Bobbie R. Byrd | Guest Contributor
Here at CTL, we aim to provide as many resources as possible for our customers combined with our trustworthy products. A sure sign of a great web browser is its ability to expand through extensions, and Google Chrome does just that. With so many to choose from, which are the best Chrome extensions for students and teachers?
Top Chrome Extensions for Teachers
Google Chrome is a popular browser among America's educators. Which extensions are the top five 'must haves' for teachers in 2019? Here's our picks (in no particular order):
1. Share to Classroom
Share to Classroom makes it easy to quickly push a web page to your student. This Chrome extension lets you push a web page instantly to your students' computers. To create an assignment, post an announcement, or a discussion question? This extension makes it quick and easy, and helps you create a more interactive classroom.
2. Loom
With the Loom extension, you can record your entire screen, or a specific tab or app. Using the built-in microphone on your computer, you can personally narrate your project. You can save, edit, and share your recordings as messages, practice lessons, and tutorials for in-class use. We use this extension at our CTL Headquarters and it most definitely comes in handy and used for a variety of purposes.
3. Grammarly
Grammarly is a powerful tool that checks spelling and grammar in your emails, slides, presentation materials, handouts, and other materials. It scans for clarity, tone, and conciseness. We also use this extension daily within CTL and boosts productivity in the most efficient way.
4. Extensity
This extension lets you keep your toolbar uncluttered, and allows you to turn your extensions on and off with a single click from a drop-down menu. Chrome apps can launch from the same menu.
5. Liner
Who doesn't love highlighting? But highlighting the same thing over and over gets old. With Liner, your highlights on the web stay when you re-visit a web page. You can share your highlighted sections without sharing an entire article, and leave comments at sentence-level on the highlight itself. It'll all be there when you come back to the web page.
Top Chrome Extension for Students
What about students? Here's our picks of extensions for students (in no particular order):
1. Split Tabs
Working with multiple tabs can be frustrating. Chrome makes it easy with the Split Tabs extension. You can quickly organize tabs into pre-set layouts or create your own for maximum efficiency.
2. My Study Life
This user-friendly planner let's you easily organize your study life. You can store homework, exams, even classes in the cloud, so it's available anywhere, on any device.
3. Google Dictionary
Finding the definition of a word has never been easier. When you need a definition, a pop-up bubble opens with the complete definition of any word or phrase. This toolbar dictionary stores a history of the words you look up and offers translation of foreign words in 17 languages.
4. Google Similar Pages
When you install this extension, a simple click on the Similar Pages button sends a query to Google to look for pages similar to the one you've viewing.
5. Cite This for Me: Web Citer
One of the most tedious chores for a student is creating citations for work done. This extension automatically creates citations in MLA, APA, Harvard, or Chicago style. One click generates the citation that you then copy-and-paste into your assignment.
In Conclusion
There are a myriad of extensions that can help improve the efficiency of your Google Chrome browser. You're free to pick and choose the ones that meet your needs. Whichever you select will, however, only be as good as the device on which they're installed.
To make certain you get the most from your device and extensions, choose from a variety of our top-of-the-line Chromebooks at CTL.
By Bobbie R. Byrd | Guest Contributor
