizing a text, Wordle will similarly help students identify key ideas. Wordle may also be used alongside other graphic organizers that help students make connections between texts and their prior knowledge. As a reading comprehension tool, I think Wordle would best work if used before reading, to preteach and activate background knowledge, or after reading, to summarize and apply understanding. The examples highlighted above show that Wordle has potential applications in vocabulary development, research, assessment, and reading comprehension.

    Differentiation of instruction is crucial for meeting the needs of all learners, and Worlde certainly lends itself to a differentiated classroom. To differentiate content, I could use Wordle to determine the keywords of a unit. I could then use those keywords to search for texts of varying complexities and formats that share those keywords. Alternatively, students using different texts can compare the texts through Wordle, allowing readers of varying abilities to collaborate with one another. To differentiate process, I could use Wordle to help English language learners and other struggling readers. For example, these struggling readers may need to be pre taught certain vocabulary terms and concepts (McLaughlin, 2015). Using Wordle, I could determine what those terms are and provide students with a visual representation of them. More gifted learners could try to predict what a Wordle will look like before creating one, based on what concepts they think were most central to a text. Lastly, to differentiate product, students could use Wordle to help their presentations of material. Let’s say students are required to complete a research project and present their findings to the class. Students could first use Wordle, as described above, to identify keywords to focus their search for texts. After the research is completed, Wordle may be used to frame their presentations, make a poster, and/or summarize their work. I like that Wordle combines text with a cool visual design, appealing to linguistic and visual learning styles.

    After researching Wordle, I can definitely say it is a useful tool that can help teachers develop literacy skills with their students. Wordle is free, doesn’t require an account, is quick and easy to use, and appeals to learners of multiple styles. As detailed above, Wordle also may be helpful as a reading comprehension strategy, vocabulary guide, assessment analysis tool, and writing aid. The tool isn’t without its downsides, however. For one, Wordles found online are not policed for content, so there is always the possibility that students searching for pre-made Wordles find one that is inappropriate. Furthermore, I personally had trouble getting Wordle to work in certain browsers, because it requires Java, so in a place with questionable or limited internet quality might not be able to use Wordle at all. Wordles also can’t be downloaded and saved directly as images, they must be saved online or printed out, which might inconvenience some people. Lastly, as useful as Wordle is, its applications are limited by the creativity of the user, and there might be better tools out there. Regardless, if used appropriately by teachers and students, Wordle has the potentially to be an incredibly useful aid in literacy development.

Biology Wordle from Morales, 2014

References

Lucier, R. (2008). Top 20 Uses for Wordle. Retrieved from http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/10/top-20-uses-for-wordle.html

McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Morales, P. (2014). Biology. Retrieved from http://biologyingamb.blogspot.com/

Peayarlal, T. (2014). Biochemistry. Retrieved from https://biochemistry3rst.wordpress.com/

Watkins, N.R. (2008). Ways to use Wordle. Retrieved from http://soulcradler.edublogs.org/2008/10/12/ways-to-use-wordle/#respond