Tech Tip Tuesday: WordSwag App

For this week's tech tip, I'm going to change it up a bit and share one of my favorite mobile device apps: WordSwag (for both iOS and Android)! This is the one app I wouldn't want to live without. Although I use it mainly for personal enjoyment and creativity, I have used it with my students and will suggest ways to use it in education in the post today.

The WordSwag app allows the user to combine a picture with text. Several apps exist for this, but I love WordSwag because of all the options it offers. For starters, the WordSwag user can select a stock image, a solid-color background, an image from pixabay, or a picture from his or her own camera roll. The image can then be cropped to fit several different social media posts or can be left original size. After the size has been decided, a filter (such as 'Vibrant' or 'Broadway' - shown next to the original flower image below) can be added and the brightness of the picture can also be adjusted. (Photo Credit: Hillary Hurst)

The next step is to add text. The user can type in a word, phrase, or quote of his or her own or can let the app generate a quote from one of these categories: Classics, So True, Stay Hungry, Get Hyped, Good Morning, BFFS, Be Mindful, Cheese Please, or Quickies. The text can be formatted with many different "font" types. Some of the "font" options actually combine several fonts and font sizes to create a unique look. I have the paid version, which offers more choices, but the free version still has plenty to choose from. The user also chooses the text color or colors and the level of color transparency. Three examples are shown below with different fonts and font colors.

The short video below (from the WordSwag website) demonstrates some of the available options and highlights some of the ways people use WordSwag.

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WordSwag - designer text for your pictures from Benjamin Wong on Vimeo.

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WordSwag has several possible uses in education:

• Students and teachers can use the app to combine original pictures with their favorite quotes and then print the final images for classroom inspiration.
• Students can create original images for presentations, projects, and digital portfolios.
• Students can combine images, words, and definitions to learn vocabulary.
• Students and teachers can create images to share on social media about what students are learning and what events are happening in the classroom or competitive arena.

What other ways would you use WordSwag in your classroom?

WordSwag is user-friendly and intuitive. The final creations are easy to save to the device's camera roll and share via social media. I have created images for several different purposes, including the Tech Tip Tuesday icon on this post. Some of my favorite creations are below: