My group is concentrating on Word Clouds, e.g. Wordle, Tag Crowd, etc.
These are sites that take word associations and make them into a sort of cloud. Not only are they useful, but they are actually fun to create. Here are the people in my group listed with their particular sections to focus on:
Jodi-What is it?
Shannon-How does it work?
Roberts-Example?
and here is my question:
How can Word Clouds, e.g. Wordle, and TagCrowd, etc. be used in the art classroom?
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Using Word clouds in the art classroom is a tough topic. Sites like Wordle create a visual arrangement of relevant words from certain text, I think that its application lends itself to starting projects and critiques. Word clouds can help students to pull the most important information from research. After the most important information is pulled and visualized the project should then be taken to the next step. Word clouds are also great for pulling out the most common words used in class to describe artworks. The class can come to a general consensus about what certain works mean to a community. Word clouds can also help to make a interdisciplinary connection with reading and writing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.angelamaiers.com/minilessons/
I think Wordle would be a good tool to use in teaching an upper-level design course, in a few different ways. The word clouds could be used as a fun jumping off point for a discussing of typography and how it can be used in design and as an image itself. The class could use the cloud created by the generator to discuss what parts of the image doesnt work and why - they then could create their own version of the same cloud with a more eye pleasing design.
ReplyDeleteWord clouds are a good way for students to identify tags that they can use for further research - the essence of a discussion.
ReplyDeleteThey can be used effectively for graphically visualizing art vocabulary for art criticism and aesthetics in the classroom at all levels.
Word clouds have a nice versatility. They allow for cross curricular activities, clearly, with the visual/literacy ties. Within that, the hierarchical arrangement of words opens the door for something really deep and reflective, I think. And there's a graphic element, however limited.
ReplyDeleteI've got some great links for you, too!
Here's a website with an idea for using word cloud in a lesson plan: http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=103
This entry on the website Teaching with Technology has a bunch of other possible ideas: http://tcoffey.edublogs.org/2008/08/17/wordle-word-clouds/