Back to School with Google Chrome: The Complete Guide!
Going back to school is hard enough! Why not make the most of what Google Chrome has to offer and get you and your students ready for school with the best apps, extensions, tips, and tricks?
I like to think of Google Chrome as the learning environment for all things Google! Like I've said before Google works best with Google! With Chrome, you can customize your learning environment to fit your needs and interests. Better yet, customize the learning environment to fit the needs of ALL learners!
I have put together the Back to School with Google Chrome Guide for teachers. Below you will find a very useful list of essential Chrome extensions and apps, tutorial videos, and a few tricks and tips to help you and your students prepare for the #bestyearever!
Get the Google Chrome Cheat Sheet
Download Chrome for All of Your Devices
Desktops/Laptops
- Chrome for Windows 10/8/7 64 bit
- Chrome for Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP 32 bit
- Chrome for Mac OS X (10.6 or later)
- Chrome for Linux
Sign-in to Chrome
Manage Multiple Google Accounts in Google Chrome
Explore the Chrome Web Store
Choose a Chrome Theme to Make You Smile
Essential Chrome Extensions
- Add to Google Classroom: This extension allows you to easily add websites to Google Classroom. Just click the Google Classroom button to save the site to your class, and share with students as an announcement or an assignment. This one is just for teachers with Google Classroom accounts, but will come in handy as you create assignments for students.
- Apps Launcher: This extension will give you access to all of your Chrome Apps from the extension in your toolbar. The list defaults to alpha order, but you can click and drag to reorder so the apps you use the most are at the top. Nice shortcut to your Chrome Apps, and they will open in a new window.
- Bookmark Manager: Saving and syncing bookmarks is a great way to stay organized and access your favorite websites. Google has given us an even better way to view and organize our bookmarks with the Bookmark Manager extension. It is a very visual and intuitive tool.
- Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer: I love this one so much that it got its very own blog post last year. The Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer will allow you to view PDF and PowerPoint files in the Google Docs viewer instead of downloading. This can save you valuable time and space as you begin to search for back to school resources!
- Extensity: Extensity is a must-have extension if you have installed ten or more Chrome extensions. It is possible to run too many extensions at once and slow your machine down, or cause other issues. The Extensity extension will give you easy access to enable and disable your Chrome extensions and Chrome apps. I use this to enable just the extensions that I need without overwhelming my toolbar or my machine.
- goo.gl Shortener: This handy extension allows you to shorten the current website URL right from the extension in your toolbar. Bonus: It will also give you a QR code!
- Google Calendar: This extension will allow you to check your Google Calendar right in the toolbar! You can view upcoming events and add new events as well.
- Google Mail Checker: If you use Gmail, this is a great extension that will display the number of unread messages you have as well as give you one-click access your inbox. With this extension, there is no need to keep your email open in Chrome all day.
- Google Tone: This extension just debuted back in May and can be a time-saver in the classroom. Google Tone allows you to send the link to any website to other computers (using the extension) with just a simple sound. This is an easy way to get a link out to all of your students at the same time! This is hard to explain, so watch the video below to get a better idea of how this works.
- Hangouts: Google Hangouts offers an easy way to chat and video conference with your colleagues, students, and the outside world. This handy extension will give you a quick way to access your chats and start video calls in a small pop out window.
- Improved Tube: YouTube = learning at your fingertips, but it also contains some features that can distract students in the classroom. With the Improved Tube extension, you can easily hide comments, change the default resolution, so it doesn't take too long to load, and a few other amazing customizations. Check out the screenshot below for all of the options included with this extension. And if you are looking for other YouTube resources, be sure you visit my post on 20 YouTube Channels for Educators.
- Office Editing for Docs, Sheets and Slides: Did you know you can edit Microsoft Office files inside Google? You can! You need three things: Google Chrome, the Office Editing extension, and to upload a Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint file into your Google Drive. When you open it, it will magically give you the ability to edit the file WITHOUT converting to a Google file type. For more detailed directions on this one, visit this post: How to Edit Microsoft Office File in Google Drive.
- Tab Scissors: This is one that I use all the time! Tab Scissors will allow you to evenly split your Chrome window between two tabs. This extension is perfect for assessing student work in one tab, and entering grades in your grade book in a side-by-side window--no more toggling back and forth between windows!
- Tab Glue: This is the companion to the Tab Scissors extension above. After you are done with your split windows, glue the windows back together with Tab Glue. This is so much faster than clicking, dragging and resizing.
- Shake Up Learning: (Shameless plug!) Yep, I have my own Shake Up Learning extension. Get one-click access to the latest Shake Up Learning blog posts!
Essential Chrome Apps
- Google Calendar
- Google Classroom
- Google Docs
- Google Drawings
- Google Drive
- Google Forms
- Google Sheets
- Google Slides
- Gmail
Want more extensions? Visit my list of Favorite Google Chrome Apps to find the best ones to fit your needs.
Incognito Mode
To open an incognito window, go to your Chrome Menu (hotdogs)>New Incognito Window, or use the keyboard shortcut: shift+control+N (PC) or shift+command+N (Mac).
Why would you want to use incognito mode in the classroom? Here are just a few ways it can make life easier:
- Shared/Public computers: We always want to be careful about logging into Google accounts (and others) on a computer that is public or shared. Unless it’s a shared computer designated for a certain student/teacher to use on a daily basis, you should use an incognito window. As soon as you close the window, your account is logged out, and all your information is removed.
- Student Presentations: Instead of having students take the time to log in and log out of their various accounts to present to the class on a shared machine, open an incognito window. After each student has finished, close the incognito window. All their account information is gone. No more logging out and removing accounts.
- Sharing Your Own Computer: Do you ever need to let a student or teacher use your computer? Open an incognito window so they do not accidentally use your account!
Here’s wishing each and everyone one of you the #BestYearEver!
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