When a student selects a section of a text, they can highlight it, add a sticky note with comments, and search the web for additional information. Students are required to create an account in order to save their work. This tool also has accessibility features, including the ability to change text size and the font and to select a light or dark background.ĭiigo (free, with premium options): There are a lot of digital sticky notes and highlighting tools out there, but my students really enjoy Diigo. Mercury Reader (free): Formerly known as Readability, Mercury Reader allows students to hide distracting features in online articles-it removes ads, comment sections, and any other content that is irrelevant to the article, while keeping useful features like photographs and other images. One of my students’ favorite tools within this extension is the ability to adjust the line spacing, switching from single to 1.5 or double line spacing, which can make an article easier to read. They can adjust the background color of their screen, as well as the text color, font size, and font type, for optimal viewing. This tool is beneficial for longer, content-specific texts-not all of my students use it, but it has helped the ones who do improve their focus and comprehension.ĪlphaText (free): An all-in-one accessibility extension, AlphaText provides a variety of options for students to customize their browser.
This limitation guides students to think about how to use the tool wisely-they can’t just highlight every sentence. The student can use the extension two additional times on a single webpage, but only one or two sentences will be added each time. When activated, the extension searches through the text and highlights one or two important sentences. Students can add multiple sounds to the same track, and they can set up specific combinations for different independent activities, like Writer’s Workshop or taking an assessment.Īuto Highlight (free): Auto Highlight is a great tool for students who need some support with reading. They can experiment with listening to ambient sounds like rain, a forest setting, or a café to see what helps them feel productive. Noisli (free): Many of my students enjoy listening to music when they’re working, but for some it’s a distraction. The extension works with over 120 languages. Students can either dictate the punctuation or add it later. When they finish speaking, the extension drops the text at the cursor. It works anywhere in Chrome-the student just places their cursor where they want to begin typing, activates the extension, and starts to talk. VoiceIn Voice Typing (free): A lot of my students are fans of voice typing, and this extension is our go-to support in the classroom. I have my students forward me these emails, so I can assign them personalized grammar practice based on their real writing needs. In addition, Grammarly collects the students’ most common errors throughout a given week and emails them the list, providing their writing statistics and areas of focus. If there’s an error, it is underlined in red, and the student can see the type of error they made and correct it.
When they’re typing anywhere in Chrome, a small, green icon appears and Grammarly begins to check the grammar and spelling of their work.
Grammarly for Chrome (free, offers some premium options): My students use the free version of this popular grammar checker every year. They have a choice of splitting the screen either horizontally or vertically. For example, if a student needs to watch a video review of a lesson, they can open and view it in one tab while taking notes in Google Docs at the same time.ĭualless is very easy to use, and students can set the relative sizes of the two sides-they aren’t stuck with a 50-50 split. It allows a user to split their screen so they can work in two tabs simultaneously. The student can also launch a complete Google search for the word from the pop-up-increasing their understanding by seeing the word in a variety of contexts.ĭualless (free): Dualless is a productivity extension that’s a perennial favorite of my students. The student can double-click on any word in a text to see a small pop-up window with a definition, and they can hear the pronunciation of the word. While they could open a new tab and run a search for these words, this extension offers a much easier alternative that doesn’t disrupt a student’s workflow. Google Dictionary (free): Sometimes articles in content area classes can be challenging, especially when students are faced with unknown words. 10 Chrome Extensions That Students Will Really Use