Chrome Extensions

I don’t have a Masters (yet) and I don’t plan on going for my PH.D but this meme is usually how I feel about using technology in the classroom!

As I stated in a recent post, I still feel pretty unsure of myself when it comes to technology. There are so many cool “things” to try and incorporate into my lessons, but I never feel like I have time to play around with them. I say “things” because I am honestly still trying to understand the difference between an app and an extension! I decided to do some research, and I found out that extensions are basically little tools inside my computer that make it so much better! #teacherwin

When we were assigned this blog prompt, I was actually pretty excited. Even though I feel like I don’t know very much, I was excited to try out some of these apps/extensions. The only problem was that I had no idea where to start! So I did what everyone else does, and I asked Google what the best chrome apps were for teachers. As always, Google delivered and I got millions of results (in under one minute, I might add). I started to ask myself what kind of extensions were I looking for? Strictly for the students, or also for me? I decided to break them down in a few different categories. Here they are:

For the teacher…

1. Extensity – I tried this one out to help me organize all of my chrome extensions. It is essentially a drop-down menu of all of your extensions, making them easier to sort through and find quickly. Definitely, something that will make my life easier!
2. Save to Google Drive – I love this extension! It helps me to easily save relevant articles or resources that I come across. It is quick and helps me get my work done efficiently!
3. Snip tool – Not only is it the cutest little pair of scissors, but it is VERY handy! I noticed that Amy thought so too, and she suggested pinning it to my tool bar – what a great idea! Thanks Amy!

   For all students…

1. Grammarly – Alec talked about this one in our class this week, and I instantly knew that I had to try it out with my ELA classes. Although I think it is a fantastic resource for students, I worry about students never actually learning to correct their own grammar. However, is this a way of the future? Will there be much need to fix grammar? Will the grammar police be out of work everywhere?

Student support…

Some extensions are necessary for my life – to help me stay organized or more productive, and some are necessary for all of my students. Some however, are important for a specific group of needs. I teach ELA, so I tend to focus on the readers and the writers of the world. I wanted to look for an extension that would help students with both of these things. I stumbled upon Read & Write after browsing through some other blogs from #eci833.

I haven’t tried Read & Write with my students yet, but from reading how Jana uses it in her classroom, I think it is definitely worth looking into. She suggested that it can support students by predicting their words, audio playback and voice to text. I can think of several students that this would make a big difference for! Thanks for sharing your ideas Jana!

Thanks to my fellow EC&I 833 classmates for sharing their favourite chrome extensions!