I recently discovered Word Clouds from a fellow Counselor colleague. And thought I would share since it relates to instructional design and educational technology.

To create the above Word Cloud, I used , ABCYA.  

You can use Word Clouds for flyers, PowerPoints, or just print out by themselves, etc. You can choose the words and colors. As a counselor, I feel word clouds can be helpful for students to create their own word cloud affirmation. Or for career development, a word cloud can be created that represents your top 3 values, interests, and skills. For goals/dreams:, students can create a word cloud that represents their top goals/dreams. The first word you list will be the anchor and then other words get designed around it.

Don’t get thrown off by the “for kids” vibe – it’s a great tool!!  I’d be very interested in seeing your word clouds! 🙂

 Read: Ko & Rossen, Chapter 13: Teaching Web Enhanced and Blended Classes, pp. 371-end (blended courses).

I have not yet taught a Blended course, but learned some helpful tips for when I do in the future. I paid close attention to the 2 most common errors made by those teaching a Blended course: overloading students with more work than they would normally have in a completely face-to face or online class and not giving clear instructions about what to accomplish in each mode of learning.

I also watched Rick Schwier’s video about the History of Educational Technology.  I enjoyed learning how educational technology has evolved and what it has done for education.  I like that he explained in detail about the rapid growth of technology in our society as learners.

I read Jaron Lanier, Does the Digital Classroom Enfeeble the Mind (2010). Lanier brings out some interesting points. Lanier states, “The human element is a magical connection, is at the heart of successful education, and you can’t bottle it.” As a counselor, I completely agree that human connection in the classroom is important, but I also think that our students are evolving.  If our generation of students are requiring to be taught through technology, then I think as educators, we should find a way to evolve and to use technology to enhance learning. The example of his father teaching his students to learn math by designing their own spaceships is a wonderful story and an example how educational technology can be put to excellent use!