Picture in your mind your average high school student’s school binder cover – names of friends, catchy phrases or brands, words of inspiration (ok maybe just on the girl’s binders), and at times, graffiti-esque designs proclaiming the interests, styles and personality of the student who is obliged to carry that binder around school. What was intended as an organizational tool has become an expression of independence and individuality. Allow yourself to be inspired by the creativity of your students, and speak to them in their language – meet them on their turf if you will.
An exciting new find for me just might be a creative way to connect with your students! I came across a great resource online called “Wordle”. As stated on the web page, “Wordle is a toy for generating ‘word clouds’”. A word cloud is an artistically designed group of words, which look strikingly similar to the binder covers we just talked about. Simply go to the Wordle website www.wordle.net, type in or copy and paste the text you want to use, and Wordle will generate an eye-catching word cloud. Click “randomize” to sort through a myriad of design options to meet your need. You can save your image to the public library, or with the image in view, press your “print screen” button, paste in paint, and save as a jpeg file.
Here’s a word cloud I made today just for you!
So how can this fun “toy” be used as an educational tool? The opportunities are endless – but here are two quick ideas:
Have your students create a review page for a test or chapter summary using Wordle. Students can save the image to a flash drive or print and submit for grading. Students will have so much fun playing with Wordle; they may not even realize they are reviewing relevant content!
Create a Wordle “word cloud” at the end of each unit with key terms students should know. Spice up a vocabulary wall by placing one of these images up as you transition to each new subject area, or use in a PowerPoint presentation.
Take a moment to visit this free site and you’ll be hooked. Ask your students how they would like to see you use Wordle in class, and you may get some great ideas!
Working with an internationally recognized company recently, I found myself in a conversation about innovation. “We want to create a culture of innovation” they said. “We want to tap into the great resources we have in our employees, and generate ideas to solve problems creatively from within.” As the conversation continued I found myself making a direct correlation between the workplace and the classroom. I’d love to create a culture of innovation in my classroom. I’d love to tap into the great resources I have in my students. I’d love to generate ideas to solve problems that seem overwhelming – and maybe my students have some solutions. It seems so simple, but why hadn’t I thought of it before? In reality, I’ve limited my students by not giving them the opportunity to be innovators!
Anything worth watching can be found on YouTube. At least that’s what your students might say. So why not connect to students in a way that automatically catches their attention? Want to use a clip from a “Friends” episode that perfectly illustrates your point about accurate measurement, or maybe a snippet of “Fire Marshall Bill” to reinforce safety concepts in your shop class? Maybe you want to show a few seconds of Jurassic Park to support your lesson on DNA, or a great “How To” video clip that simplifies your lesson. YouTube can be an easy way to create a fun, technologically savvy, and engaging connection for your students.
Day 1. It’s the beginning of a new year and we all have great ideas of how we will do things differently this year. To help you organize your great ideas, and keep your planning time short and sweet, here is a tool for creating a simplified planning calendar.