3 Chrome Browser Extensions that Will Change Your Life

If you know me personally, you know of my undying love for Apple products. iPhones, iPads, iMacs, and Mac Books galore! While my love for Apple hardware is unparalleled, my love for Google knows no bounds. I appreciate the easy integration, dedication to Open Source development, and ease of use. 

That being said, it will come as no shock that I adore the Chrome browser. So, for today, a few Chrome browser extensions to make your life just a little bit easier. A browser extension is simply a program that extends the power of your web browser in some way. Each of these add-on extensions are available as free downloads from the Chrome Webstore.

Without further ado:

1. Google Calendar

If you use Google apps for education or even just the Google calendar within Gmail, then this is a must-download. The Google Calendar browser extension is awesome! It allows you to place an icon in your toolbar that you can click to see the events of your calendar laid out for you without having to navigate to your calendar page. 

My personal favorite feature of this particular extension is that it recognizes dates on webpages and emails that you can then click and add directly into your Google Calendar. At the beginning of the year, I just sent myself an email with my kids' birthdays and Google Calendar turned every single one of their birthdays into a "direct add" link. I was able to add all of my students' birthdays to my calendar in under ten minutes. Bonus- Google Calendar also reminds me of their birthdays the day before so that I don't forget ;)

2. AdBlock

Ahhh… I am the most neurotic teacher on the planet. I cover my projector every time that I navigate to a new site because I am terrified that someday I may inadvertently project something inappropriate. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Now, with AdBlock, I am far less concerned with this particular issue. AdBlock removes banners, videos, links, etc. from the browser making an awkward advertisement far less likely. 

That being said, it cannot prevent Rick Rolls. What is a Rick Roll, you may ask? Check here.

As an aside, the best Rick Roll of the Year Award goes to my fabulous colleague, J. I was expecting an "amazing place value video" and instead, I got this little gem- thankfully, I preview all of my videos ;) See above neurosis.

3. Print Friendly & PDF

This extension allows Chrome users to save webpages to a PDF format or print them directly within the browser using significantly less paper by reformatting them without selected images or ads. This is HUGE for me! I hate printing information from webpages because I HATE wasting paper- this particular extension has saved my tail! I especially like to make sure that my little kidlets are printing information from the web in the Chrome browser for this very reason! They have very little concern for printing budgets ;)

To check out all of these great extensions- and even more…. check out the Chrome Webstore.

Stay connected,