Blog #2: Word Clouds

Word Cloud as a Fun Resource

This week I discovered Word Cloud. I was not exactly sure what it was, but once I built my own, I realized how useful of a tool it would be for a simple brain break or check for understanding in my future classroom.

What is a Word Cloud?

A word cloud is a tool teachers can use to ask a question and have the students answer in real time. The students receive a code and are then able to submit short responses to the prompt received.

The tool I found and used to create my Word Cloud was Mentimeter. I discovered it through Edutopia (I will link the article at the end!). This is the link for Mentimeter:

Word Cloud Generator: Create Word Clouds for Free - Mentimeter

Mentimeter was very easy to use. This is the homepage once you have created a FREE account. This is where you can see your created projects and see templets to create future projects.

Mentimeter can be used with powerpoint, zoom and other websites that teachers can use in their classroom!

You can also build more than just Word Clouds for your students to interact. They offer polling, ranking and a few others. My favorite was the pin on the image. It has students place a pin on a picture, like if students are learning the states or countries of the world, they can place a pin on a particular place.

My First Word Cloud

I built a word cloud with the prompt given to me by my professor. I entered the code on my phone and answered the prompt. You can set a limited number of answers per student, or they can answer as many times as they want! I had a lot of fun creating my word cloud.

While creating my Word Cloud, I began thinking about a way to integrate this into my classroom. Students often are expected to work and focus on content for extended periods of time. Sometimes, even as an adult, I cannot even focus for longer than a half an hour at a time. Students deserve to have a few minutes of non-content learning to give them a small break. I like to call them "brain breaks". They are often short breaks where students can take a break and reset their brain with a quick, fun intermission. Using a Word Cloud to ask a fun question about their day, hobbies or even a wild out of the box question like what conspiracies the students believe in would be a quick easy way to allow the students a fun little brain break! There are so many tools like Mentimeter out there that can create more fun in the every day learning of our students.

Here is the link to the Edutopia article shared with me: 5 Ways to Use Word Clouds in the Classroom in Grades 3-12 | Edutopia

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