Word Clouds, Mapping

Collaborative Diagramming Tool Cacoo Leaves Beta

from Free Technology for Teachers by noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Byrne)

Cacoo, a collaborative diagramming tool that I reviewed when it launched last year, has now left beta. Cacoo changed their pricing structure while leaving beta, but the good news is that they still have a free version and the free version offers plenty of functionality for most classroom uses. The free version allows for 15 collaborators on a diagram and up to 25 diagrams per account.

Cacoo allows you to draw shapes, type, and drag and drop elements of your diagram. One of the unique aspects ofCacoo is that you can also upload images to include in your diagrams. The collaborative aspect of Cacoo is that you can invite other people to contribute to your diagrams. Cacooallows you to chat with your collaborators in real-time while you work on your diagrams. Watch the video below to learn more.
Popout

Applications for EducationFor students that are visual learners, creating diagrams can be very helpful in forming an understanding of concepts. I often use diagrams or mind maps in my US History classes to help students understand how multiple themes apply to a particular event. I can see myself having my US History students use Cacoo to contribute to the creation of diagram about the themes of post-Civil War Reconstruction.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you: 
Bubbl.us - Free Mind Mapping Tool
Flock Draw - Simple, Collaborative Drawing
Lovely Charts - Create High Quality Charts

Tip 87 - Tagxedo

from Tammy Worcester’s Tech Tip of the Week

In Tip 47, we learned about Wordle - a really cool site for creating word clouds. This week’s featured tool, Tagxedo, also makes word clouds, but it takes it a step further with the addition of shapes!

Tagxedo
http://www.tagxedo.com/

How to use it:

1. Go to: http://www.tagxedo.com/
2. Click the “Start Now” button or use the quick start window at the right.



1. On the “Creator” page, click the “Load” button to type or paste in your own text.




2. Use the other options to change the colors, fonts, orientation, layout, and shape.

3. Click the “Save” button at the left to save in a variety of different formats and sizes.

Classroom Ideas:
Click here to review the ideas for using Wordle in the classroom as they will work with Tagxedo also. If you have additional ideas, please share them by clicking the “Add a Comment” link below.

Graphic Organizers

from The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness by noreply@blogger.com (Zimmer557)

I was asked by the Principal at one of the high schools that I work at to provide websites that contain usable and printable Graphic Organizers for the staff to use with their students.  Here is the list of sites that I came up with.

First, a great starting point is Cybraryman's Website for Graphic Organizers.  Many of the below are probably on his website once or twice.

http://cybraryman.com/graphicorganizers.html

Otherwise, I would suggest viewing the following sites for some graphic organizers to use in your classroom

http://freeology.com/graphicorgs/

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm

http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/graphic_org/ 

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html

http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm

http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/graphorgan/

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/graphic-organizers.html

Top 10 Sites for Brainstorming/Mind Mapping
from Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero by dkapuler

Brainstorming/mind mapping has been an educational technique that has been around since the beginning of cognitive thought. This is a tool that facilitates ideas and collaborative in nature. W/ the use of web 2.0 technology this concept has evolved into an ideal 21st Century Technology for education. "A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. (wikipedia)"
Top 10 Sites for Brainstorming/Mind Mapping
Slick Plan  http://www.slickplan.com/- What's not to like? Easy to use, create beautiful flow charts, then embed to a site.
Thinklinkr http://thinklinkr.com/ - Real-time collaborative site where users brain storm and create a mind map.
Webspiration http://www.mywebspiration.com/ - The popular desktop application (Inspiration) is now the web... nuff said.
Diagrammr http://www.diagrammr.com/ - Quite simply the easiest mind mapping site to use, no registration is necessary, then share the URL w/ others.
Imagination Cubed http://www.imaginationcubed.com/ - Nice looking site that is ideal for the electronic whiteboards w/ the ability to draw your own mind maps.
Edistorm http://www.edistorm.com/ - Real-Time mind mapping w/ sticky notes.
Education Eye http://www.educationeye.org.uk/ - A great way to brainstorm w/ this innovative search engine.
Mind42 http://mind42.com/ - Nice collaborative mind mapping site that is easy to use.
Mindmeister http://www.mindmeister.com/ - Beautiful looking mind mapping site w/ the ability to embed into a site.
Mindomo http://www.mindomo.com/ - One of the most detailed mind mapping sites w/ lots of web 2.0 features, such as sharing, commenting, etc.


