Parkway Digital Learning: Getting Googley in Parkway With Apps and Extensions

I'm excited to let everyone know about a new project that we have going on between now and Thanksgiving. As we get more Chromebooks in the district, we've had many requests for how to get more functionality out of Chrome and suggestions for ways to do some of the things we've traditionally done on a laptop. As you probably know, on a Chromebook, if it's not on the web, you can't do it. However, there are tons of ways that we can do similar (if not identical) tasks using the Chrome browser.

So, for the next few weeks, every day you will find a new Chrome app or extension highlighted on this site. Take what makes sense for you or that you need and leave the rest. You will always be able to go back and find other things when you're ready.

All that being said, what, you might ask, is an Chrome app or extension and where do I get them. Here's a brief explanation.

Apps - Chrome Apps are essentially bookmarks to websites that live online. When you're using the Chrome browser or a Chromebook, these are all stored much like apps would be on a smartphone. They will take you to a website and, if it's a Google tool, you and your students will already be logged into the site and you're ready to get started.

Chrome Apps can be accessed in two ways.

On a laptop:

Open the Chrome browser and look for the "Apps" button in the upper left hand corner.
When you click on it, you will see a list of all Apps that you have installed on your account listed there.
If you don't see the "Apps" button, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select "Bookmarks" and then "Show bookmarks bar". The apps button should show up as long as you are logged in with your "parkwayschools.net" Google account.

On a Chromebook:

Click in the lower left corner or hit the "Search" key.
Your list of Apps you have installed will show up on the pop up.

Extensions - Extensions are a little different. Extensions are little programs that run and add additional functionality in to your browser. There are many possibilities and we'll explore these over the next few weeks. Depending on what the extension does, most of the time, you will find them right beside your search box at the top of the screen on the right.

All Apps and Extensions can be installed from the Chrome Webstore which you will find on your list of installed apps.

We hope that you will find the information shared here over the next few weeks to be helpful and enlightening. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact any of those listed below. Thanks and enjoy the next few weeks of Apps and Extensions.

For a list of all Apps and Extensions that have been whitelisted in Parkway, visit https://goo.gl/sUpBKk.