So we started with 5 extensions last post and we are going to add 5 more. How did you like the ones from last time? Comment and let us know!

Don’t forget to use Extensity to turn off your apps you aren’t using. Having a lot of apps on at a time can slow everything down!

Next five extensions:

Google Docs Quick Create – With Google Docs Quick Create, you can quickly start a new doc/slide/sheet by just clicking the extension.

Google Tone – If your students have Google Tone extension, you can send them a link and it will open up on their page. It make a tone sound and everyone in the listening area will get a pop up asking if they want to open that link. It is a quick way to push out  a link to everyone without having to stop and email it or send it via Classroom.

Open Dyslexia – This extension can be life changing. When the app is turned on (remember you can turn it back off in Extensity) it changes all the fonts on the webpages to a special font created for people with dyslexia. I don’t know what else to say about it, it pretty much speaks for itself.

High Contrast  – This extension allows you to flip the contrast of the screen. If gives it a black background with with letters. This is very helpful with students who have sight problems. It will also combat eye fatigue.

Print Friendly & PDF – I love this extension. Have you ever tried to print a website and it prints 10 pages full of all the ads, etc? This extension will only print what you choose. When you click it while on the site you need to print, you get a pop up with the page. Anything you don’t want to print, you click it and it disappears. Keep clicking until the passage you want is left.

 

There are so many more extensions, but these are a few that will get you started! We will do one more post on Extensions that will make your life easier!

Lately I have been testing out some Google Extensions that are supposed to help with accessibility for student who have special needs. I was surprised by how many are out there. I also think that they can help all students learn. Extensions are attached to your browser. You have to be in your Chrome browser, not Internet Explorer or FireFox. You also must sign in. To do that, look next to the minimize and “X” at the top right corner of Chrome, there is a man icon. Click on it and sign in with your @jcboe.k12.al.us account. Now no matter what computer you are on, the extensions will be there.

I am only going to list 5 at a time. That way it is not a huge list that can be overwhelming. Try these 5 and I will add 5 more to a new post later this week!

To get the free extensions visit the Chrome Store: https://chrome.google.com/webstore

If your school has Chromebooks these will really change your students with special needs’ lives.

Here is a list that I think will options that your students will benefit from:

Extensity

This extension really has nothing to do with accessibility, but some of these apps need to be turned off and on quickly. Get this first.

Announcify

Announcify will read a webpage for you. It also blur everything else on the page. The students will only see the paragraph or selection being read. This is not my favorite but does a decent job.

Chrome Vox

This one is from Google will read your entire screen, not just a webpage. It will put a box around what is wanted to be read. You can also tab it to the next area. If you have a chromebook it can be turned on in the OS and run the Chromebook with out even viewing the screen. I was surprised at how powerful this actually is, imagine a kid that can’t read being able to have it read a book from Google Books to him. Make sure you turn it off in Extensity when you don’t need it because it will drive you crazy.

Clearly

Clearly is from Evernote. Clearly takes away distractions inside of websites. It will just show the content that is needed to be read. It hides all of the adds and menu bars. It will also let you highlight and it will save the highlights and page to your Evernote account.

Color Enhancer

This extension is also from Google. It will change the color hue on your screen for students that are color blind. They can move the filters so colors that may be similar to their eyes will have a large contrast. If blue words are written on a yellow background, most could see the difference but those that are color blind would not see the words as well. This extension will make a greater contrast.

I will add more later! Try these extensions on yourself then see if they can help your students! If you download them and then decide you want them off your computer, you can go to Chrome settings (see the 3 lines under the “X” in top right corner? Click it and choose settings) and click extensions on the left menu. There is a check box to disable and trash can to delete.