Educational Value of Wordle

A wordle or a “world cloud” is a visual representation of task with the most common words weighted or amplified. Wordles transforms a group of words into a graphical representation.  It can be used to depict the most common responses to a survey or as a representation of the most commonly used words in a paragraph. They can be used to define patterns in data that might otherwise be missed if reading a list. Students can use wordles to edit papers, by seeing the most commonly used phrases or words in their writing or for remembering vocabulary. Wordles can be used in brainstorming to focus ideas. Wordles allow students the choices of layout, colors and fonts so they can be personalized.  However, wordles should be used of every application. Before inputting text or data into a wordless it should first be proofed or edited, otherwise the wordle results might be taken out of context. Additionally, words should be consistently uppercase or lowercase and the list should be individual words rather than phrases.