Common Sense Media Review
By Polly Conway
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Simple tag cloud creator gives words shape.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
What's It About?
Tagxedo is a website that allows users to create word clouds from any text. What's a word cloud? It's a cloud made of words, of course. You input any words or text blocks into Tagxedo's interface, choose a shape and font, and the result is a cloud-like visual interpretation, with words appropriately sized to show their frequency in the text. The site can pull text from a user's Twitter account, blog, or any URL they type in, as well as custom words. Shapes include a heart, star, and apple, and there's a wide selection of fonts to choose from as well.
Is It Any Good?
Kids will love making customized word clouds, and Tagxedo certainly makes it easy to create a slick-looking image in just a few minutes. It seems basic at first, but there are a handful of ways to make the site a valuable learning tool (some of which are outlined in "101 Ways to Use Tagxedo," a helpful slideshow. The interface is extremely easy to manipulate and even younger kids should be able to play around with it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Have kids think of as many words as they can that begin with a letter, then create a series of alphabet-shaped clouds.
Create a family word cloud after dinner, adding words that describe what you do best together and what makes you happy.
Have kids type in the words of a favorite poem or short story and select a shape that relates to the story.
Website Details
- Subjects : Language & Reading : presenting to others , reading , vocabulary , Math : grouping
- Skills : Tech Skills : digital creation , using and applying technology , Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , collecting data , part-whole relationships , Communication : conveying messages effectively , Creativity : making new creations
- Genre : Creating
- Pricing structure : Free
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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