Media Messages & technology Tips Volume 1, Issue 1
High School Media Center
August 2009
Wordle in your world!!!
Special points of interest: • Creating word clouds with Wordle • Digging into Diigo! • Blogging Boom • Updates & Reminders • Media Mondays
Inside this issue: Wordle
1
Diigo
1
Blogs
Updates &
2 2
Reminders Media Mondays
2
Techie Tip
2
Have you tried Wordle? If not, you’re gonna love it! When sharing about Wordle with a teacher lately, she responded, “I have no idea what you’re saying.” I had the same feeling during a recent technology class I was taking, but within seconds of being on the site, I loved it! Wordle is a website that will allow you to create an artistic and creative cloud of words. There are several ways to create them. First, you can create a Wordle by simply typing in words on a specific topic, subject, etc… This option will make all the words the same size. See Example #1. The second way to create a Wordle is to insert (copy and paste) the text from another website; you can also get the same product by inserting the URL. This will
www.wordle.net
automatically determine the words used the most and least and those in between. The most popular words in the text will be larger than the others. See Example #2. You can also use an advanced option in Wordle. This lets you directly type in words and indicate which words you want to be large, medium, small and everything in between. See Example #3. Here are some ideas for incorporating this into your classroom: • • • • • • • • • • •
All About Me Wordle Main Ideas & Supporting Details Review of Materials Diction Comparing Speeches Writing Prompts Summarizing Comparing Vocabulary Quizzes Character Traits
Example #1: Typing Words in Directly A wordle created about the Media Center
Example #2: Pasting text or using a URL A Wordle created by pasting in the text of President Obama’s Inaugural speech
Example #3: Typing Words in Directly & Controlling the size of each one An All About Me Wordle created by typing in words.
Dig into Diigo!!! Have you ever found an awesome website or online resource but can’t remember where it is later? Have you ever found an awesome resource but FORGOT about it until after you taught a lesson and really wished that you hadn’t forgotten it? Would you like to have a way to organize all these online resources and ensure that you DON’T forget about it!
If you answered “YES” to any of the above, keep reading!!
ous tags to see the websites available in that category.
Diigo is a website that you can join which allows you to bookmark all of your favorite websites and online resources. Each website can be tagged with categories that you create and/or that Diigo suggests to you. Once the sites are tagged, you can refresh your memory about available resources by visiting your vari-
Diigo is EASY & FREE. If you’re interested in using Diigo to organize your “online life”, join us for training on the 2nd Monday for Media Mondays Mini-Professional Development session. When you leave, you’ll not only be signed up but be starting a more organized life.
Page 2
Media Messages
The Blogging Boom
Techie Tip For those who use Mozilla Firefox, have
Blogging! It seems to be the latest communication tool of choice! Blogs are everywhere — friends, neighbors, family, organizations, politics, companies, news corporations — blogs are all around!
cators outside of the local school. They can be a great way to collaborate and share ideas, remind students of assignments, lead modern discussions with students, parents, and other educators.
Blogs allow you to post instantaneous information. People can keep up with this information. Blogs are definitely becoming a part of education. Sometimes they are used to post information for students, peers, parents, or other edu-
If you are interested in creating a blog for your classroom, it can be done through our email (First Class) or through a free online blog.
ment session on the 3rd Monday, we will be sharing ideas for using a blog as well as helping you set up and use your blog.
During the Media Mondays Mini-Professional Develop-
you ever wondered how to get a new tab in your browser window? Simply press the CTRL key and T at the same time.
Update & Reminders for Media Center Services Don’t forget that your Media Center offers… •
Orientation for Students
•
Units & Lessons on Information Literacy (research, locating and evaluating resources)
•
Internet
•
Support for any of the features in our newsletters and much, much more
•
Pathfinders for research
•
Fun and educational games to supplement your lessons
•
ActivBoard Training sessions
Menus for standards, units, and lessons
•
Equipment & Resources for your classroom
•
Safe practices on the
This month’s Media Mondays Mini-Sessions!! Every Monday in each month is Media Mondays MiniProfessional Development sessions. These start at 3:00pm. All information and training on the topic will be completed by 3:30pm (at the latest). Additional help and training will be available for anyone wanting to practice, develop the “product” (blog,
wordle, etc…), or get individual help. The total session will only last until 4:00pm. A list of topics for each week are provided. Every 4th Monday will be devoted to Galileo — a great research source!! We will focus on a different Galileo aspect each month. Let us know if you have specific request. We love those!!
1st Monday—Wordle 2nd Monday—Diigo 3rd Monday — Blogging 4th Monday—Galileo (available resources by subject area and topics)
Note: A different aspect of Galileo will be offered each month!