http://cacoo.com/ from Kathy Schrock
Create diagrams online Real time collaboration
Cacoo is a user friendly online drawing tool that allows you to create a variety of diagrams such as site maps, wire frames, UML and network charts.
Cacoo can be used free of charge.

 
WordSift
from Digital Tools for Teachers by Steph
http://www.wordsift.com/
This is an interesting site I came across. It reminds me of Wordle, where a tag cloud is created from text which you paste in. However, this site then provides research options for the popular words in the text. Students can select words and research them further.

This is a great way to dissect a piece of text or to analyse their own work and look for words they commonly use.
The site also provides Word Lists relating to different subject areas.

http://tagul.com/
from Free Technology for Teachers by noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Byrne)
Tagul is a free word cloud generator that offers one clear difference compared to other word cloud generators like Wordle. The difference between Wordle and Tagul is when you create a word cloud with Tagul, every word in your word cloud is linked to a Google search. Click on any word in your word cloud to be taken directly to a Google search results page for that word. Tagul creates a word cloud from text you copy into your Tagul account. Tagul will also generate a word cloud from any url you specify. Just as you can with other word cloud generators, Tagul allows you to specify words to ignore in creating your word clouds. Once your word cloud is created Tagul provides you with an embed code to put your cloud on your blog or website.



http://wikimindmap.com/
from Free Technology for Teachers by noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Byrne)
Wiki Mind Map is a resource for visually exploring Wikipedia. Wiki Mind Map is essentially a search engine for Wikipedia articles that uses the Google Wonder Wheel concept. Enter a search term into Wiki Mind Map and it will generate a web of links to Wikipedia articles about your chosen search term. Wiki Mind Map will also include related search terms within your web. In the image below you can see the web that Wiki Mind Map generated when I entered the search term "fishing."

http://www.tagxedo.com/ from Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero by dkapuler
With Tagxedo, you can:

•create tag clouds in real-time, and respin, and respin to your liking
•save the tag cloud as images for printing and sharing
•look at all variants of the clouds in a gallery (see screenshot above), and pick the one you want for further tweaking or saving
•choose from many different fonts
•use local fonts (e.g. downloaded from Font Squirrel or your own hand-drawn fonts)
•quickly switch between different colors and themes
•constrain the cloud to selected shapes (heart, star, cloud, oval, etc)
•use images as custom shapes (e.g. Reddit Alien) [premium feature]
•use words as custom shapes (e.g. "USA", "Love", "Joy", "I LOVE YOU") [premium feature]

http://wisdomap.tutor2u.net/
"Tutor2u-Wisdomap is the only mind mapping software designed for education. Packed with useful features for in and out of the classroom, tutor2u-Wisdomap helps you to make beautiful mind maps and integrate engaging media items. You can use it to plan lessons, set and track mind map assignments for your students, create interactive mind map presentations. Your students can get the most from mind maps using the unique built in revision tools."



