Guest post by David Lazar. With more and more students of all ages taking to the Internet to learn instead of going to the library, online tools for aiding a person’s quest for an education are more numerous than they have ever been. If you are using Google Chrome as your default browser to study and do research, you are probably already aware of the many helpful extensions that are available to help you with your studies. Here are some of the best education-related extensions and add-ons available for Google Chrome. To start off, here are some great chrome extensions that are geared towards enhancing your learning experience in some of the most common school subjects.
Math
Graphing calculator by Desmos.com If you are looking for the ultimate graphing calculator for your browser, look no further. It’s easy to use and very powerful, considering it’s free. Carrotsticks If you are looking for a fun way to get elementary school students interested in learning math, Carrotsticks is an entertaining and informative learning tool that helps kids learn the basics through a fun online, multiplayer game. Numerics Calculator & Converter This tool offers you the assistance of a calculator and powerful converter all in one. It can also be used offline, which makes it even more attractive for students always on the go. Cloudy Calculator If you need a simple and easy-to-use calculator for everyday calculations and mathematical equations, Cloudy Calculator is your best bet.
Science
The Elementals A fun and simple way to get students to learn the periodic table. Each element is represented with its own personality, making it easy and fun to learn. Planetarium If you are interested in astronomy, this is a great extension. Explore the skies with a click of the mouse. Scientific calculator Powerful, programmable and works offline – one of the best scientific calculators you’ll find for your browser, especially if you are working with complex calculations. Advanced Periodic Table For more advanced science students, this is a great way to perfect your knowledge of the elements and conquer the periodic table once and for all.
History
Quotes Book This great add-on continuously supplies you with some of the most famous quotes from throughout history. You can save the ones you like and create your own book of favorite quotes that you will be able to revisit anytime. QuintessArt This extension gives you a virtual tour of museums and art galleries, helping you discover the world’s most famous masterpieces of art. It’s perfect for art history students. Ustimeline A great add-on for students, teachers and all US history enthusiasts, it provides tons of information on American history through many interesting games, quizzes and exercises.
Geography
Google Maps A convenient way to browse Google Maps within your browser. Learn geography firsthand by exploring the world virtually. USA Maps A great interactive game for students you want to learn all 50 states and gain knowledge about American geography in general. Maps of World – Quiz A fantastic quiz that will improve your geography skills through fun tests that not only involved geography, but also history and current events as well.
Health
BioDigital Human Students can learn about anatomy, disease and treatments through this excellent interactive tool that allows them to get familiar with the human body by exploring it in 3D. HealthAliciousNess.com Learn about nutrition and healthy eating habits and lifestyles through this easy-to-follow guide for all things food and health related. WebMD Medical students must get this great extension. It provides a great way to keep up with all of the latest medical news and information from around the world.
English
Google Dictionary This fantastic add-on enables you to look up the meaning of any word you find on the Internet by simple highlighting it. It can save you a lot of time when you are reading something demanding and challenging. Thesaurus A free app that will get you the synonyms and antonyms of any word within seconds. Word Joust for SAT A perfect tool for students you are preparing for their SATs and need to polish up on their vocabularies.
Foreign Languages
Polyglot Polish up your foreign language skills with this great tool that will translate websites into various different languages. Japanese Kana This application enables you to learn the Japanese writing systems hiragana and katakana through entertaining quizzes. Google Translate All the power of Google Translate right at your fingertips and easily accessed within your browser – what more can you ask for? Learn Spanish – SpanishPod101.com A fast and easy way to learn Spanish through fun audio and video lessons provided by one of the most trusted Spanish language learning centers working online. Learn French This add-on offers you games and interactive lessons that makes learning French easier and more efficient. Now check out these tools that will help make studying easier and help you out in getting all of your school work done on time and staying productive while learning and researching on the Internet.
Note Taking
Note Anywhere This tool enables you to put reminders and notes all over the web on any site that you find interesting or information. ChromePad Use this extension to leave notes for yourself and create a virtual to-do list while studying or working on a school project. Diigo Web Highlighter This is a great tool for when you are doing research online that lets you highlight pages and leave yourself notes on pages that you want to go back to later. myNotes One of the handiest tools for taking notes while researching on the web. Layers With Layers you can add content and sticky notes to what you are viewing on the web, giving the sites that you are viewing additional layers of information. Snippy This extension enables you to take small snippets of web content and save them into your Google Docs account.
Research
Evernote Web Clipper This tool works like a virtual book of clippings that will help you save pertinent content and have easy access to it while researching on the Web. Wikipedia This tool allows you to gain easy and fast access to Wikipedia, one of the most important research sites available on the Internet. GradeGuru Citation Manager A great tool for managing references and citations when you are writing a research paper. Email This Page You can use this extension if you find an interesting page that you want to email to yourself for later use. Session Buddy This tool allows you to save, edit and restore your browser sessions so that you do not lose track of your research after closing your browser. Google Similar Pages This tool helps you to find pages that are similar to good pages you have found in your research and helps you to find lesser-known webpages that might be very helpful to you.
Productivity
Incredible StartPage By creating a start page that has everything you need on it, this tool makes navigation a lot easier and says you a lot of time. Highlight to Search This add-one enables you to search words and phrases by simply highlighting them instead of having to type or copy and paste them into your Google search. StayFocusd This extension keeps you focused by blocking all of the sites that you tend to waste a lot of time on. RemindMe A fantastic extension that will remind you of import things that you have to do. A lot of people can get caught up in studying and forget about their other obligations – this add-on helps them to remember these duties as well. Google Tasks This add-on aids you in using Google Tasks for effectively and quickly so that you always have all of your projects at your fingertips without missing a beat. Google Chrome Dual View This extension enables you to easily look at two sites at once by splitting your Chrome browser into half and displaying both for you. Things To Do This add-on shows you your to-do list every time you open a new tab so that you do not forget what you have to do while browsing the Internet. My Shortcuts This extension gives you a browser pull-down menu that enables you to create new Google Docs, Calendar event or emails with just one click. Tab With Clock If you are interested in seeing how much time you are spending on viewing a site, this extension shows you. It is a good way to see which sites you are wasting time on most and then try to avoid them when studying. Split Screen Yet another add-on that will split the screen and enable you to compare two different sites at once when doing research. ChromeMilk This add-on is for those of you that use Remember the Milk, a service that reminds you of what you have to do. It puts your to-do list right inside your browser. Rescue Time Another extension that will show you what sites you waste your time on most and what sites you need to stay clear of in order to remain productive. Google Calendar Checker A great extension for those that use a Google Calendar to keep track of their responsibilities. It lists all of your obligations and tells you how long you have to get them done. This was a guest post by David Lazar who is a blogger at PdfConverter.com. With a background in journalism, he enjoys writing about and following a variety of topics, including careers, technology and new media.
