Thing 25: Power up your browser!

I had commented a little on this topic in my Thing 21 post:

"So I had to remind myself about the difference between browser add-ons, extensions and bookmarklets.  Having explored that, I hope that bookmarklets might be the key to getting some more features out of our computers at school.  Add-ons and extensions don't really work because they slow down the already slow computers so much AND because you usually have to involve the tech guy in their installation."

The update to that post is that add-ons and extensions are even more of a problem than in the past because we have two part-time guys.  There are months of back-logged problems in the district.  

So, to explore my browser, I decided to explore Google Chrome.  It is the browser that is available on every computer in the district.  I prefer Firefox, but Firefox is problematic if I am logged into more that one computer at a time (which I usually am).  Internet Explorer, of course, does not work with so many sites now that it is problematic.  Plus our district's version of Windows is so old that Microsoft has given up supporting the corresponding IE in many cases.

Chrome settings: I hate that Chrome requires you to Sign in to get your bookmarks.  This doesn't seem to be an issue at home, but at school I hate it!!  I decided to check the "Do not track request" box even though Google admits that they ignore it and most other sites will likely ignore it as well.  Any decrease in tracking and spam is good IMHO.  I learned how to find the extension list.  Mine was mainly due to my Kaspersky security package.  There wasn't really that much new to me.  I wish that I had more flexibility in settings at school, but we are largely tied down.

I started with What are Apps, Extensions and Plugins.  Unfortunately, it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.  

Then I explored OneTab and installed the extension.  I don't know if I will have any luck installing it at school, but it could be very useful to open tabs for a lot of resources for a project and then create a resource list without all of the cutting and pasting!  It was really easy to use.  It can create a webpage that can be shared with others.  You get a unique URL list complete with a QR code!  You can even copy and paste the list into a word processor and the links remain active!  Awesome if I can get it at school.

I went to the presentation called 20 Chrome Apps & Extensions for Teachers.  I quite a few extensions to explore for school:

• Announcify –good for SpEd students and possibly blind students
• Google Art Project –good for Art Teacher!  Might be neat addition to student computers.
• Print Friendly & PDF –sounds similar to PrintWhatYouLike.com (which you can get as a bookmarklet)
• Read&Write for Google Docs –sounds good for SpEd students!
• EasyBib Tools –seems like it would be useful for students
• Webpage & WebCam Screenshot –sound like they could be useful for the Chromebooks which don’t have a ScreenPrint button
• 3D Solar System Web –useful for 3^rd grade which covers this topic
• TypingClub –I wonder how it compares to other free typing programs.

I decided to try the EasyBib Tools  and TypingClub to complete my writeup for this topic even though I don't think I will use them at home.The Typing Club extension seems pretty typical for typing programs.  The big advantage is that it is free.  

EasyBib Tools creates great MLA citations.  Here is my citation list for potatoes:

"How the Potato Changed the World." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2015.

<http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-potato-changed-the-world-108470605/?no-ist>.

"Potato - Kitchen Dictionary - Food.com." Potato - Kitchen Dictionary - Food.com. N.p., n.d. 

              Web. 23  May 2015. <http://www.food.com/about/potato-106>.

"Potato." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 May 2015.

               <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato>.

It can create APA or Chicago citations as well.  It takes about 3 clicks to create the citation and save it to a list.  The list will only be saved for three days without an account, so it is important to copy and paste the citations before you leave the work.  There certainly would be questions if the citation list would even be saved at school where DeepFreeze wipes the computer between users.  Still it seems like a painless way for the kids to get their citations for websites.  Certainly much easier than searching the site for all of the relevant information.  I will try to get this for school.

I went to More Google Drive Apps for Chrome to look for more apps.  The most obviously useful was a Scientific Calculator.  I think that the Tech guys should install it on the HS Chromebooks.

I checked out Extensions, Add-Ons and Apps, Oh My! How to Utilize Google in Your Classroom.  It brought my atttention to:CleanPrint which sounds similar to Print Friendly and Google Chrome YouTube downloader which could be useful IF it eliminates the ads!  It mentions NewsELA which I've only known about for about 2 weeks, but I think it is very useful.  

Chrome makes it so easy to uninstall the extensions through settings.  It is not an issue at all!  If I can install any of them I can definitely say that some of these extensions will make my life and those of my colleagues easier.