Sunday, November 27, 2016

A cloud of words

Tech Tac Toe #1
I have to say that it took me awhile to decide what 3 technology tools to choose for this project.  I viewed many of the options and started with Word Clouds.  First, I went to Tagul, a website to create word clouds.  I clicked on the "create now" link and it sent me to the page where I was able to make my own word cloud.  (I did not have to create an account to have access to the site).  While working with one of my articulation students, I typed in the target words, as they practiced saying each of them out loud.  (The two samples I chose were the initial "R" and "K" sounds in words.)  It took a bit of multitasking on my part, as I had to input/type the words as the student was saying them and listen to the correct production of the targeted sound.  (If the student said the sound incorrectly, I then worked with the student before moving on to the next word.) Once we got through the list of words, the student was then able to pick out the shape of their cloud.  (I encouraged the students to pick a shape that represented their sound as well, hence the "rain drop" and "car".)  Once that was complete, the student picked the color they wanted and we created their word cloud.  I printed out the clouds and let the students take them home.  The students liked this because it was not just a list of words for them to practice, but rather an eye catching "cloud" of words for them to talk to their parents about (and practice of course).  I was able to save the word clouds to my computer, so I also have a hard copy of what was sent home.  


These clouds were fun to make with the students, and I think they would be a great tool to use with them.  I am not sure that I would be able to create these clouds when working with a group of 2-3 students, but when working with a student or two, I may be able to handle the task (or maybe have the student type the words in themselves).  It is a simple, easy tool, and could be used in a variety of ways, i.e. when targeting vocabulary, wh- questions, describing characters in a story.  It would just depend on the make up of the groups and what their objectives are.  

1 comment:

  1. It's great that you used this app with a student- they turned out great!

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