Sleigh it ain’t so! December is coming to an end. There’s no better way to end the year than with a round-up of some of my favorite extensions and sites shared this year. There are more than the usual eight because there were too many favorites to choose from.
Chrome Extensions to Try
Weave Highlighter. It’s easy to highlight when reading a book or even a PDF. But what about things you find on the web? Now you can highlight whatever you’re reading online with Weave Highlighter. Highlight and annotate with multiple colors and revisit them later with just a single click.
QR Code Generator and Beautification Studio. With this extension, you can design, color, and decorate QR codes, including framing them by shape. I imagine some great possibilities and organization happening with this tool. Perhaps you’ll be color coding by subject or lesson plan? Time for those with a Type A personality to go nuts!
Coffeelings. Are you working on self-care this year? Journaling is a great way to do that. If you are anything like me, though, it can be hard to pull out a notebook and try to recall the day that I just survived. With Coffeelings, you can jot down your daily thoughts and track your mood on the go by choosing your roast color. At the end of the week, you’ll be able to quickly see how things went with a glance.
Wonder #ChooseKind. If you’re like me and are tired of the negativity that you run into online, try this extension. It was inspired by the movie Wonder and changes the way you see the web by replacing it with positive and uplifting words. It’s great for scrolling through your social feeds.
Dewey. If you love to find new ideas to try from Twitter, you’re going to love this extension. If you’re a curator queen like myself, you know that organization is a must. Dewey helps you transform your Twitter bookmarks into an organized collection. The icing on the cake is Dewey allows you to share your perfectly tagged and categorized list with friends.
Toucan. I’m willing to bet 80% of us have it on our bucket list to learn a new language. This extension will help you do just that. It will take whatever page you are browsing and swap out some of the words for whatever language you’re trying to embrace. Hover over the words for definitions and pronunciation. You can adjust how many or how few words it replaces. Estoy obsesionada!
Text Blaze. Want to save time? Of course, you do. This Chrome extension is here to help! Do you ever find yourself asking the same questions over and over again? Or maybe you’re giving the same detailed comments to someone’s assignment progress? Use Text Blaze to create keyboard shortcuts for custom text.
Read Aloud. Read Aloud is an extension that uses text-to-speech technology to convert the website page into audio and it supports more than 40 languages! If you like to have some kind of audio on while working, this is great so you can keep “reading” along while doing other things.
Must-Visit Websites
All That’s Interesting. This website offers you something interesting to read every day. From history to news to science, there is something for everyone. However, this site is not appropriate for student use as sometimes the news stories may be too serious.
Bakpax. Okay, this one isn’t a typical website I would share but is more of a tool housed on the internet. If you want to get technical on me though, it is still a website. And it’s just too good not to share. Bakpax utilizes AI (Artificial Intelligence) and will grade the work for you. Yes, you read that right. It will grade assignments for you.
Wait But Why. If you love to be informed on random topics and want some humor included in the mix, you will love Wait But Why. Almost every week, the creator, Tim Urban, churns out one really long, but really awesome, article on a topic.
Boil the Frog. Sticking with my traditional randomness of sites you need to know, I bring you Boil the Frog. Raise your hand if the music you like is all over the place. I’m so glad to have you with me today because you will thank me for this one. Just head to the website and type in the names of two artists. Boil the Frog will create a playlist that gradually takes you from the first artist to the second. It shows you the path it has generated and, if you like it, you can save it to Spotify for listening.
WikiGame. I found myself quite entertained with this one. How fast can you get from one Wiki page to the next by clicking on appropriate links that may lead you to the desired site?
Mental Floss. If you’re a trivia buff or just like to be the holder of random facts, head to Mental Floss. It educates you on everything from technology to pop culture. My favorite part of the site is the Amazing Fact Generator. You’ll be saying, “I didn’t know that!” within just a few clicks.
Wake It Up. This one may help you overcome boredom or achieve true procrastination. You have sixty seconds to use the tools given to wake up the website. Enjoy!
2048. If you like puzzles or math games, you will thank me. It’s a bit of Suduko meets Tetris.
That’s a wrap! I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing holiday with their loved ones and furry friends!
More From This Series
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (November 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (October 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (September 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (August 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (July 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (June 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (May 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (April 2021)
- Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (March 2021)
2 comments
Thank you, thank you! I cannot wait to use some of these resources. I only knew about one site you shared and I love trying new things, especially if it saves me time.
Thanks, Kristin! Please let me know your favorites and if you come across one, new or old, share it! I can include for next months list.