Word cloud and random picker

Use the word cloud to start a conversation about a text: which words stand out, and what the text is really about. Use the random picker when a choice should be quick and fair, such as which viewpoint a group argues from. Neither collects answers from students; they are tools you run in front of the class.

1. Open Tools & references in the sidebar and choose Word cloud.

2. Type or paste your text under Text. The cloud is drawn as you type, and words that occur more often are larger.

3. Filter common words leaves out small helper words. To leave out more, choose Edit filtered words, add the words under Extra filtered words and click Save. Your text stays as it was.

4. Change Shape, Max words, Colours and Rotation if you like.

5. Click Add to my materials, give the cloud a title and confirm. When you open it again, the text and the filtered words are still there.

The random picker works the same way: choose Random picker, replace the items with your own, save it with Add to my materials, and click Pick random item when you need a draw.

Show the cloud on the shared screen and ask the class what it suggests before they read the text. Download image and Download PDF give you a copy for slides or for printing. A saved tool also has Present, which opens it as a presentation, the same way as a lesson.

The picker’s result is not saved with the list, so you can draw again for each group.

• Different forms of a word count as different words: “forest” and “forests” appear separately. Keep this in mind when you write the text, or filter one of the forms.

• Filter out a word that dominates the cloud without saying anything new, such as the topic word repeated in every sentence.

• After changing a saved tool, click Save to keep the changes.