5 Chrome Extensions Every Student Should Install To Enhance Learning

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Students use Chrome as the default browser, but understanding that Chrome is an operating system as much as it is a web browser is important. Because Chrome is based on the open-source Chromium project, it allows developers to create extensions that “extend” what the browser can do.

Here are my 5 must have Chrome extensions:

Note Anywhere

You will love extensions that do one thing and do them well. This is a simple sticky note extension that allows a user to leave sticky notes for themselves on any webpage. When they come back to that webpage the sticky notes just appear. Another great research tool for students.

Diigo Web Collector

Social bookmarking has been around for years now. It is surprising how few students know and use powerful bookmarking tools like Diigo. Even if you don’t teach the bookmarking part of what Diigo can do, there are so many other features available. Being able to highlight text on webpages, leave sticky notes on any web page for yourself or for a partner you are collaborating with changes the way we view the web. The video on the link above will help get you started in understanding just how powerful of an extension this is.

Google Dictionary

An extensions that allows you to quickly look up the spelling or definition of any word. The extension has some great options to program hot keys or double click a word to open the extension. It works on any website and within Google Docs.

Announcify

There are several text-to-speech options available today, but Announcify distinguishes itself with a few features. With the click of the happy little eyes button, it converts web articles into speech, opens them in a new tab, and reads without having to select any text. The key feature is that it blurs out the text that is not being read making it easy to track while listening. Options for the extension include adjusting speech volume, pitch and rate.

Clearly

Use Clearly to improve your on-screen reading experience. With the click of an icon, Clearly strips out extraneous images and distractions, leaving you with a clear set of text to consume. In connecting Clearly to an Evernote account, it is also possible to highlight, add annotations, and save the page with your notes directly to a designated Evernote notebook.