Give Wikipedia a New Look with WikiWand

Wikiwand is an extension that works with your chrome browser to change the look of Wikipedia. I guess this one is down to personal taste, but I like the new look Wikiwand provides. Check out these "before" and "after" search results.

Old or Normal Wikipedia - Search for Glass - Results

Wikiwand Extension Added - Search for Glass - Results

Wikiwand is added like any other extension. If you like images and bandwidth is no issue, this could be a way to refresh your view in wikipedia. 

Add Additional Accessibility Features to Your Browser

There are many accessibility features available to chrome browser. While you maybe aware of many of the extensions and adds-on that provide accessibility, I want to show you a place to find other accessibility features you may not know about. 

To access additional accessibility features open the chrome browser and click on the menu item. Then select Settings. This will take you to the Settings page. 

Now scroll down the page until you find the "Show advance settings" link.

Click the link and then 

Then find the Accessibility section and the click the "Add additional accessibility features" link. 

This will open the Extensions Accessibility section of the chrome webstore. You can select accessibility extensions from there.

Grabbing Links, Snippets, and Images for Use in Mindomo

If you are a user of Mindomo, you might be interested in this extension. Mindomo have created a Mindomo Bookmarks extension that enables you to capture and send links, text snippets, and images right from your chrome browser as you are browsing. Of course, you will need to have a Mindomo account setup in order for this extension to function. 

Once the extension is installed, the Mindomo icon will show up in extensions area of your browser indicating that Mindomo Bookmarks is installed and working. 

To send a link to Mindomo you just click the Mindomo icon and you will be notified the link has been sent to Mindomo. The next time you open Minodomo and click the Bookmarks item, the new link will appear in your Mindomo bookmarks list. 

You can then insert the Bookmark by clicking the small arrow to the right of the link and selecting how you would like the link inserted. 

Links remain active within your Mindomo map and provide access to the page you are linking.

The extension allow provides access to the Right-Click or Ctrl-Click "Send to Mindomo" feature. To use this just highlight any text that appears on a web page and Right-Click/Ctrl-Click or Right-Click/Ctrl-Click any image and select "Send to Mindomo." Whatever text or image you have sent will appear in the Mindomo Bookmarks menu and you can then insert it in your map the same way you insert links from Mindomo Bookmarks. 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Tweets

The Twitterverse is abuzz with news this week that Google has added the ability to add images and photos from your phone or tablet (iOS and Android). You will need to update to the latest version of Slides and Docs before you can access this new functionality. 

Adding and image is straightforward. Once you are in Slides, just hit the "+" sign and select Image and then choose either From Photos or From Camera. 

You can also add pictures directly to the classroom stream using the Pick Photo or Take Photo options. 

As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Movenote - Convert Google Docs, Slides, Images and Video to Online Feedback or Flipping the Classroom

Movenote is app that can be added to Google Chrome that allows you to create screencasting videos of content from your Google Drive or Local Device. It converts each page or slide into a slide that can be used in Movenote. Movenote then provides an interface where you appear as a small talking head in the corner of the published Movenote. You draw your students attention to parts of a document, slide, or video by using your mouse. 

For students who need a friendly face or more than just voice or text comments to improve their work in a document this could be an option. You could also use Movenote to present some information to students prior to them attending class in a flipped classroom model. If you really want to flipped things, why not have the students use Movenote to create their own presentations on topics of their choice or record reflections on their learning which are then shared with the class to spark further discussion. 

See this link for a video overview of Movenote:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz_vfr5xMn_XYnR5SXdFamVVYlk/view?usp=sharing

I am sure you will find many more uses for it. The premium version is $2.99, but the free version seems to do what most people need. 

Hangouts Now An Extension for Your Browser

Tired of having to go into mail to access and use Hangouts? There is now an extension that allows you to access Hangouts from your Chrome browser. This allows you to send, receive, and initiate Google Hangouts directly from the Chrome browser window. Hangouts are voice and video calls.Hangouts also allows you to share your screen with others and allow them to access your screen. There are tons of different learning and teaching opportunities with Hangouts. 

To get the Hangouts extension click to the menu item in the top right corner of your browser window. Then select More Tools>Extensions>Get More Extensions (scroll down to see this). In the search field type Hangouts and click the search button. Then click the Free or Add to Chrome button. 

Hangouts has now been added to your browser. You will notice the Hangouts icon (a small green speech bubble) in the extensions area of your browser. 

To activate Hangouts just click the Hangouts icon. Do a search for the person you want to talk to and then click the phone icon for a voice call or the video camera icon for a video call. Teachers in our domain should be able to call anyone who has a gmail account. Students are restricted to only be able to send and receive calls to and from people who have an account within our domain. 

Hangouts is also now available as an extension for your Chromebook. 

Blocking Ads on YouTube

Sometimes the ads that appear before your YouTube video plays can be inappropriate for classroom use. If you wish to stop seeing the ads that appear at the start of a YouTube video, you need look no further than Adblocker. 

Adblocker is an extension that works with your chrome browser. To get it just go to the menu item in the top right corner of your chrome browser. Click on it and then choose "More Tools" and then Extensions. Once you are on the extensions page, scroll down to the bottom and select the "Get More Extensions" link. Then type Adblocker in the search field. Click the "Free" or "Add to Chrome" button. Adblocker is now ready to use. 

You may need to close and open chrome before Adblocker starts working. As always you should make sure you browser is up to date before adding the extension. This will ensure it will work. Adblocker works automatically so there is no need to do anything else. Just go to YouTube and enjoy ad free videos. 

If you need to disable Adblocker, just use the Menu > More Tools > Extensions procedure and click the enable/disable box or the garbage can to delete. 

Note: There may be some legal issues around this extension, but Google owns YouTube and are providing the extension in their extensions area.