Tech By admin / March 10, 2017

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

What is a Word map or Word cloud?

World maps are created to form distinctive categories of countries across the word, this means there must be a problem of projection or a representation of a unique identity across different countries of the world. With a world map is easier to identify a country with a common information being passed across. The world map can be used to show a distortion on the earth surface, hence it can be used in reflecting some diverse technical goals on the map.

Word maps often focus on specific features such as Political components, you may need a global knowledge to construct an ideal world map, and when political elements are being used in constructing a world map, territorial boundaries and human settlements must be distinctively classified. For instance, when you highlight physical world maps, you must show the distinctive rock types, soil types, underlying rock fault lines, and sub-surface structures. One can conclude that World cloud or world map is mainly designed to categorized countries on the world based on a geographical, political or other patterns.

What is a Word map or Word cloud?

How to make a Word Cloud

Examples of World clouds being used as forms of arts

Examples of world clouds

World map template, Generator and Examples

Word cloud assignment template- tips and ideas for teachers and educators

Free word cloud template assignment and assessment for teachers and parents

Your word cloud template options

Avoiding mistakes

Other template settings

7 Word Cloud and Word Map Generator Reviews

Wordle review (free)

ABCYA Word Cloud Review (Premium)

Tagul Word Cloud Review

TagCrowd

Word Cloud generator

Tag Cloud generator

The Image Chef Word Mosaic Generator

Are word cloud , word shapes, word splash and word collage the same?

Want to Make Your Own Word Map or Word Cloud Software Program?

7 Word Cloud and Word Map Generator Reviews

A word cloud generator is expected to be simple and effective enough even for beginners to start using it immediately. Slow learners must be able to use the user interface of the word cloud template easily, and they should be able to make corrections accordingly.

Wordle review (free)

Wordle word cloud is one of the most popular and most sophisticated word cloud tool you can consider, and what makes it even more popular is the fact that it is free. This word cloud tool can be used effectively as a visual learning program. It can be customized according to your preferred colour, font, alignment, style and many other features. There seems to be no limit to the number of categories for which you can change the outlook of your word cloud projects here. Wordle can be used to create just anything, from tutorials to election campaigns and lesson notes. Wordle is simple because it generates words based on the texts you provide, and it comes with added features that allow you create word clouds in different forms. To make use of this free tool, simply lo unto the website and click “create” and a new screen will appear with all necessary options.

ABCYA Word Cloud Review (Premium)

This is one of the best word cloud tool for the kids and beginners in general. It helps them discover their creative skills quickly, and it is very easy to use. This tool is also available on the internet for free and you can use it directly on the website, it must be noted that this tool has a very kid-friendly user interface. In order to make use of this tool, the minimum number of words you can input is three at a time, if you don’t, the tool may not work properly.

The premium version of this word cloud tool comes with even more sophisticated features that will further enhance the usability of the program. One of the premium features you can find here a preloaded database of different figures you can use as a base or foundation for arranging and aligning your words. You can also upload your own base image upon which you can then align and arrange your words.

Tagul Word Cloud Review

Tagul word cloud is another top word cloud generator relied upon by millions of people all over the world. What makes this word cloud tool unique is that it allows you to upload your image and use it as the foundation or layout for your word cloud design. To use Tagul, you will have to sign up on the website and once you are signed in, you will receive a notification that contains a link that you are expected to click in order to start creating your own word cloud. You can make use of the sent URL as well as texts or even select the options provided and then click on “Generate”. You can also make changes in the appearance, colours, and fonts on the word cloud.

TagCrowd

This is a unique word cloud generator in the sense that you can use it to visualize the frequencies of certain words for any content, and you don’t have to sign up to make use of the tool. One other advantage of this tool is that you will get a clean cloud that will help you conduct well organized visual training .all you have to do is visit TagCrowd, then you can copy and paste texts or make use of a URL to upload a file in order to generate your word cloud.

Once you have chosen all other options, you will have to adjust your options, for instance, you need to choose the language, as well as the minimum /maximum amount of each word that must be present in the word cloud. Once you have completed the whole thing, you can simply click on “Visualize tab” in order for your tag cloud to be generated. Simply click on “Save as” and then choose the format for which you want the piece of word cloud to be saved.

