One of the Web 2.0 websites that I have really enjoyed working with is Wordle. It is a great program and I was going to blog about it. However, while creating a nice word cloud on Wordle, I came across a Web 2.0 tool called Tagxedo. It is a program like Wordle, but it takes it to a whole new level. I really like this tool on many different levels. First off, it is a really engaging tool for creating some nice visualizations using the words or text you are working with. What separates it from Wordle is the ability to have some interaction with words on the website. You can also have your words conform to various shapes. There are also many other parameters that you have control of that you do not have with Wordle. You can load custom shapes, have many more options on how to save your files and have a choice on what size you want your word cloud saved as.
This would be a great tool or resource in the classroom as it can be a great way to review or introduce vocabulary. Not only can the words be used, but you can create them in the shape of what you are studying. For example, if you were doing a unit on North Dakota, you could point Tagsxedo to the Wikipedia site for North Dakota to grab keywords about North Dakota. Then load a shape of North Dakota and the words will fill that shape.
This is currently a free site and it is still in beta. On the site they state that there will be a pay version in the future, however they also state there will always be a free version. You do not have to register or sign up to use the site.
