Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Tagxedo! You're It!

One of my favorite, free web tools to use with my kiddos is Tagxedo. This website allows you or your students to create word collages for FREE!!! You simply go to www.Tagxedo.com and click Start Now. Then, you click Load and start typing words. You can choose from a variety of fonts, color themes, orientations, and shapes. You can even load one of your favorite fonts that you have saved on your computer. That can be done by clicking on the Font tab and then clicking Add font at the bottom of the screen.

Here is one I created using my students' names to display as our classroom roster on the wall outside our room:


My students created collages using vocabulary words they learned during a geometry unit. They were assigned a term that they had to describe using "math words". Here is a finished product for the term quadrilateral.


They also created collages during a Civil War unit to review key information learned during the unit.


There are so many ways this site can be used throughout the school year, and it is so, so easy. My third graders had absolutely no problem working with the site on their own. 

Here are some other ideas for using the site:
*Students can type in a piece of their writing to check for repeated words. This could help during the revising step of the writing process. 
*Make a synonym collage.
*Make a collage of verbs, adjectives, and nouns.
*List names of students in reading groups, conference groups, desk groups, etc.
*Create a collage of words related to a character trait.
*Unit vocabulary

This possibilities are endless! I will definitely be sharing how I use this tool throughout this coming school year for projects in my classroom. Have you ever used Tagxedo? What ideas do you have for using it in your classroom?

20 comments:

  1. Hi Mrs. T.. I was just wondering if you can give me some direction as to how you made your Tagxedo job chart thingy... We are about to start the new school year here and would love to do it for my class.. but cannot seem to get my head around HOW exactly you made your name larger than the rest within the program?? Cheers for that! Jo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jo,
    To make the words larger, just type them more times than the other words. I typed my name seven times and the kids' names one time each. I hope this helps!
    Leah

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks so much Leah! I'll give it a shot :) BTW I've only just discovered the joy of teacher blogs and have targeted yours! You have some brilliant, inspiring ideas.. so thanks again!! Jo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this! Thanks so much and I look forward to reading more on your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ok, this is soo cute and I would really like to do this class list, but I am struggling?! I want the shape as a fish, my name larger, and for all the kids names to only appear once and I can't do it!! I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Any suggestions? Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. same here!!! It seems a little tricky to figure out...are there directions somewhere that I'm missing? Also, how do you get your name (the teacher's) centered and completely together...mine keeps separating the Mrs. and my last name

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am really sorry you are having trouble. I wrote a post with a tutorial today if you would like to check it out. I included the answers to your questions there!
    http://mrsteachnology.blogspot.com/2012/07/tagxedo-roster-tutorial.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't seem to get to the point of entering names. I click on Start Now but it takes me to a cloud that is already made. How do I get to the point of putting in my names?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You need to click on load when it takes you to the ready made cloud. Type your words in and then submit. It will change the words they have to yours.

      Delete
    2. I can NOT get this to work to save my life! Not sure what I am doing wrong as I have followed all the steps given. Even on the additional blog....I am typing my words in but the big one in the center keeps going away. Does every word have to be on a different line? How can I get my surrounding words to be smaller...I'm so confused. HELP:)

      Delete
    3. You might want to check to be sure your Flash/Java is updated. Also, it requires the installation of Microsoft Silverlight, but it should prompt you to install.

      Delete
    4. You need to make sure you are typing your name in multiple times and your students' names only once. Sometimes some of the words will disappear, but you need to keep refreshing the layout. It also helps to go in and type your name one more time and click submit. Make sure you have your Picture set to Classic (V). If you still can't get it to work, email me your names and I will try to do it for you!

      Delete
  10. I love this site tagxedo. I could not find the image of a person. Can you tell me how to add an image if one is not there that you want to use. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To add an image...
      1. Find the image that you want.
      2. Save it to your computer.
      3. Open Tagxedo
      4. Upload the image under shape
      5. Choose the image
      6. Set the boundaries for the image
      7. Submit

      I hope this helps! Let me know if I can help in any other way.

      Delete
  11. Thanks for the information on how to add the image! I used your advise and made a tagxedo for my blog post! Thanks!
    Thanks, Nancy
    The Apple Basket Teacher

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mrs. Teachnology,

    Can you tell me what shape you used for your collage? Also, do you know if there is a way to choose your own color combinations? I want to use just red and black.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ear Mrs. T--
    I can't seem to download Tagxedo correctly, any guidance? On my PC it wants to install Microsoft silverlight and even after that, it wont open....??
    Lost and confused

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Mrs. Teachnology,
    Thank you so much for sharing a such wonderful teachnology tool.
    I am a Mandarin teacher, I found a China map in Tagxedo.
    I will make it for all my students as the end of year gift, also it helps me to promote Chineses language to the parents.
    Great idea! Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete