Bit By Bit

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

I’ve been writing and talking a lot about Wordle lately and thought I would continue blathering about it at TechLearning as well. It is a really simple tool that does one thing: takes some text and creates a “word cloud” by analyzing usage and frequency of words. The site calls it “a toy” but educators (myself included) have started to see it as a great little tool to spark reflection, discussion, analysis, and even a great way to make t-shirts!

I took a Wordle shot of the top 300 words I’ve used in my blog entries at TechLearning (click image to see it larger):

I can analyze this image until my heart’s content. I can take personal pride in realizing that I’m mostly writing about “students” and reproach myself on writing too much about “Twitter.” I could use this cloud to decide what to write on next, what to delve into more deeply, what to give a rest. I could use the words to construct questions for further research or statements of my pedagogical beliefs. I could present it to others in a Rorschach-type game and ask what patterns they see. And finally… I guess I could make a t-shirt out of it.

Wordle is such a bare-bones simple tool, that part of me wonders why we’re writing about it at all. It’s on the level of praising the benefits of duct tape or Kleenex. It’s just not that remarkable. What I think we’re really writing about is not the tool at all, but the ability to analyze our writing and ideas in this new, focused —even artistic— way that invites abstract interpretation. I’ve never looked at my writing in this way before and I must admit, I find it rather fasinating; taking the writing process in reverse, reducing my words to a refined assemblage of my main ideas, my central thoughts, my main passions.

This is me in concentrated-formula form. Just add water.

Bit By Bit Podcast: July 30, 2008
Show 74

My Presentation at BLC08
“Podcasting with Purpose”

Links:

• Wiki for the Workshop
  BLC08 at November Learning Communities

Music:

181 by Carl Leth

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 Bit by Bit Podcast: 74 [57:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Seedlings @ Bit by Bit Podcast: Show 33
July 27, 2008

Links from the show:

• Building Learning Communities Conference 2008
• UStream Reflection of BLC08
• Wordle
• Edubloggercon Wordle
• Edubloggercon Ning
• Bob’s Wordle Tutorial @Bit by Bit
• “Teacher-Student Web Friendships restricted by Lamar School Board” article

“Geek of the Week” Links:

• FlickrCC (shared by Alice)
• UDL Tech Tool Kit (shared by Alice)
• “Geek of the Week” @ HotChalk.com (shared by Bob)
• Literacy Debate Resources (shared by Bob):

“Literacy Debate-Online, R U Really Reading?” by Motoko Rich NYTimes

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Guy Billout — The Atlantic

Tech Talk Podcast @ NYTimes (look for the July 23, 2008 show) discuss The Dumbest Generation with Mark Bauerlein

• Crickweb (shared by Cheryl)
• WOCSD TechTalk (shared by Cheryl)
• Facts4Me (shared by Cheryl)
• The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (shared by Cheryl)

Music:

• “And So We Strive” by Stuart Lawson

[tags]education, cheryloakes, alicebarr, bobsprankle, seedlings, SEED[/tags]

 

 Seedlings @ Bit By Bit Podcast: Show 33 [42:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here’s a tutorial I’ve made for using the site Wordle.

Bit By Bit Podcast: July 26, 2008
Show 73
Ewan McIntosh at BLC08
Follow-up to his Keynote

Links:

• Ewan’s Site
• Ewan’s Keynote
• BLC08 at November Learning Communities

Music:

181 by Carl Leth

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 Bit by Bit Podcast: 73 [58:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download