Whilst schools should already be:
- using Google Apps and Google Apps for Education (GAFE)
- exploring the suitability of Chromebooks, and
- discovering BlueStacks to unlock the power of Google Play for PC & Mac,
Chrome Apps
Chrome apps were originally designed for Chromebooks (and have now been made available for Windows and Mac, with iOS and Android support to follow soon). As Chromebooks have a small internal storage capacity, they rely heavily on web-based apps. Therefore the majority of the apps available on the Chrome Web Store are simply internet short-cuts that are linked directly to the web-based services/applications (e.g. installing the Dictanote speech recognition app will open this page).
By default, Chrome apps already come with the Google Apps suite installed (Google Docs, Gmail, Google Search, Google Drive and YouTube).
All one does is have to visit the Chrome Web Store (or the reviewed apps below), browse for apps and then simply look for the "+ Add to Chrome" button! Once the apps are installed, they appear within the Google Chrome Browser (see image below):
All one does is have to visit the Chrome Web Store (or the reviewed apps below), browse for apps and then simply look for the "+ Add to Chrome" button! Once the apps are installed, they appear within the Google Chrome Browser (see image below):
To then access the Chrome apps, PC/Mac/Linux users with the Google Chrome browser installed on their device can:
- Install the Chrome App Launcher to launch apps from the desktop (pictured below), or
- Type chrome://apps/ into the Google Chrome address bar (as pictured above).
Lesson & Activity Dissemination Apps
Navigate below to discover some the Chrome Web Store apps that are suitable for use on your device!
Splashtop
Splashtop Education allows teachers (or students) to share content from a PC or Mac simultaneously across multiple Chromebooks, iPads or Mac OSX screens, allowing a user to control, annotate and then share content to every students' one-to-one device.
Prices:
- Students: Free (Splashtop Classroom)
- Teachers: (Splashtop Education) Promotion $10/per teacher for 1st year: $50 per teacher, per year, after year 1. For Site License contact [email protected]. Download from a 14 day free trial here.
Microsoft Office Online
Just like Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, Microsoft Office Online also allows anyone to freely use Microsoft Office to dynamically collaborate with real time co-authoring (files must be saved to OneDrive).
Once the Office Online apps has been launched, sign in via a Microsoft Account, click on File and select Share to enable others to access and edit your document/spreadsheet/presentation.
If the user(s) already have a legitimate copy of Microsoft Office on a Windows or Mac PC, they can continue working with the full power of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel applications. Click on the apps below to start collaborating with others to simultaneously create/edit Microsoft Office files: |
Obvibase (Microsoft Access Substitute)
Obvibase makes creating an online database as easy and fast as creating a spreadsheet. With both Google and Microsoft failing to provide an online version of a databasing program like Microsoft Access, Obvibase to collect and collate records within a database and spreadsheet-style interface.
Price: The basic edition of Obvibase is free. Users can pay $US4.99 a month to enable online collaborate.
Description: Unlike most Google Chrome Apps, databases created in Obvibase are not saved in Google Drive but are saved on Obvibase's servers. Users can attach files directly from Google Drive or Dropbox and export CSV files.
Description: Unlike most Google Chrome Apps, databases created in Obvibase are not saved in Google Drive but are saved on Obvibase's servers. Users can attach files directly from Google Drive or Dropbox and export CSV files.
Other Apps
Browse some of the reviewed apps below as well as the other aps from the Chrome Web Store listed further below.
Dictanote - Speech Recognizer
Price: Free
Description: This is a powerful dictation app that works on any device. Converts speech to text quick than you could type. Watch the video below to learn more:
Price: Free
Description: This is a powerful dictation app that works on any device. Converts speech to text quick than you could type. Watch the video below to learn more:
Hangout - Video Conferencing
Price: Free
Description: Hangout allows users to video chat with up to 10 people, regardless of whether the person/people they are talking to are using a Chromebook, PC or Mac, Android or iOS device. This app can be rather useful for communication when students are working in projects outside of school hours.
Watch the video below to learn more:
Price: Free
Description: Hangout allows users to video chat with up to 10 people, regardless of whether the person/people they are talking to are using a Chromebook, PC or Mac, Android or iOS device. This app can be rather useful for communication when students are working in projects outside of school hours.
Watch the video below to learn more:
WeVideo - Video Editor and Maker
Price: Free
Description: WeVideo makes video editing easy for everyone. As this is an online tool, videos to be edited must be uploaded to a user's Google Drive.
Price: Free
Description: WeVideo makes video editing easy for everyone. As this is an online tool, videos to be edited must be uploaded to a user's Google Drive.
Watch the video below to learn about the themes/filters that can be applied to imported videos:
Audio Cutter
Price: Free
Description: Edit audio tracks from your Google Drive. If you open up a video file then Audio Cutter will isolate the audio for editing.
Price: Free
Description: Edit audio tracks from your Google Drive. If you open up a video file then Audio Cutter will isolate the audio for editing.
Draw.io
Price: Free
Description: Draw.io is a free online diagram creator and editor. Students can use the various shapes and line tools to create a plethora of relationship diagrams (e.g. family trees) and ER/flow Diagrams.
Price: Free
Description: Draw.io is a free online diagram creator and editor. Students can use the various shapes and line tools to create a plethora of relationship diagrams (e.g. family trees) and ER/flow Diagrams.
Evernote Web
Price: Free
Description: Evernote saves both an audio and text file together so users can use the app's search ability to find a recorded note.
Price: Free
Description: Evernote saves both an audio and text file together so users can use the app's search ability to find a recorded note.
Comic Webcam
Price: Free
Description: Create comics using the Chromebook's camera and the filters and camera effects contained with Comic Webcam.
Price: Free
Description: Create comics using the Chromebook's camera and the filters and camera effects contained with Comic Webcam.
QR Code Generator
Price: Free
Description: QR-Codes from URLs, Text Messages, Phone Numbers, Free Text or Contacts (vCard). It also allows to scan/read QR Codes if a webcam is available.
Price: Free
Description: QR-Codes from URLs, Text Messages, Phone Numbers, Free Text or Contacts (vCard). It also allows to scan/read QR Codes if a webcam is available.
More Apps
Browse the Chrome Web Store for more education apps across the following categories: