When asking Google what a word cloud is, this definition appeared:
A word could is an image composed of words used in a particular text or subject, in which the size of each word indicates its frequency or importance.
I can say with a fair degree of certainty that we all know what a word cloud is, and that many of us have used them in our teaching for some purpose or another. However, I wanted to start with the definition because it stresses the following point: the words that are most important, or those that appear more than others in a word cloud are given a larger size.
The reason I asked Google this question stemmed from my desire to find a fun and efficient way to display the main areas in which I got to grow and develop as a language instructor in 2018. I looked back at the titles and themes of different presentations, workshops, discussions, and programs that I had the privilege of being a part of this year, and I put them into the word cloud creater, wordart.com. Here is the outcome:
Titles and themes of different presentations, workshops, discussions, and programs that took place in 2018.
Taking a step back to examine the word art that was the result of my attempt, I can see that it highlights two important facts. The first is that I, like many of my colleagues here at Yale, had a wonderful year in which I could grow as an instructor in many ways. All of which are significant and relevant. The second is that at the end of the day, it is all about none other than teaching!