As a student, you naturally want to make your online learning experience as convenient as possible. With virtual lessons being the new normal, every student needs these top 15 Google Classroom Chrome extensions to make studying a bit more pleasant.
While there are numerous Google Classroom Chrome extensions for students, the following extensions are definite must-have extensions for students: Google Dictionary, Work Mode, Forest, Kami, Share to Classroom, Dualless, Grammarly, Mote, Podcastle AI, Noisli, AlphaText, VoiceIn Voice Typing, Auto Highlight, GoFullPage, and Visor.
These 15 Google Classroom Chrome extensions will lighten your workload and save time, allowing you to maximize your productivity while studying.
NOTE: To add these extensions go to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions in the Chrome browser and type in their name. You may need to click the “More Extensions” button. Alternatively their links are at the bottom of the page in references.
Google Dictionary
Often while studying, you may come across words you are not familiar with. The Google Dictionary extension allows you to double-click on any word and have a window pop up containing the definition of the word and an option to hear the word’s pronunciation.
Work Mode
Virtual learning makes social media extremely tempting. The Work Mode extension prevents time-wasting by blocking all social media, custom URLs and keywords from appearing while you’re working to prevent you from losing focus.
Forest
It’s easy to lose focus while working. The Forest extension allows you to plant a seed in Forest and watch the seed grow into a tree in 30 minutes while you work. However, if you get distracted from your work and browse any websites on your blocklist, your tree will die.
This extension promotes self-motivation while allowing you to curb your Internet addiction and cultivate your time management skills.
Kami
Kami is an extension that enables you to upload PDF files from your Google Drive or desktop and annotate these documents with a virtual pen, highlighter or marker.
Kami also provides a blank PDF that can be used as a virtual whiteboard, which is helpful if you are a visual learner who likes to jot things down during lessons or create diagrams to understand the work better.
Share to Classroom
The Share to Classroom extension enables you to present whatever web page you’re looking at directly onto your classmates’ screens through Google Classroom. This extension is ideal for when you are working on a group project or presenting before the class.
Dualless
The Dualless extension allows you to split your screen into two, enabling you to work in two tabs simultaneously. This extension is perfect for watching something on-screen in one tab and making notes in the other tab simultaneously.
This extension also lets you determine the size of your split-screen to suit your preference so that you are not stuck with a 50-50 screen split. This extension is quite dynamic in that it also offers you the choice of splitting the screen vertically or horizontally.
Grammarly
Every student knows the importance of spelling and grammar. The Grammarly extension is a life-saver in detecting potential issues relating to grammar, spelling, wordiness, punctuation and even plagiarism.
The Grammarly extension is great for Google Classroom because it checks the spelling and grammar of anything you type in Google Classroom and underlines any error in red so that you are aware of the error and can correct it.
This extension is particularly helpful because it also provides suggestions to help correct any issues it detected. Using this extension will help ensure that everything you type is correct, clear and easy to read.
Mote
Mote is an extension that enables you to add transcribed voice notes. This extension is useful, particularly when working on shared documents, allowing you to give feedback quickly and easily.
Mote is particularly useful because it supports transcription in 20 different languages. Mote can be used to leave voice notes for teachers or respond to teachers’ feedback, bringing a sense of classroom normality to virtual lessons.
Podcastle AI
Students generally have a lot to read. All this reading can be quite strenuous on your eyes, and sometimes you just don’t have the time or energy to read everything.
Podcastle is an extension that converts text into a podcast using machine learning to provide natural human speech. This extension is perfect for auditory learners or students with learning disabilities who may find it easier to listen to the work than read it.
Noisli
Sometimes, background noise can be extremely distracting and hamper your concentration. Noisli provides background sounds that help mask distracting noises to help boost your productivity and improve your focus.
This extension allows you to create and listen to your own personal audio while you work. It also offers ambient sounds like rain, a café or forest settings. The extension also offers master volume control and curated playlists to make your studying experience a bit more pleasant.
AlphaText
Reading poorly formatted text can be frustrating and cause strain on your eyes. The AlphaText extension allows you to read text in a format you prefer, enabling you to adjust the font size, line height and font style to suit your preference.
The extension also allows you to adjust the color of the text or background color to suit your liking. Additionally, the extension offers clutter-clearing power tools, which enable you to remove distracting multimedia as well.
This extension is a great tool for students with visual difficulties and will be of great use to any student who finds themselves getting tired quickly when reading.
VoiceIn Voice Typing
The VoiceIn Voice Typing extension allows you to dictate your messages. This extension is convenient for Google Classroom on the days that you want to give your input, but aren’t particularly in the mood to type. This extension is also particularly beneficial to students with disabilities or who have difficulty typing.
To activate this extension, you simply place your cursor anywhere you want to begin typing and begin speaking. The extension can be used for over 120 languages and offers the option to dictate punction or add it at a later stage.
Auto Highlight
Auto Highlight is an extension that searches through passages of text and highlights one or two important sentences. With all the information students consume, it’s easy to accidentally miss something important.
Using this extension will help you easily navigate the important aspects of any text or simply be a tool that double-checks that you have noted all the important parts of a text. This extension is particularly useful for students who need some support with reading and may help improve comprehension and focus.
GoFullPage
Taking a screenshot of something on-screen to look at later or share with others has become part of our daily lives. However, having to scroll and screenshot everything on a page can be quite tedious.
GoFullPage is an extremely helpful extension that enables you to take a screenshot of an entire webpage at once. This extension is an easy way to capture all your class notes into one screenshot and is perfect for saving you time, effort and storage space in your photo gallery.
Visor
Reading online can be quite challenging, especially for students transitioning from print to digital texts and enjoy using a bookmark to track as they read. The Visor extension makes reading digital texts much more pleasant by allowing you to focus on one line at a time while darkening the rest of the page.
This extension is ideal for students who often lose their place while reading or find that they sometimes skip a line or word while reading. Using this extension will help harness your focus as a student by decreasing distractions, consequently contributing positively to your productivity.
Conclusion
For many students, having to adapt to virtual learning has proved to be quite challenging. However, with these top 15 Google Classroom Chrome extensions, you’ll definitely find virtual lessons a lot more convenient and hopefully see an improvement in your productivity too.