- Apps - There are 1000s of apps that you can download from the Chrome Web Store (make sure you are signed into Google through the Chrome browser). After you find the app you'd like to try, simply click on the app and it will appear in a new window. Click the Free button in the upper right and the app will be stored in your chrome://apps/ account. To locate this, make sure your Bookmarks Bar is displayed. In the top Chrome menu, go to View, then ensure there is a checkbox next to 'Always Show Bookmarks Bar'. Your app store is the multi-colored, 9-squares box (marked Apps) in the very left side of the Bookmarks Bar. Note - these are not stored on your local machine, so you can access your apps, extensions and add-ons from any device, as long as you are signed into Google. A couple to try: CK12.org, curriculum, and Newsela, news articles at various Lexile that also engages readers to think critically.
- Extensions -While in the Chrome Web Store, you'll notice that if you scroll down in the left side search column, you can search for Extensions as well. Extensions are browser-based and can interact with any web page you visit (of course, while using the Chrome browser). Extensions will live next to your address bar, and you'll notice a little icon representing that extension will appear. For example, I have the Evernote app which allows me to go to Evernote quickly and look at my Notebooks and Notes. However, I also have the Evernote extension, which is represented by a little elephant icon that lives next to my address bar in my Chrome browser. Any time I am on a website and I want to 'clip' something from it and save it to my Evernote account, I simply click on the Evernote elephant icon (the extension) and a menu pops up asking me what I'd like to clip. The Evernote Web Clipper Extension can be found here:
- Add-ons - Your Google Drive account comes with powerful apps built-in - Sheets, Docs, Forms, Draw. Within each of these productivity apps, you have the ability to further increase the function of these apps with what's called add-ons. To view available add-ons for any Drive app, open up any of these and then go to the pull-down menu 'Add-ons' and 'Get Add-ons'. Some of the most used add-ons in Sheets is Flubaroo (which allows you to create the answer key for Google Forms, creating an automatically graded quiz!), Doctopus is another Sheets add-on that gives teachers the ability to mass-copy, share, monitor progress and manage feedback for student projects in Google Drive. Goobric is an add-on that goes hand-in-hand with Doctopus, giving you the ability to create your own rubric for grading of your student's Drive files. EasyBib is an add-on for Google Docs which gives students suggested citations based on MLA, APA or *shudder* Chicago Style writing.
In summation, just get out to the Chrome Apps store and start exploring!
