TAGXEDO
Overall Rating
4/5
Tagxedo is a cool tool that allows the user to turn words into clouds. It graphically emphasizes the most frequently used words. It is similar to Wordle, but unlike Wordle Tagxedo allows you to shape-fill, i.e. create word clouds into a given shape. This is an amazing creativity tool - allowing your imagination to go wild!
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Example word cloud using a picture
Tagxedo Interface
1 of 3
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed by: Adriana Arevalo on 04/02/2013
Description
Tagxedo is a free creative web 2.0 tool that turns text into a word cloud in real time. Text can be taken from files, websites or it can be typed in Tagxedo webpage. In order to create a word cloud, this application removes small and common words such as are or do, and it combines related words into a single word; for instance, car and cars or fly a flies. Users can customize the visual appearance of the word cloud. They can choose different font style, color and shape. Also, they can customize the orientation of the text such as horizontal or vertical among other options.
The most interesting fact about this tool is that users can customize the shape of word clouds. The easiest and fastest way to create a shape is to choose one of the shapes provided by Tagxedo in the Shape menu. If users want, they can insert their own images in the option add image. However, this is a complex and time consuming task. To get better visual results, this picture should be edited with other computer applications such as Gimp 2.0 until the image showed in the word cloud be clear enough. Tagxedo tool has many potential applications that can be incorporated in schools as well as in companies.
Things to know before using Tagxedo
To create a plain word cloud, basic computer skills are required, but to create customized images, users need intermediate to advance computer skills since they may use other applications to manipulate pictures.
Resources required for using Tagxedo
Users need computer, mouse and Internet connection. In addition, users need a .txt file, a website link or a text to be typed. To create customize shapes; a picture is needed as well as a computer application to manipulate it.
How to use Tagxedo in a teaching environment
At the beginning, it was a little difficult to find concrete applications of Tagxedo word clouds in a teaching environment, but after doing some research, several potential uses of this web 2.0 tool were identified. First, a Tagxedo word cloud is a great tool to introduce yourself or someone else. For instance, let us think in a class where students were assigned to introduce themselves in a unique creative way. They could create a portrait of themselves with words that describe their personalities and interests. Also, Tagxedo is an excellent tool to summarize a famous persons biography.
Due to its attractive visual appearance, Tagxedo word cloud can be used as an original way to start a class, presentation or seminar. With nice shape designs and a clear content, these word clouds call viewers attention and prepare them for the topic that is going to be taught, presented or discussed. For example, a geography teacher can create a Tagxedo with a map shape to start a class about South America.
In addition, this tool can be used to summarize books, movies, articles, news, and thesis among other materials. By reading a word cloud, the audience can have a basic idea what the book, movie or article is about. Besides summarizing content, Tagxedo is a good resource for improving vocabulary skills. For instance, in a foreign language class, students who are struggling learning some words can create a Tagxedo with a shape related with the meaning of those words. So each time these students see the shape and the words on that, they could remember what those words mean. Word clouds can be also useful for those people who are preparing for the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) test where identifying synonymous and antonyms is important.
Moreover, Tagxedo can be used to create school activities such as games that help students to improve their memory and concentration skills and learn new words at the same time. For instance, a word cloud with a nice shape can be showed to students for few seconds. Then students will try to remember as many words as they can. Other activities can be implemented such as finding a key word in the shape, guessing the topic or creating a particular sentence. Finally, Tagxedo word-clouds can be also used for companies to educate their employees about companys policies or procedures.
Advantages of using Tagxedo
- FREE online application
- Does not require software download
- Create shapes with key words
- Nice appearance that calls viewers attention
- Amount of words in shapes can be edited
- Font style, color and size can be customized
- Permits adding pictures and customize them
Disadvantages of using Tagxedo
- May require other computer applications to edit pictures
- Customization may be a complex task that requires advance computer skills
- Text may be difficult to read in word clouds
- Files with .doc extension cannot be downloaded
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