I recently come across some really neat font sites that could be used to enhance hand-outs or used as art projects.

Students can use Yourfonts.com to create there very own fonts and it only takes a couple of minutes! Signatures are also digitized. Simply complete a template, scan the template, and submit. This might be an excellent motivator for young students who need to practice their letter formation. The fonts are returned within 15 minutes and can be used in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, etc. Very cool!

Another free font generating site that requires a little more work, but that is very interesting and introduces students to concepts of pattern and design is FontStruct.com. An email registration is required, but registration is fast and free. Once students have set up an account, they have access to an online graph paper “type” (pun intended) template with tools and shapes that will help students think about the structure of each letter they create/design.

My next recommendations are not exactly generators, but it is quick and fun. First…have you ever just wished you could flip your text? Try Flip! You could really “flip-out” your kids if you posted their assignments using this tool! The ASCII Generator is also a neat little online generator. Simply type your text in an online form and see your text transformed into ASCII text. Copy and paste the results into Word as you create your worksheets or instructions for students.

While we are on the subject of fonts, type, and text…..don’t forget the ever-popular Wordle generator that transforms you words into textual posters like the sample shown below. Experiment with color, shape, etc. This tool has been very popular because it is so quick and easy to use.

And, finally….typeGenerator is a generator that is similar to Wordle, but it features different effects. I have posted a sample using my name (Jennifer Farr) below: