Wordle

Here's how I got there..
dy/dan posted about Martin Krzywinski's use of Wordle to analyze the US Presidential/Vice Presidential debates.

So, I went to Wordle and ran an analysis on my latest Blackboard postings for Human Development and Cognitive Learning.

I like how this lets me analyze my homework. What was I really trying to say? I'm glad that "student(s)" were large, I want my posts to be about how I'll implement ideas in my classroom to help students. I'm glad "steps," "lab," and "behavior" were large because this unit was about behavioral learning and the steps we can use to affect students; and since I teach a lab science, it's in that lab that I need to affect their behavior. Yay, I was mostly on task.

I'm not happy about how large "may" is. My post must not have sounded very definite, like I don't really know what I'll do or how it will work or change things. Too vague, uncertain, and undefined. "I may" do this and "students may" react that way. I know I can't know what will happen, but shouldn't I be trying to take things out of the abstract realm and make it real? "I will" do this, and "I think students will respond" like this. I think that's the point the professor has been trying to make for the last 3 class meetings when he's been talking about how our writings aren't sounding like we know how we'll try implementing things in the classroom. He wants us to say what we will do, not what may happen when we try.