Word Cloud generator

Word Cloud Generator has numerous add-ons as well as quick-access features that allows you to use different emerging themes for different word cloud projects. It also helps you determine which best category your project can fit in, it comes with a Google doc add-on that allows you to integrate your word cloud projects into Google, and you also have access to control the number of words you can use .there is a feature that allows you to drop any word and make use of a word count table when necessary. Word cloud generator is quite simple in every way, it allows you to make use of filters and even import words from your computer or internet, thus you wouldn’t find it hard to locate the right words for your word cloud.

Tag Cloud generator

Tag Cloud generator has been regarded as one of the easiest word cloud generators around because it makes use of an in-built HTML platform, and it is quite easy to use, assisting beginners to perform word cloud projects effectively in no time. This is a completely free cloud generator that allows you create deluxe word cloud projects instantly. The HTML platform makes it easier for admin, teachers or parents to accept as many word cloud projects as they can and edit them. Tag cloud generator can also be used in creating word shapes, especially when the advanced form of the software is used.

The Image Chef Word Mosaic Generator

This word cloud generator may seem like an amateur tool, but at the end of a project it will give you an impressive result. If you want to change your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram traffic without wasting much time, or effort, you can rely on this tool for a fast result. Once issue here is that the tool normally leaves a watermark on the world cloud final result that is generated which some people may not like. If you don’t mind the little watermark, you can rely on this tool for an excellent result.

Examples of World clouds being used as forms of arts

General overview on how to create your world cloud using a software

A personalized father’s day world cloud can be a perfect gift for the fathers especially when it is used in communicating one’s feelings. The steps behind this world cloud are easy, and to make it even easier, you can make use of a reputable world cloud software, most of these software work similarly. All you have to do is to download and install the software or app and then click on “Create” and this will take you to a new page. The next step is to choose the shape of your world cloud( take note that all choices, including shape, color, theme, font, orientation, and layout) of the world cloud are located on the left side of the software home page. Make sure you choose a world cloud shape that daddy will love to display all year round, for instance, you can use the shape of a snowman, or simply choose the shape of an handprint. Some women would prefer to make use of heart, tree or love shape because they seem to appear much nicer. If you prefer the classic vertical and horizontal world cloud shapes, you can check the bottom of the software for the button.

Once you have decided the shape you want, simply click on it and the shape on your screen will automatically change. Next step is to choose the colour theme for your font and letters ( these are the colours in which your words will appear). As you click on the colours, the shape of the letters will automatically change to indicate what they will look like eventually. The software will display some rectangles and in each of them you will see how the words in your world cloud will look like, while the outer region of each rectangle will be the colour of the background. If you are simplistic in nature, you may choose the simple white and black colour themes, they look awesome too.

Once the colour theme and shape has been chosen, your next step is to choose the font size of the letters. You may want to stick with 1-3 fonts and then click on the side box beside these fonts and you will have a preview of what the fonts will be.

Once you have chosen the font, your next step is to choose how you will like the words to be aligned. To do this, you simply need to click on the “Orientation” button. You may have all the words to be vertical or horizontal or a mixture of both, and after the alignment of the words, the final step is to personalize the words. The software provide a feature referred to as “Loads”, located on the left side of the sidebar, then you will see a screen popping up where you can type all the words that you want in your cloud.

Just before you create a father’s day world cloud for instance, you may want to ask him certain questions in order to make use of the right words in the cloud, these include; his nicknames, hobbies, favourite sports, what he is good at doing, favourite game, and many more. Once you are done, simply click the “Submit” button and the world cloud will appear.

Examples of world clouds

#1 Father’s Day

#2: Mother’s Day

#3 Birthdays

#4 Anniversary

#5 General Art

#6 Kids Room

#7 Office Décor/Business Mission /Vision/Values

#8 Classrooms

#9 Others

World map template, Generator and Examples

Making world cloud can be fun especially when performed with kids as projects,

Most world map or world cloud templates and generators work the same way, especially with the following steps;

If you want to make a world cloud in different shapes for instance ( for instance, the map of the United States of America), you can follow these simple steps;

Step #1: Visit the website of the template (you don’t have to download any software as there are good online templates that help you create world cloud for free). You need to check if the website will work for your type of browser ( chrome, window explorer, safari or Firefox).

