The Google Salon: Let's Add Some Extensions!

Welcome to the Google Salon! Let's give your chrome browser a much needed makeover. Chrome extensions are great ways to highlight and brighten up your browser through useful tasks for both teachers and students. See how to maximize your workflow and minimize common headaches. Add these extensions to turn chrome into an interactive whiteboard, easily add common notes to any assignment, quickly create and share a list of important web links, and so much more. You work hard, let the Google Salon pamper you!

Did you know your chrome browser is actually an extremely powerful customizable application? You can add extensions, which extend the power of your browser, to enhance the learning goals of your students and the classroom capabilities of you the teacher.

Below are awesome chrome extensions for you and your students which have been used and tested in classes at Alta Sierra and beyond.

These links are for the chrome browser only, they will not work on internet explorer or edge browsers.

To use them just click on the link, then select the blue button that reads "add to chrome" in one click it will add the extension to the upper right corner of your chrome browser for easy use. 

1.Dualless: Split your chrome screen per tab in any shape, then bring them back together. Great for any reason to split your screen such as grading student work and imputing grades into Google Classroom. Great for research for students or keeping the instructions visible while working on an assignment. You could also use "Tab Scissors" extension, but Dualless allows you to predetermine how the tabs will be split in size. CLICK HERE TO ADD

2. Boomerang: Sometimes we need to be reminded of an email we have received in the past or we need to send an email to someone at a later date. Boomerang allows you to schedule emails to be sent to yourself or other at any future point! CLICK HERE TO ADD.

3. Awesome Screenshot: Capture any webpage in any fashion, whole page, the whole site, whole screen, you name it. This also has built-in info blur to protect any sensitive information. CLICK HERE TO ADD.

4. Web Paint: annotate over any webpage. Turn your Chrome browser into an interactive whiteboard. Have students practice their annotation skills on any article from any website. Use this in conjunction with "Awesome Screenshot" above and have them screenshot their annotations and turn in via Google Classroom. CLICK HERE TO ADD

5. NoteAnywhere: Leave a "Sticky Note" on any webpage and it will be there when you return. I always bookmark webpages, but forget why or how I was going to use the information. Not anymore! With this extension leave a sticky note on any webpage and it will be there when you return. CLICK HERE TO ADD

6. Screencastify: Record your screen to document a lesson or have students record their screen to show proof of Knowledge. Super great tool to allow a student to share their knowledge and growth. The free version allows up to 10 minutes of recording. Use this in conjunction with Flipgrid to create a whole classroom of student tutorials. CLICK HERE TO ADD

7. EdPuzzle: EdPuzzle is a great tool to truly monitor your student growth and learning in any video. The problem is when you find that great YouTube video to use in EdPuzzle you may not have the time to make the assignment, then forget about the video all together. With this extension, a new EdPuzzle button is added to ALL YouTube videos allowing you to easily start and save the lesson for easy editing later. CLICK HERE TO ADD

8. EquatIO: This is a great tool for any math classroom. EquatIO allows you to add any math equation to any GSuite tool via handwriting or voice. Who says there are no good equation editors in Google? CLICK HERE TO ADD.

9. ColorPick Eyedropper: Have you ever needed an EXACT match of a color for a project or website but cannot quite find it? Let ColorPicker do the work for you. Just hover over the color you like and boom the color #code is revealed. Just go to any color menu, choose custom, then past in the #code. CLICK HERE TO ADD

10. OneTab: Have you ever been to a conference or training and end up with too many tabs open to bookmark and/or count? No fear, OneTab is here! Use one tab to collapse ALL your open webpages into an easy to archive list. Bonus: Save the list as a webpage and send it out to your colleagues who could not make the conference or training. CLICK HERE TO ADD

11. CraftyText: If you ever need to "Blow-Up" text or information so a large audience can view it, CraftyText is your tool. Inlarge text on your screen, shorten a url, or create an instant QR code to be "Blown-UP" to be easily seen on your projected screen. CLICK HERE TO ADD

MORE TO COME!!!