Reading the cloud
The cloud refreshes every second by default. The more often a word has been sent, the larger it is drawn. Colour carries no meaning — it is there to separate one word from the next, which is why a one-colour palette is available and loses nothing.
The join bar
Above the cloud is a single row holding a small QR code, the join link, and whether the cloud is live. Select the code to open it full size for scanning.
It is one row rather than a panel because the cloud is the point of this screen: the bar takes about a tenth of the height the old arrangement did.
The word list
Show the word list displays the exact figures: every word, how many times it was sent, and what share of the answers it represents. Some classes find the list more useful than the picture, and it is the accessible equivalent of the cloud rather than an extra.
Pausing
Pause updates in the bottom bar stops the cloud changing — useful when you want the class to look at something without it moving underneath them. Update every slows it down instead, up to ten seconds.
When a word will not fit
If a word cannot be placed on the screen, School Words says so underneath the cloud rather than dropping it silently. Lowering the largest text size in the Appearance tool usually makes room.
Tips
Pause before you ask the class to discuss what they see. A cloud that reshuffles mid-sentence is hard to talk about.
The word list is worth showing at the end even if you never show it during — the numbers often surprise a class.