Activity 5: Apps, Add-ons, & Extensions, Oh My!

Help! Not even Urkel is nerd enough to know the difference between Google apps, extensions & add-ons.


*It is best to explore apps, extensions and ad-ons on a Chromebook with your school email login. If you are not on a Chromebook, use the Google Chrome browser on your Mac or PC.




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APPS
Let’s understand apps first. They are just how they sound: applications you can run within your Chrome browser. They typically have a unique design and interface and provide nerds with rich interaction. Some web apps are more interactive than a static website, but less complex and software dependent than a desktop application. Other apps are just easy links to websites.

Browse the Google Chrome Web Store and explore some apps or check out the Chrome Apps tab at Google Play for Education to find apps that have been vetted by other teachers. If you find an app in the web store you will need to work with technology to get it on your students' Chromebooks.  If you find an app from the Edu store you can put it on student's Chromebooks yourself. Watch this video to see how:




Here is a link to step-by-step instructions: Adding Chrome Apps

To help you begin, here are some recommendations for apps that are popular with teachers. Feel free to explore these or any of the vetted apps in Google Play for Education mentioned above. It's easy to get overwhelmed, so stay calm and nerd on!

Lucidpress: Create stunningly impressive content for print, mobile or web with, an app that helps you easily produce newsletters, flyers, brochures, photo books and more.

Newsela: is an easy, creative way to build reading comprehension with informational text that's always relevant through articles on current events. The beautiful thing about this innovative tool is that it allows you to take one article and differentiate it in up to five different lexile levels, which Newsela does by changing vocabulary and sentence structure. All of your students can read the same content at the level just right for them.


EdPuzzle: Make your videos come to life using this tool You can crop videos, add your voice, and embed quizzes and open-ended discussion questions. Find videos directly on the site through YouTube or Khan Academy, or upload your own content. (Parental consent required for students under 13 to create using EdPuzzle.)

Easybib: Integrates bibliography citations right into Google Docs making bibliography citations a painless step in the research process. Easybib also has an "Extension."

Pick a few from this list or explore and find a few apps to install.

Many Apps can be connected to Google Drive. This allows you to open apps from Google Drive, save products directly into Drive, and open items in Google Drive using these apps. This video show you how to connect apps to drive.

One thing that the video didn't show was how to open items in Drive with a connected app. MoveNote for example can open any Google or Word doc, spreadsheet, or presentation. It can also open pdf files. If you have something that you want to open in MoveNote so you can create a video about it, find the document you want to open, right click on the document in Drive (2 finger click on your Chromebook) and a menu will appear. If you go to Open with, a list of apps that will open that document will show up and you can choose the one you want.
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EXTENSIONS: 
How about extensions? Extensions provide functionality within Google Chrome, but unlike apps, there is no distinct interface. Instead, they can extend Google Chrome by adding customized buttons (nerds like buttons) to the address bar that extend the functionality of Chrome or within a website. For example, a currency converter extension will convert all currency numbers on a website with the click of the button. You needn't navigate outside of the browser or webpage to do the conversion. Extensions save time and customize the nerd's experience. Compared to apps, extensions cut across websites and web apps whereas apps run standalone like a website or software program. The right extensions can turn your browser into a Captain Kirk of efficiency!




What Is The Benefit Of An Extension For Teachers?

"They can make things simple, more accessible, more visible, more compelling, more convenient–there are dozens of potential benefits to you in your classroom. Clip a web page to Evernote with a single button push. Look up a reference. Model for students how to add a citation. Send a link to colleagues without opening another tab. Find a useful resource for a lesson? Scoop it. Tweet it. Pin It. Find a post you want to read? Don't email it to yourself - use Pocket.  The criteria we used to choose each extension?  The extension had to increase your efficiency, provide a benefit to content/curriculum, allow you to connect with other teachers/parents/students, or enhance your workflow as an educator.  If it has the potential to meet one of these four criteria, it was included."

"50 Of The Best Google Chrome Extensions For Teachers." TeachThought. N.p., 02 Mar. 2015. Web. 04 May 2015. Pick a few extensions from the video or the list above to install and play around with. 

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ADD-ONS:

Rather than try to explain what an add-on is, here's a video that nails it:

Navigate through this list of recommended add-ons linked below to find a few you'd like to try. Note that there are additional video tutorials for these recommendations that are very helpful.

Best Google Add-ons for Educators

Pick a few add-ons to try for yourself.
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To Complete Activity 5:

1. Pick one or two apps, add-ons, & extensions to install and play around with.
2. Blog about the process of exploring apps, add-ons & extensions, how you might use them in the classroom and 
3. Share/embed any products that you create.
4. Comment on 3 other nerds' posts.