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Chrome add-on

A Countdown Timer for Every Occasion

by Miguel Guhlin September 7, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

Keeping track of time can be a full-time job for some students in a group. Why not make that job easier with a countdown timer? Even as an adult, when leading workshop sessions and classroom activities, one app is close at hand for me: either the iPhone Stopwatch or a Google time keeper. Let’s take a look at several free timer options you can use in the classroom. FREE is the key word for all time trackers on this list. Paid countdown timer solutions abound, like CountingDownTo or CountDownKings, but this list will give you quite a bang at no cost.

Hot Tip: Video Countdown Timers

Running a slide show and need an embedded counter? Give these YouTube videos a spin. You can insert them into your slide deck and play them as videos. Whether it’s a 5 minute Mario Roller Coaster Countdown with Music, a simple 5-min timer, these are easy to use. Younger students may prefer this minion timer with…farts. There are many more of differing lengths.

1. Aftel.net

Koos Looijesteijn (@koos@octodon.social) created Aftel. It comes with a wealth of features! This countdown timer is adjustable, even after you start it. Need more or less time added to the count? Click on the plus or minus symbols. Need to pause the count? Use the PAUSE button or RESET to start over. This countdown timer is so well thought out that it will soon become your favorite.

Although it comes in stock grey, you can adjust the colors and make the background flash, play sounds, and enable dynamic background colors. What’s more, you can start with a green background, then when a quarter of the total time elapses, it switches to orange. When a tenth of the time remains, Aftel will switch to red. While more features are present, it also stops your device from dimming or locking the screen. This can be a lifesaver in a workshop or class setting where you are walking the room.

Try Aftel

2. Online Stopwatch

Online Stopwatch brings you their countdown timer. This colorful countdown timer offers full-screen mode, advertisements (ugh!), and numbered buttons. You can SET and CLEAR time presets. It also features a PAUSE button to make halting time easy peasy.

The only issue with this timer? Banner ads appear on the screen when you first arrive at the site. What’s more, a banner ad continues to appear when the full-screen countdown timer is at work.

Try Online Stopwatch

3. Live Countdown Timer with Animations

Wish you had something interesting happening on the screen during your countdown? Some may see this as a distraction, but Time and Date’s countdown timer offers animations:

Once you select the theme from the thumbnails shown, you can customize components. Those components include Countdown Title, