Enhancing Learners' Comprehension via a Web-Based Text Visualization Tool

Identification of repeated words is a method to improve new reader's comprehension of a text. Other techniques include attention to bolded words, headings, or images. While repeated words may not point directly to the central theme, they provide important clues about that theme. The practice of identifying repeated words is not exclusive to new readers. It is also taught to individuals who have a different or to persons seeking to develop speed reading skills. It can be argued that even mature readers can benefit from this practice as interpretation of a text may be clouded by external factors including: personal experiences, gender, culture, or mood.

In health education, a factor impeding reader comprehension is medical terminology. Unfamiliar and frequent use of medical terms may increase the cognitive load placed on the reader, thus preventing him/her from grasping the key concepts. By identifying repeated words, the learner can bypass some of these terms and focus in on the author's intended purpose. Identifying repeated words usually requires the reader to underline or highlight the words as they come up. This practice can turn cumbersome with longer texts where the distance between or the number of repeated words becomes greater.

This presentation introduces the audience to a web-based text visualization tool called Wordle. To use Wordle, one simply drops text into the online text box and the image appears. The image allows the user to see how frequently words appear in a given text, drawing each word at a size proportional to its frequency. In other words, the size of a word is proportional to that word's word count. To reveal how Wordle can be used in the health education to improve learner comprehension, results from an action research study are shared.

College health majors watched a film and wrote a brief summary about the key concepts. The instructor then provided students with an electronic copy of the film's script to “drop” into Wordle. Learners were instructed to re-write their film summaries. Second summary submissions were very different than the originals and learners indicated they had extracted new meanings from the film. This could signify that learners originally had missed the central themes or that the repeated words pointed to other/sub-themes. In either case, use of the text visualization tool inspired new interpretations of learning materials and helped learners to identify key concepts. A demonstration of Wordle is conducted.