Crossword maker

Crosswords are always a favourite but can be a bore to create. ArmoredPenguin.com allows for really easy creation of crosswords that actually look good when printed (no adverts or branding). See my example:

You can type your clues and answers in on the web-based creation page or import a .txt file, so long as you separate your words from the clues with a colon :

Unlike many other crossword makers, this one supports multiple word answers, either leaving spaces or combining the words for the grid and automatically adding the number of words to the clue.

The site is explained well and is easy to use, click below and check it out:

Word/Tag Clouds

Traditional word clouds can be really useful as a visual summary of a text, the size of the word depends on how often it appears in the text, allowing the key points to be conveyed quickly. I have used these traditional word clouds to convey the specification points for GCSE Chemistry units.

In an interactive word cloud each word or 'tag' becomes a clickable link. I have found that these clouds work best with a list of keywords and with maximum sizing rather than linking to occurrence. An example is provided below, with key words about spreadsheets. In this example clicking a tag will search for "spreadsheet" and the text of the tag.

Tags can also be fitted into shapes that provide additional visual stimulus- for this to be effective a larger word list is needed and trying to size tags by frequency of occurrence makes shape fitting awkward but good results can be achieved:

Try it yourself at Tagul (excellent for interactive and shaped clouds) or Wordle (best for traditional clouds)