Step #2: Click on “Create” and you will be directed to the design page. From the left side of the design page, you may want to start with the shape of your design. The design home page should look like the image below;

The arrow on the left box should indicate the places to click in order to bring up the choices you need to make your world cloud choices. Considering the picture below, there are so many shapes you can choose these include the shapes of animals.

Step #3: Once the shape has been chosen, next you can click on the “Colour” and these are the colours the words will end with. If you look at the image above, you will notice that the colour inside the inbox is different from outside, this is exactly what will happen as you write on the world map. You need to change the colour after you complete the writing of a word.

Step #4: Choose the font.

Once you have chosen the shape, and colour, your next step is to choose the font of your letters. For the best results you may want to practice with as many fonts as you like, considering the fact that you will have several different words on the world cloud. You should be creative with your fonts, for instance, you can choose a font with “all capitals” and the choose fonts that mixes capital letters with small letters. Some of the most interesting fonts you may consider include; Comical, Euphorigenic, and Boston Traffic. It’s going to look a whole lot nicer if you choose a font with no serifs and match it with another font with one serif.

Step #5: Align your contents

Now that you have sorted out the shape, colour, and font, you should now align the words on the world map. From the left side of the home page, simply click on the “Orientation” option. Aligning your words should make the world cloud more fun, you can use vertical or horizontal alignments or you can simply mix them together to create even more fun.

Step #6: Personalize your words

Personalizing your words will be the last step to take when completing your world cloud. Rom the left side of the sidebar, simply click on “Load”, and a new screen will simply pop up and from here you can simply type the words you want to write to personalize the contents of the world map. If you type in the words multiple times, they will show up more on the world cloud, Once you have completed the entire world map, simply click on “Submit” button and you will see the final world map on the final screen, just as the one shown below;

Please take note that when you spin any of the features (font, theme, colour, shape or orientation), some of the choices you already made will be changed as well, hence you need to ensure that you preview your final world map before you hit the “Submit” button, and your world map will be automatically downloaded.

Some software can allow you to save your world cloud in a flash drive, and then you can retrieve them and print them on T –shirts, cardboard papers, frame it or even make it into a card or cut it out and then add it into a 3D collage.

Word cloud assignment template- tips and ideas for teachers and educators

The word cloud assignment template is a Parent and teacher assignment template guide that can be used to evaluate word cloud assignments. This template will simplify the way teachers and parents award mark or grade such assignments. This template guide can be downloaded directly online. Here are some tips for parents and teachers to make use of word cloud assignment templates more effectively.

Make use of different colours and sizes to denote the levels of importance of different words within the word cloud, this will help your students to lean the significant ideas quickly and more effectively.

Make use of word cloud to create your course outline instead of the conventional method of outlining courses. Make sure the key points of your lesson plans are highlighted with bold texts or vibrant colours and unique shapes, likewise, make use of unique fonts and characters to illustrate the learning goals and objectives of your course.

Encourage your learners to make use word cloud that will reflect their learning goals and objectives. This will help them personalize their goals and experience hence they can become more effective in learning.

You can access the leaner’s knowledge by encouraging them to create word cloud after each module, let them illustrate whatever they have learnt, and include highlights of the interesting and difficult parts. This will help you discover whether they are making use of the skills they are being taught.

Facilitate peer-to-peer feedback as well as group collaboration by making word cloud illustrations part of class presentations.

Free word cloud template assignment and assessment for teachers and parents

As a teacher or parent, you will definitely want a word cloud template that can be customized effectively in order to facilitate the teaching and transfer of information to pupils. The template you want to use must also have a section where the assignments and all word cloud activities can be evaluated and marked accordingly. Here is a free template guide for parents and teachers;

Your word cloud template options

The commonest options you can fund on a word cloud template will contain;

The Visual appearance, and

Text processing

From the image below the Visual appearance comprises of three main sections, the word cloud size ( these could be small, medium and large), the Maximum number of words ( this could be 50 at most), and the font.

