Reading, Research and Writing with Chrome Apps and Extensions

Join us as we add extensions and apps to our Google Drive and Chrome browser. These apps and extensions enable students to be successful in the process of reading, writing and research. Chrome Extensions are small programs that add new features to your browser and personalize your browsing experience.  By using Chrome extensions students can make the process of finding, organizing, and citing information a million times easier. Teachers can use these extensions for teaching to all learning modalities. Google Drive Apps are available through your Google Drive account. These apps add additional functionality to your Google Drive and allow teachers to create literacy assignments for students other that the traditional research paper.  
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Activity One: Chrome Extensions:
  • Chrome Web Store
  • Training for Google Apps This will show up in all of your apps after you install the extension.
  • Turn Off the Lights: Use to dim the lights around your video. ​
  • Explain and Send Screenshot: Screenshot and annotate the web with this extension. Download and save options available.
  • OneTab: Whenever you find yourself with too many tabs, click the OneTab icon to convert all of your tabs into a list. 
  • Cite this for me: Automatically create website citations in the APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard referencing styles at the click of a button. 
  • Announcify: reads out loud every website you want and blurs text that is not being read. 
  •  Print Friendly and PDF: Edit the webpage to delete specific text and image to then save them as PDF and print.
  • Wolfram Alfa: Instantly query Wolfram|Alpha from any page or tab.
  • Google Translate: View translations easily as you browse the web. By the Google Translate team.
  • Screencastify: Screencastify is a simple video screen capture software for Chrome.
  • Print Friendly and PDF: Edit the webpage to delete specific text and image to then save them as PDF and print.
  • Quick Mark QR Code: This extension allows you create or decode QR Codes when browsing the web with Chrome.
  • Readability: Readability is a web and mobile app that zaps clutter and saves web articles in a comfortable reading view.
Activity Two: Chrome Apps and Google Drive Apps
Chrome Apps-
  • Newsela: publishes daily news articles from leading publications like The Washington Post, Scientific American, and The Guardian at 5 reading levels from grades 2 – 12 to drive gains in literacy.
  • Pixlr Editor: Pixlr Editor is a browser photo editor for all your editing needs. Have full control over your images, including layers and effects.
  • Photovisi: Photovisi is a free and easy to use photo collage maker.
  • Powtoon Presentations Edu: PowToon lets you create awesome presentations and animated videos
  • SAS Writing Navigator: Writing Navigator is a suite of tools that provides guidance and support throughout the writing process: planning, drafting, revising, and publishing.
  • SAS Reading Records: Reading Records offers a time-efficient solution for assigning, grading, and analyzing running records of students' reading.
Google Drive Apps-
  • Create from Template: Add the from template option to your Google Drive 
  • Cacoo: A user-friendly online drawing tool. Multiple users editing the same diagram means Real-Time Collaboration. Cacoo Tutorial
  • Lucidchart Diagrams: The easiest way to draw flowcharts, mockups, UML, mind maps and more -- online and offline.
  • PDF Mergy: Allows you to merge PDF files with a simple drag and drop interface.
  • Pixlr Editor: Full featured in browser photo editor!
  • Powtoon: PowToon lets you create awesome presentations and animated videos. Powtoon Tutorial
  • WeVideo: Makes video editing easy for everyone and accessible from anywhere.​
Activity Three: Add-Ons for Docs
  • Easy Bib Bibliography Creator
  • Gliffy diagrams
  • Open Clipart
  • Template Gallery
  • Tag Cloud Generator
  • Charts