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Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?
dear parent
teacher
administrator
board member
don't teach your kids to read
for the Web
to scan
RSS
aggregate
synthesize
don't teach your kids to write
online
pen and paper aren't going anywhere
since when do kids need an audience?
no need to hyperlink
make videos
audio
Flash
no connecting, now
no social networking
or online chat
or comments
or PLNs
blogs and twitter?
how self-absorbed
what a bunch of crap
and definitely, absolutely, resolutely, no cell phones
block it all
lock it down
keep it out
it's evil, you know
there's bad stuff out there
gotta keep your children safe
don't you know collaboration is just another word for cheating?
don't you know how much junk is out there?
haven't you ever heard of sexting?
of cyberbullying?
a computer 24-7? no thanks
I don't want them
creating
sharing
thinking
learning
you know they're just going to look at porn
and hook up with predators
we can't trust them
don't do any of it, please
really
'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids
can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two
can you?
Build Literacy Skills with Wordle
While you can directly type into the Wordle text box, I would recommend you copy and past text into it. That allows you to get text directly from online sources or your own text document. Student can either work on their individual Wordles or collaborate together on one. In the later case, it's probably most efficient to gather all their writing into one text document before copy/pasting it into a Wordle. Use tilde sign to create phrases. Example: learning~strategies. Another tip: After you create a Wordle, right click a term to remove it from the Wordle results.
The site allows you to modify the color scheme, font, alignment and even set the maximum number of words to include in the analysis (example top 100 words, top 50 words, etc) For inspiration on layout see these Wordle samples at Flickr
Wordle output - If you PDF generating software, you can "print" a Wordle to a PDF file. Or you can do a screen capture of the Wordle. Do live Wordles on your smartboard. For a how-to on screenshots click here.
So how could your students use Wordle?
Defining skills - Before the dictionary comes out, give your students a new vocabulary word and ask them to brainstorm all the word they associate with it. Gather up all the brainstormed words for a Wordle. After the term has been formally defined, repeat the process and compare to the "pre-dictionary" Wordle.
Summarizing skills - As a pre-reading exercise - copy/paste text of reading into a Wordle and ask students to predict what the main ideas of the reading will be. Another pre-reading option - give them a Wordle of a non-fiction reading and ask them to use the Wordle to generate a title or headline before they see the real article. Post reading - ask them to reflect on the reading based on a prompt (examples - main idea, what you've learned, funniest element, etc). Then collect all their reflections into a Wordle.
Comparison skills - Give them two different accounts / essays on the same theme / event - let them compare the Wordles generated by each. Or you could generate Wordles for two different reading - then let student see if they can match the Wordle to it's corresponding reading.
I've been collaborating with fellow educators on a Google Doc guide to using Wordle in the classroom.
Think Before You Post
The Internet has helped to enrich our lives in many ways, however, it has also provided child predators with a new way to reach potential victims and commit crimes.
Ziua “Pay it Forward” – 29 aprilie 2010
"In fiecare an, in ultima zi de joi a lunii aprilie se sarbatoreste ziua “Pay it Forward”. Multi dintre voi poate au citit cartea scrisa de Catherine Ryan Hyde care sta la baza acestei miscari, sau au vazut filmul “Pay It Forward”. Este povestea unui băiat care a făcut trei fapte bune pentru trei persoane. În schimb, tot ce a dorit copilul a fost ca acestea să faca la randul lor fapte bune pentru alte trei persoane şi să păstreze acest ciclu in miscare.
O fapta buna poate nu mai conteaza chiar asa mult in ziua de astazi, dar daca fiecare ar face ceva bun pentru altcineva, atunci acest ciclul al generozitatii şi bunatatii poate va aprinde acea flacara din sufletul fiecaruia care ne va ajuta sa devenim Oameni mai Buni.
Alatura-te grupului “Pay it Forward Romania” http://groups.to/payitforwardro/ si sarbatoreste ziua “Pay it Forward” in fiecare zi, daca se poate" :)