The second part is the text processing option, this feature will allow you to decide whether you want to capitalize some or all the words, use or ignore stop words, and use or ignore numbers. You may also want to choose from the other options such as bold, Italic and shadow. At this point it will be important to encourage your students to practicalize with all options available and then settle for the ones with the most visual appeal.

Avoiding mistakes

Take note that you must avoid repeating words when using this template, hence you must avoid clicking on the repeat boxes just click on “enable” on specific amount of words, you can simply check this in the “layout” option as shown below;

Take note of the Upper, lower and Capitalize options at the bottom of the template, these options can either be chosen during the development of the word cloud or after you have put all the words. Using all these features at the beginning may prolong the time for the completion of the word cloud, hence you may want to wait until the end to adjust all contents accordingly and save more time.

From the top of the template ( just below the Word), you can see the options; Import words, add, remove and clear words. This template will allow you to import words from anywhere on your computer or from the internet (if you are connected), please take note that words imported will take the initial fonts, size and other features from the original source, hence they must be re-adjusted to fit your word cloud.

Other template settings

It is important to make use of certain setting options when completing your word cloud. These settings are available on your template and they allow you to perform certain operations such as;

Filtered words,

Filtered punctuation characters, and

Space replacement.

All these features can help you reduce the number of times spent in choosing your words, and eliminate all unnecessary punctuation marks that can help save even more space.

Now that you have a complete template for generating a word cloud, as a teacher, you may want to use this guide to help your students create their own word cloud, making use of every feature available from the template. You may use the template to award marks based on the number of features the students use( some students shy away from using certain features because they are not comfortable with such).

From your evaluation of student word cloud assignments, you should be able to detect areas where they are having difficulties ( for instance, word filters can give some students problems), you can then work on how to train them to use such difficult features on the template.

Are word cloud , word shapes, word splash and word collage the same?

Though these are few differences between word shapes, word cloud, word splash and word collage. All of them can be used to illustrate however the main differences are the extra contents added to explain further or illustrate more of the contents that are being explained on the word document. For instance, word cloud is basically the alignment of several words in one specific image or confinement, while the words can come in different colour, shapes, and arrangement( vertical or horizontal). Word shapes on the other hand come with different shapes of images and items with fewer words. In order words, word shapes are mostly images, used in describing a content. Word shapes are mostly used when describing the geographical components such as landmarks, or when illustrating some contents such as animals, books, and toys to children. Just like word cloud, word shape is also specific in nature, all the words used to form the shape are closely related to the shape being formed, however, in some cases, one may use irrelevant words that will still connect other words within the shape.

Word splash can be described as a collection of concepts and terms related to a target topic, and such words are usually placed randomly around the heading (main topic). When a word splash is used, a teacher may ask his or her pupils to describe the relationship between the word splash contents and the main topic. An example of a word splash is when the main topic is education and the similar or closely related words such as; educator, library and so on, are splash all around the main topic.

Word collage is a form of artistic expression but it is still a form of word cloud. They are custom word arts that comprises of several words used in creating an image. A word collage is different from word shape in the sense that a word shape is more relevant to the image in the background, however, a word collage may contain words that may not be relevant to the image being formed. A word collage can help one to become more creative when creating word clouds, a collage will normally require more features beyond the vertical and horizontal alignment features found in ordinary word clouds, and the reason being that you may have to arrange some words in circular or irregular alignments.

Despite their differences, word shapes, word splash, word collage and word cloud can be infused into each other to create something more unique and more acceptable. A teacher can make use of these four word generator to make create study materials.

Want to Make Your Own Word Map or Word Cloud Software Program?

It IS possible to make your own word map or word cloud software or template with the use of some programming languages. You may have to learn the programming skills first in order to achieve this. There is nothing too difficult when it comes to programming languages, all you need is a constant practice and you will be amazed with the rewards you will get once you are done Below are some of the ways you can create your own word cloud;

#1 Python Tutorials

To generate word cloud through python, you should keep in mind that there are multiple codes you can use, however, the basic code is explained or highlighted below;

For installation, you need to use the code – pip install wordcloud

If you are making use of Conda, then you may find it easier to deploy anaconda cloud with the following code;

Conda install –c https://conda.Anaconda.org amueller wordcloud.

