Chrome Apps and Extensions

Now that summer has begun it is time to play! If you haven ‘t spent any time in the Chrome Web Store I HIGHLY suggest you do.  There are tons of free apps and extensions you can use in your Chrome browser that are fabulous.

To get to the Chrome Web Store you can click on new tab in your Chrome browser and in the bottom right hand corner click on Web Store.

You will have to make sure you are signed in to the Web Store (check the upper left hand corner for your email address).

Spend some time in the Web Store exploring. There are backgrounds, games, programs, extension, helpful tools.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Extensions will appear next to your address bar.

Extensions

Screen Capture – captures an image of what is on your screen quickly
Shorten Me – allows you to shorten an URL or create a QR code with one click
Announcify! – takes your webpage and read it to you
Key Rocket – helps you learn short cut to make your life a bit easier (think CTRL + C)
Read & Write – will read your Google Doc out loud to you
Ginger – spelling and grammar check

 

Apps will appear as icons when you click on a new tab.

Apps

These apps will allow you to access your Google tools quickly:
You Tube
Google Calendar
Gmail
Google Docs
Google Drive

Voice Comments (from learn.ly) – allows you to leave voice comments on a Google Doc
Dropbox – free cloud storage
Geogebra – online mathematical tool

Those are a few of my favorite but I am just skimming the surface. There are a wide variety of items from typing games, to a biodigital human, Angry Birds, ad blockers, and the list continues.

So now that it is summer take some time to play and see what you can find.  I would love to hear what you come up with! Leave me a comment so our list of great apps and extensions continues to grow.

Internet Favorites

The end of the year is upon us. As educators this is the time where we clean out our rooms and get ready for a bit of rest to recharge our batteries.  As educators, we also know there is that myth of “3 months of vacation”.  Before you know it we will be picking up our class lists and supplies and getting ready for the next school year to start.  

A tip for the end of the year housekeeping – saving your Internet Favorites.  First, if you are not using Google Chrome as your browser I would suggest making it your browser of choice next school year.  If you have Internet Favorites saved in Internet Explorer you can import these bookmarks into Chrome by following these directions.

1. Click the Chrome menu .
2. Select Bookmarks.
3. Select Import bookmarks and settings.
4. Select the program that contains the bookmarks you’d like to import.
5. Click Import.

Now, that you have all of your bookmarks in Chrome, by signing into the Google Chrome browser this will save all of your favorite Internet sites.  The best part, if you sign into Google Chrome at home it will sync all those booksmarks on your home computer as well.  If you want to know more about why you should sign into Google Chrome you can read more here.  Follow these steps to sign into Google Chrome.

Follow these steps to sign in:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the Chrome menu  on the browser toolbar.
3. Select Sign in to Chrome
4. Sign in to your Google Account in the dialog that appears. 
5. In the “Confirm sync settings” dialog that appears, choose what you want to sync.
   • Sync everything: Click the “OK, sync everything” button. (I choose to sync everything).
     
   • Choose specific items to sync: Click “Advanced” and select “Choose what to sync” from the drop down menu. Select the checkboxes for the items you want to sync.
     • Apps from the Chrome Web Store
     • Autofill (except for credit card numbers)
     • Bookmarks
     • Extensions from the Chrome Web Store (except those containing plug-ins)
     • History
     • Passwords
     • Themes
     • Open tabs
     • Settings
6. Click OK.

You will know that you are signed into Chrome when your email address appears in the upper right hand corner when you open a new tab.

 

You don’t need to worry about your email address staying there and security.  This will not allow others to get into your email or other Google applications, your password would be needed.  

Stay tuned for some summer posts about how signing into Chrome gives you access to the Chrome Web Store and tons of free extensions, programs, and add-on’s to make your tech life a little easier. Have a great summer!