First up is Black Menu
Black menu is an extension that adds a shortcut to all of Google's services, apps, and files. You can quickly access your email, calendar, and drive; as well as, create short URLs, do a Google search, or just about anything else from with in the Black Menu interface. The great thing is that it is all done without leaving your current Chrome tab. You can also customize the layout of Black Menu to make your most used items quickly available.
Next is goo.gl URL Shortener
Next up on my list is my go to URL shortener. It is a a tiny extension that allows a user to instantly shorten the URL of any page he or she may currently be on. Just click the button and it gives you a shortened URL that you can then copy and paste into a document as well as QR code to go with it. You may be asking why anyone would need this. (It is okay, I get that question all the time.) The usefulness of this tool becomes apparent as you begin to do more and more assignments/lessons online. No more writing down long URL's or reciting them over and over to students. No more countless trouble shooting sessions where 12 students all forgot the "!" 64 characters into the URL. It is a huge time and sanity saver for you and your students. QR codes are even quicker for students to use. All you need is a device with a camera and QR reader and they can instantly go to the site you want them to go to.
Coming in Third is Google Calendar the Extension
Between Staff meetings, department meetings, team meetings, committee meetings, parent conferences, grading deadlines, and all the other business of a teacher's life it can be difficult to keep track of everything. That is why I love the Google Calendar (by Google) extension. The icon not only tells how long until your next appointment, but once you click on the icon it gives you a list of all your upcoming appointments, allows you to add and change those appointments, and gives you quick access to your full Google calendar. (Sorry Outlook people, this one only works with Google Calendar, but there is an extension called Magneto that will take care of that for you.)
And Google Calendar's Cousin Google Mail Checker
I know what you are thinking--Google doesn't get very creative with their extension naming paradigm. Well, maybe you weren't thinking that, but Google Mail Checker is something you should think about. This little plugin gives you a notification of new/unread emails and lets you go straight to Gmail when you click on the icon. There are a couple of other Gmail extensions out there but I like this one for its simplicity. Just this morning I found a similar extension called Checker Plus for Gmail that I am kind of digging. It not only gives you a notification of new emails but also allows you to read and compose emails without ever opening a new tab. It is highly customizable. I haven't had a chance to really test it out which is why it hasn't earned its own place on this list. But one day, just maybe...
It is Now Time to Turn off the Lights
Unlike these "witty" subheadings I'm having to create, I love Turn off the Lights. The extension serves as a way to black out all of the unwanted stuff around a video. If you have ever showed a YouTube video in class you know what I am talking about: the inappropriate videos to the rights, the inappropriate comments beneath; all creeping in to defile our young students' minds. Turn off the Lights solves all those problems.
Adblock for Chrome Family
Clipular
I admit it, I don't have the stamina to keep up with these cheesy subheadings. Thankfully this extension doesn't need a cheesy title to sell its merits. Clipular is a web clip/screen shot extension that allows you to quickly create a screen shot of whatever is in your browser window and then share that in all kinds of different ways. You also have access to past screen shots from Clipular's website. It even has keyboard shortcuts.
Save to Google Drive
Save to Google Drive is my favorite tool for borrowing (teachers never steal) stuff on the internet and saving it to my Drive with one button. Never waste time saving that activity again.
I hope to add extensions over time as I get a chance to review them, but I do have some honorable mentions. These are extensions that I currently have and like, but they haven't been tested in the classroom.
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