The Google for Education Ecosystem: Addons and Extensions

Done with Week 2!

Getting Families Used to Google for Education

Week 2 of teaching students in their homes went by without too many hitches. Some families might be preferring paper packets to minimize the need for technology supervision. To help them get comfortable with Google Classroom, you can send them some of the videos mentioned last week on managing Chrome users, or make your own videos using Screencastify to give students and families a video tour of your Google Classroom and how to manipulate it. To the right is an example I made of my sample classroom.

Extensions to Chrome

One useful Chrome extension is, as shown above, Screencastify. According to Google, an extension is a "small software programs that customize the browsing experience. They enable users to tailor Chrome functionality and behavior to individual needs or preferences." They do just one thing, and in the case of Screencastify, it records a browser tab or your screen with or without an embedded webcam. Just that! Extensions show up as little buttons on the browser toolbar. Addons are tools inside an app.

Want to learn how to draw the Google Logo? Check out the video above!

How Do I Get a New Extension or Addon?

AMS IT is not allowing teachers to add Chrome extensions or Google Apps addons unless they are approved by the academic team. If you would like to add extensions or addons, email our helpdesk with a link to the extension or addon and a one sentence justification for it. The academic team will quickly vet the addon, notify you when it is enabled, and then share it widely with all teachers in the network through blogs like this.

When enabled, the Chrome extensions will show up in the Chrome Web Store as a separate item: “for amsteachers.org” if you are logged into Chrome with your amsteachers account. For addons to Apps from the G Suite Marketplace, teachers will be able to access them from the app to which they have been added (e.g., from the Addon menu in Docs, Sheets, or Slides, etc.)

What Extensions and Addons Has AMS Enabled?

Extensions for Accessibility

1. High Contrast: "Change or invert the color scheme to make webpages easier to read. High Contrast lets you browse the web with your choice of several high-contrast color filters designed to make it easier to read text."
2. Mercury Reader: "The Mercury Reader extension for Chrome removes ads and distractions, leaving only text and images for a clean and consistent reading view on every site."
3. EquatIO: "Easily create mathematical equations, formulas and quizzes. Intuitively type or handwrite, with no tricky math code to learn. Until now, writing equations and math expressions on your computer has been slow and laborious. EquatIO makes math digital, helping teachers and students at all levels create math expressions quickly and easily. Type or handwrite virtually any mathematical expression directly on your keyboard or touchscreen. There’s no need for any complicated code or programming languages." Here is a helpful video.
4. Read-Write: "Boost reading and writing confidence across all types of content and devices, in class, at work, and at home! Wonderfully intuitive and easy-to-use, Read&Write for Google Chrome™ provides personalized support to make documents, web pages and common file types in Google Drive (including: Google Docs, PDF & ePub) more accessible. It’s designed to help everyone engage with digital content in a way that suits his/her abilities."

Misc. Extensions

1. Screencastify for recording the screen and, if desired, your webcam as an embedded video
2. Kami PDF annotation: Kami is a tool that allows teachers or students to mark up a PDF document. Teachers can assign a PDF file (e.g., stored in their Drive) and create a Kami assignment right from the CREATE button in Classroom (first screen). The students each get their own copy, and can open the PDF in Kami which provides a ‘frame’ with markup tools right in the browser. Caution! The method for turning in student work is more complicated with the free version: the student’s Turn In button in Kami is inoperable so students have to save their work from Kami then return to the Google Classroom and use the Turn in button on the Assignment. Some students will be frustrated by the complexity and by the presence of features that are inoperable in the free version (tools that are not available are shown with a lock, so they still are visible). PDF annotations are stored in Kami’s cloud services and are associated with a particular teacher account on Kami which makes sharing assignments with other teachers tricky.
3. Add to Classroom: "This extension adds the current site to Google Classroom. Save sites from around the web back to Google Classroom. Just click the Google Classroom button to save the site to your selected Google Classroom, to share with students as an announcement or an assignment."
4. Group Maker: "The Group Maker is a Chrome Extension that helps you randomly generate groups in a simple and organized way."

Google App Addons

1. Flubaroo. "Flubaroo is a Google Spreadsheets Add-on that helps educators quickly grade and analyze online assignments and assessments, as well as share scores with students!
2. Mastery Quiz: "Send randomized quizzes to students from a question bank you create in Forms. Students retake until mastery! Mastery learning is the teaching strategy and philosophy that students must achieve a level of mastery (e.g 90% on a test) in a content area before moving forward to subsequent information. If a student does not achieve mastery, they are given support in learning and tested again."
3. RosterSync:  "rosterSync - Teacher Edition allows teachers to sync a Google Classroom course roster with Google Sheets -- including student email addresses -- directly with Google Sheets for handy use with Add-ons like Doctopus, formMule, autoCrat, formRange, and others."

Other Apps

1. EdPuzzle. This website helps you insert quizzes or reflections into videos so that students have to answer a question before proceeding. It requires a bit of setup and registration at the site but otherwise is easy to use.

What's Next?

We are looking at more addons like Doctopus, and integrated apps like PearDeck, Sketch Up, and BrainPop.