For the manual installation, you can consider using the following codes;

In order to Install the package, you can make use of the code; python setup .py install.

Just in case you are having issues with the pip installation, line ,you can simply make use of the .whl file, which can be located at www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#wordcloud.

You can also generate wordcloud through a coline, the tool you can use in this case is wordcloud_csi.py, this tool can be used in generating word clouds directly from your command line. The command you can use is;

Just in case you are working with pdf files, you may have to use pdftotext in the command line;

For more resources, you can refer to these two links;

https://discuss.analyticsvidhya.com/t/how-can-i-create-word-cloud-in-python/969/2

https://github.com/amueller/word_cloud

#2 JavaScript Tutorials

JavaScript can help you create some full customizable word cloud programs that you will be proud of. It should be noted that one of the most popular free online word cloud generators – Wordle, is written in JavaScript. Wordle makes use of the HTML 5 canvass, to achieve a great interactive speed.

To use JavaScript to construct a new word cloud layout, you need to make use of the command; # d3.layout.cloud.

You can make use of the “end” event, when your designed layout has completed the placement of all words.

The “start” layout algorithm can help you initialize the numerous layout attributes on your word objects, and this will start placing the words according to their sizes( the largest words are placed first). The placement will also start from the center of the rectangular word cloud region, and each of the placed words will be tested for possible collisions with already placed words, if collision is detected, the command line will simply place the word in another position within the spiral. Take note of the fact that if a word cannot be placed on any position in the spiral, then it may not be included in the final word cloud layout.

In order to stop the word cloud layout algorithm, you will need the command #stop ()

To set the time interval you will need to make use of set intervals for your layout, this will help you avoid locking up your browser’s event loop. When you specify this command, it will be the maximum amount of time that can be spent, otherwise, the time can be set at infinity. The command used to set time in word cloud is “#timeInterval”.

#words is the command that is used in JavaScript to specify a certain set of word array, while #size is the command used in setting the rectangular width and height of the word cloud layout. If the size is not specified then the layout will have the default word size.

#font will have to be specified in the layout, and this command will set the font accessor function and that indicates the font face for each word. If the font is not specified then it will return to the default fonts in the layout which is usually “serif”.

#fontstyle is the command that must be specified in order to indicate the font style of each word, if not specified the default font style will be in place. The font size is the numerical value of each word. #fontWeight is the command used in assigning a weight to each word in the layout.

In order to set the font size function you need to type in the command;

you can replace the function here with a constant.

#rotate is the specified function or set that is used to rotate accessor function. This value will set the rotation angle of words in terms of degrees. You can use the following command to set the rotate for a particular word;

you need to replace the function with a constant here.

# spiral is the command used to specify the current type of spiral for the positioning of each word. There are two in-built spirals here; the Archimedean and rectangular. A typical spiral generator in word cloud layout should look like this;

#Padding indicates the numerical padding for each word, if this is not specified then the default padding will be effective.

#random is the command word that will set the internal random number generator that can be used in setting the initial position for each word in the word cloud layout. This command also sets the clockwise and anticlockwise direction of the spiral for each word, and it will normally come within the 0, 1 range.

#Canvas is the canvas generator function that can be used in drawing a text. A typical canvas in word cloud layout should look like this;

You can refer to these two resources for more information;

https://www.zingchart.com/docs/chart-types/wordcloud/

https://github.com/jasondavies/d3-cloud

How to make a Word Cloud

There are so many online apps or tools you can use in creating a word cloud or world map, most of these tools give you templates or Editors that will make it easier. You can also create your world map by hand or sketches and you must keep in mind that such a map is not intended to be pretty, even if the posters of middle earth that you see online look beautiful, building a word map is a completely different thing, you need to break things up here.

When you are building a word cloud, remember that you are building a functional map, likewise, when building a map, keep in mind you have to build several maps one after the other untilthey form a single map. Building a world map is like creating a visual notepad, hence you will be crossing things out and erasing stuff, just the way you edit your notes until you have a final manuscript. You don’t need a photoshop; just a pad of scratch paper with your drawing pencil should be enough.

