Google Keep Chrome Extension

I've introduced you to Google Keep before - basically a website where you can store digital sticky notes with access across all your mobile devices.  Click here to get more information about Google Keep.

They now have a Google Keep extension for Chrome that is just wonderful!  You can click on the extension and it will take the web address and title of the web page you are on and let you add a note to it.  It will put it directly in your Google Keep notepad without you having to actually browse to the site.  Super useful!

To get this handy extension - browse to the Chrome Web Store or click this link.  Search for "Google Keep" and watch for it under the extensions - NOT apps.  Go ahead and click the blue "Add to Chrome" button.

It will prompt you for permission.  Click "Add extension".

Now you will see the Google Keep icon next to your address bar (Omnibox).

Next time you are on a website that you'd like to save for a specific purpose, you can just click on your Google Keep icon and it will pop up a little box for you to add a note to.  When you are finished typing your note, just click the Google Keep icon again to close it.   It saves automatically.

Now when you visit Google Keep on your computer or mobile device, your note will be there along with the web address ready for you to return when you need it again.

So handy!  I know I'll certainly make good use of it!  Hopefully, you will too.

TabCloud Chrome Extension

There are times when I know I need a certain set of tabs open in my Chrome browser.  For a specific lesson or presentation, I'd like certain things to be open each time I start.  TabCloud is my hero in these situations.

TabCloud is a Google Chrome Extension that takes all the tabs I have open in my Chrome window and saves them.  I can give that tab set a name, and then reopen it on any device I'm logged into that has a full Chrome browser (does not work on iPad, tablet, etc.).  Whenever I need that tab set, I can click on the TabCloud icon and load my saved set.  It's a beautiful thing.

To get TabCloud, head on over to the Chrome Web Store and search for TabCloud (one word).  Then click on the blue "Add to Chrome" button.

It will ask you for permission - click "Add extension".

Now you will see the little TabCloud icon in the upper right of your Chrome Browser.  The first time you use it will ask you to click to log in, then you will have to allow it access to your account.  You should only have to do that once.  After that, whenever you have a set of open tabs you'd like to save, click on the cloud, name your set, and click the little disk icon to save it.

To load a saved set, click on the TabCloud icon and click the green plus sign next to the set you'd like to load.  Then watch the tabs open right before your eyes.

Now when you go to teach a lesson or do a presentation where you need multiple tabs open - the preparation is quick and easy.  Walk in, log in, load your saved TabCloud and you are ready to go in just a few clicks.

CraftyCursor Google Chrome Extension

I learned about this great Chrome Extension from my friend Amanda Taylor (@TeacherandGeek).  Head on over to the Chrome Web Store and search for CraftyCursor.  When you see it, click on the blue "Add to Chrome" button.

After you install CraftyCursor, you may need to refresh your Chrome browser before it will work.  Click on the CraftyCursor icon in the upper right of your screen when you are ready to use it.

You can set your color using the drop down and then click "Start highlighting".  Now you will get a highlighted circle around your cursor to help your audience track with your mouse movements.

To stop highlighting, simply click on the CraftyCursor icon again and click "Stop highlighting".

CraftyText Extension

Ever needed to give students or an audience a word, code, website, etc. to copy down or type in and you have to spell it out loud repeatedly so they can get it?  I've got a solution for you.  CraftyText Extension!  With just a click you can have giant text displayed across your screen.

Browse to the Chrome Web Store by typing "Chrome Web Store" into Google or just clicking on this link.  Type "CraftyText" into the search bar and then hit enter.  You'll see CraftyText listed under extensions.  Click the blue "Add to Chrome" button.

You'll be prompted for permission to install.  Click "Add Extension". 

The extension will now be installed and you can see the little CT icon to the right of your address bar.

Now when you have text you'd like to share with your audience, just click on the CraftyText icon and a little box will open for you.  (Sometimes you need to refresh your Chrome window before it will work the first time after you install it.)  Type whatever text you'd like displayed into the box and hit enter.

Then you will see the text displayed giant size across your screen.

When you are done with the text, click the CT icon again and it will go away.  If you have any trouble getting it to work the first time, go ahead and refresh your browser. 

If you like CraftyText, you'll definitely want to give CraftyCursor a try!  It will put a little colored dot around your cursor to help your audience follow along with your movements around the screen. 

These are two of my very favorite extensions.  Enjoy!

Handy Extensions: Tab Scissors and Tab Glue

Back when I used Outlook for my email and Microsoft Word for my word processing, I would often resize my windows so that I could look at something in my internet browser while I was creating a document or email.  I might also want to look at an email while I was working on a document.  Now that most of what I do involves Google Apps - all my work is in web browser windows.  What if I want to look at more than one thing at a time?  I could click on a tab in my Chrome browser, drag it away from the rest of the tabs which will make it into a separate window.  Then I can resize both windows so that I can see them side by side.  It's a bit of a hassle, but it works.  I used to do it.  Then I discovered the Chrome extensions Tab Scissors and Tab Glue.  These are must-have extensions!  You can have your two windows with just one click of your mouse!

Tab Scissors will split your Chrome browser tabs into two windows, perfectly positioned side by side, at the tab you have selected when you click the extension.  Tab Glue will, you guessed it, put them all back together again in one full sized browser window.

You must be using Google's Chrome Browser in order to install and use these nifty little extensions. To learn more about Google Chrome - click here.

To install these handy extensions, browse to the Chrome Web Store.  Type "Tab Scissors" into the search bar and you will see both extensions come up.

To install one of these extensions, click on the blue "Free" button to the right of the extension you wish to install.

It will prompt you for permission to add the extension.  Click "Add".

After installation is complete, it will give you a little message in the upper right hand corner of your screen.  You will see the little icon, in this case a pair of scissors, next to your address bar (also called the Omnibox).

Once you have done this for both extensions, you should see both the scissors and the little glue bottle next to your Omnibox, along with any other extensions you have installed.  

The other extension you see in this picture is Google Docs Quick Create.  It's another one of my favorites.  You can read my post about it here.  

Now, when you are browsing, if you need to see two windows side by side, make sure the two tabs you want to see are next to one another.  You can click on a tab and drag it to reorder the tabs.  Once the two tabs are next to each other, click on the righthand tab and then click on the Tab Scissors icon.  The Tab Scissors extension will take the tab you have selected and the one before it, and split your browsing window right between them.  Any tabs before will be in one window, and all the tabs after will be in another.  

So if I want to see both my blog and my new Google Doc, you can see I chose to select the tab with my blog in it, because it was on the right side.  I know the split occurs just to the left of the tab I select.  Now I click on the Tab Scissors icon and ta da!

Two windows!  Handy, right?  When you are all finished and you'd like to return to one window, simply click on the Tab Glue icon and it will put it all back together again in a nice full sized window.

I hope this tip is helpful to you, I know I use it almost daily!  

Thank you for stopping by the TeachingTechNix blog.  Drop in again soon for more handy tech tips!