WORDLE
In the early days of Macintosh computers, iconography was
introduced as a visual symbolic system for navigating the desktop. Icons such
as folders and trash cans allowed users to intuitively understand the function
of those icons rather than reading text. Although most of us are fluent now in
reading text as adults, there is still a decoding process when reading
information. If information is presented in a visual format, access and
understanding is quicker and more thorough.
Tag clouds envelope this philosophy of holistic understanding
based on hierarchy of importance and how many times a thought is repeated.
In this example of a
tag cloud, the population of each of the world’s countries is visually
represented by size of text. The size of the text directly corresponds with the
population of the country.
Wordle, a Web 2.0 application allows users to experiment and
create their own tag clouds. Here is a tag cloud for Web 2.0.
The experience of creating wordless is not only an engaging
experience, it has important data analysis applications too. Keywords and
metadata on websites allows google and other search engines to optimize
searching criteria. Because the search engine analyzes and prioritizes data, it
can determine relative importance and presence on the web. This process is
called Search Engine Optimization or SEO.
Wordle is an application that intuitively allows virtually any age
group to create information. The application allows limited editing and
formatting for the entry basic level, but with continued use and understanding,
students can create more advanced designs and templates where tag words can be
depicted in images such as faces and portraits and various objects.
To see this explanation on how to create your Wordle, click here.
Here's the Wordle.net interface. It is very user friendly and intuitive.
My creations in Wordle.
Media Literacy Wordle.
I love this example of a tag cloud taken from Wikipedia. This image is easily understood by my students. It explains the concept of the size or hierarchy of the words and the higher the contrast is equal to the population of each country.
How about a Wordle on Web 2.0?
