<span style="color:#000000;">Today I'm sharing word cloud generators. </span><span style="color:#000000;">Word cloud programs make it easy to create your personal word clouds.  </span>

<span style="color:#000000;">A Google search will list many. Tech&amp;Learning offers a review of ten sites </span><a href="http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=67&amp;entryid=364" target="_blank">here</a>.

<span style="color:#000000;">I've selected three sites that I've had fun with and all three are easy to use. </span>

<span style="color:#000000;">Word clouds are great for promotional materials and presentations. I also create clouds to help me visualize characters and settings.</span>

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/wordle-the-pendants-promise-1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2614" alt="Wordle The Pendant's Promise-1" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/wordle-the-pendants-promise-1.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="158" /></a>

<span style="color:#000000;">I used</span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"> <a href="http://www.wordle.net/create" target="_blank"><strong>Wordle</strong></a> </span><span style="color:#000000;">to create word cloud above. Wordle is the king of word cloud generators and produces awesome results with full editing capabilities. No log-in or email are required. Program allows printing, in order to save right click on Wordle picture and save as a jpeg and or make a screen print.</span>

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/mycloud.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2615" alt="MyCloud" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/mycloud.jpeg?w=300" width="300" height="195" /></a>

<strong><a href="http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm" target="_blank">ABC</a></strong><span style="color:#000000;"><strong><a href="http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color:#000000;"> Ya</span></a> </strong>created this cloud.</span> <span style="color:#000000;">Final results that allow for font change, color change, and a randomized layout.  Save options are in jpeg format and there are print options. It's an easy application that kids will enjoy using.</span>

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/word-fun.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2616" alt="word fun" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/word-fun.png?w=300" width="300" height="246" /></a>

<span style="color:#000000;">I created the word cloud on the right with <a href="http://www.tagxedo.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#000000;"><b>Tagxedo</b></span></a>, a beta-released word cloud application that offers various cloud shapes. The only way I could get it to print was using Print Screen then pasting into Paint. Not a big problem because the shapes are fun.</span>

<span style="color:#000000;">Have fun creating your own personal word clouds. Click on the program names to link to the sites. </span>

<strong>YOUR TURN: </strong><span style="color:#000000;">Can you think of ways to use word clouds?</span>