Here are the steps you should follow when building your own world map;

Step #1: Plan the world you need to build

First of all, you must first think about the world map you want to build, this should definitely be a smaller area than the planet from which you want to create the map. Since you are trying to tell a story with your map, you may want to focus on the limited area, you definitely have a verse land area to explore.

Step #2: Starts by creating a note about the relationships between the countries, states and power centers that you want to emphasize in the world map. For instance, are the countries on your map at war or are they close allies of simply fight over resources? Once you have noted the relationship between the countries or regions, you need to take note of their identical structures, for instance; are they famous for their expansive grain fields? Do they have large armies or natural defenses such as border walls? You need to focus on terrains at this point; the hills, mountains, major routes, sea, land and air terrains. Take note of the coastal lines, mountain ranges, and some other key features that will be useful later.

Step #3: Create some rough shapes of the countries or continents- This is the time to start your world map, simply grab your pencil and your stacks of plain white papers and faintly draw circles around where the nations are located. Keep in mind that Nations that are allies or at war should be drawn closer, while the ones that rarely connect should be drawn further away, likewise countries that have some insurmountable barriers between them must be drawn farther away. You may think that drawing some circles on a map are pretty easy but at this stage you may have to perform few tries to get the relationships between the countries or regions right.

Make some sketches like the one shown below;

Step #4: raw the coastlines and make sure you keep them random and broken

The circles you have drawn earlier are not really maps, you need to start drawing the physical features such as coastlines. Think about the countries that require coastal lines and the ones that need to be land-locked. Try as much as possible to avoid straight lines but let your pen wander. Keep in mind that coastal lines must be jagged and broken.

Step #5: Sketch the mountains – keep in mind that inverted triangles work best when drawing the mountains, don’t make them pretty. Keep in mind that mountainous structures will often tend to form ridges, hence you must avoid being tempted to fill in the entire blocks of lands with mountains, instead create them in wavy lines. Mountains will usually follow in the edges of the coastlines on maps, and they tend to create natural boundaries between countries while creating obstacles for soldiers. If you have to create a desert in one region and a jungle in another area, then you should draw a mountain range in-between them.

Step #6: Take note of the fact that when rivers flow into coasts, they only join and don’t separate

Now you need to draw the rivers, take note of the fact that during rainfalls, water runs down the valleys and into the seas, and the rivers will always flow to the lowest points. This simply means that rivers will not brand as they continue to flow into the sea, they only join to the sea. For this reason, no river should go from one coast to another, and also remember that no lakes will have two river flowing into sea, only one lowest point will allow river to flow out. When drawing rivers on the map, think about them as a tree where there is only one tree trunk (the sea), with numerous branches at the top (mountain).

Rivers are quite important in many ways, you can hardly find a river mouth I the world without a town nearby, likewise, the greatest cities in the world usually lie close to the river. When drawing your map you must allow decent sizes of rivers to be close to the main cities and towns, rivers and walls are usually used by nations and cities to fence off aggressors or enemies.

Step #7: Add your hills, and forests wherever they dim fit.

Most of your hills should be added close to the mountain edges, then you can create small forests and check how they fit together. Always keep in mind that you can always start afresh when you don’t like what you see, you will have to spend more time and more sheets of papers. If you are comfortable with the terrains you have created, simply go over the pencil lines and then erase the lines (including the boundaries separating the countries). You can simply scan or photocopy your map t this stage.

Step #8 : Make other additions

At this point, there are probably some details you have omitted, for instances, the resources being protected and hidden in certain regions and the lands that need to be annexed- you can make use of coloured pencil to sketch the different countries you want to emphasize or discuss via your world map. At this point you may also add your cities but keep in mind that cities are where they are located for some reasons, hence they must have food, water, shelter, and security, likewise trade and commerce are conducted in and around such. You may also locate capital cities in places that are well defended, please keep in mind you may have to do a lot of editing at this stage, and it is possible you re-direct streams and rivers.

Step #9: The final draft

This is just an illustration of how a world map should be for physical geographical structures. There are world maps for different purposes. You can also create world clouds or maps for activities or celebrations such as Father’s and Mother’s days, anniversaries, Kids rooms, and General arts. There are no limit to what you can use world maps for.