From http://www.freetechforteachers.com/:

http://www.wisemapping.com/c/home.htm
Each cell created in a Wise Mapping mind map can be dragged and moved around in the mind map without losing any text or text formatting. Wise Mapping lets users collaborate on the creation of mind map. Mind maps made on Wise Mapping can be shared with others via email, url link, or be embedded into your blog or website.

http://www.slatebox.com/Index
Slatebox offers a variety of good-looking templates and intuitive tools for designing and editing mind maps and charts. Creating a mind map is a simple matter of selecting a template and using the visual editor to place text and images in boxes. Those boxes can be resized and rearranged using the drag and drop editor. If you need more text boxes, simply add more.



http://www.bubbl.us/
Bubbl.us is a free mind mapping/ graphic organization tool that allows users to collaboratively create and edit mind maps. Bubbl.us takes just seconds to figure out and you can try it before registering for an account. With Bubbl.us users can use their keyboard or use the drag and drop interface to arrange elements in their mind maps. Publishing work created with Bubbl.us can be done by exporting the file to a JPEG, PNG, or as an XML or HTML file. Any mind map created using Bubbl.us can be embedded into a blog or website.

http://flockdraw.com/
FlockDraw is a simple service that allows people to quickly and easily collaborate on the creation of a drawing.

http://cacoo.com/
Cacoo allows you to draw shapes, type, and drag and drop elements of your diagram. One of the unique aspects of Cacoo is that you can also upload images to include in your diagrams. The collaborative aspect of Cacoo is that you can invite other people to contribute to your diagrams. Cacoo allows you to chat with your collaborators in real-time while you work on your diagrams.


http://board800.com/
Board800 is a simple service that enables anyone to create a collaborative whiteboard space in seconds. Board800's primary functionality is drawing shapes and creating designs. You can also add text to your Board800 whiteboard.

http://www.exploratree.org.uk/
Exploratree is a free graphic organizer creation tool. Exloratree users can use pre-made graphic organizer templates which Exploratree refers to as "thinking guides" or create their own templates. The Exploratree thinking guides can be used online or downloaded and printed for offline use. Thinking guides can be created collaboratively on Exploratree which makes Exploratree a good tool for students working in groups to design projects together.


http://www.cosketch.com/
CoSketch is a free and easy-to-use collaborative whiteboarding tool. CoSketch can be used for drawing and typing on a blank canvas or you can draw on an image that you upload to CoSketch. You can also use CoSketch to draw on maps. The collaborative aspect of CoSketch allows you to invite anyone to become a collaborator with you. To invite others simply give send them the link associated with your drawing space. You can can chat with your collaborators while you draw.

http://www.mindmeister.com/
Mind Meister's basic account is free and has all of the features that a teacher or student needs. With a free account users can collaborate with others, share via email or embedding, and download or export files. One of the features I really like is the ability to add active links to websites. The linking feature is a good one for students trying to organize their thoughts for a research paper. The intuitive piece of Mind Meister is in the creation aspects. To add a new topic or "idea box" users simply click the green "add" button. To remove an item click the "delete" button. Organizing the items with Mind Meister is a simple matter of dragging them to the position you want them in. Changing the size and type of text is as easy as changing the size and type of text in a word document.


Thank you Free Tech for Teachers!
Wordle
http://www.wordle.net/
Click on “create“. Here you can add your own text, copy and paste from a document or add a url address.
Once you have your text ready, click “go”. Your text will now be displayed as a word splash. (Note: if a word is repeated it will show up larger)
You can choose to randomize your wordle design or you can edit using the tool bar along the top. Here you can change the font, colour and layout of your Wordle.
When your Wordle is complete you can print or save it.
If you want to save an image of your Wordle simply press the prtsc button on your keyboard, paste it in Paint and save it as an image. If you have Windows 7 you can use the snipping tool to create a screen capture. Alternatively there are programs such as MWSnap and Jing to create screencaptures.

Word It Out
http://worditout.com/
Welcome to WordItOut
Simply enter some text and create your word cloud!
◦Customize many settings
◦Share your word cloud (or keep it secret!)
◦Embed it on your own website
•What is a word cloud?
It's an attractive arrangement of randomly positioned words, where the most important words are bigger than the others.
•What are word clouds for?
That's up to you!
◦Some people use them to summarise documents, reports or even answers to questionnaires.
◦Others simply think they look nice as pieces of art.
◦Teachers can make lessons more fun with them too.
◦The possibilities are endless...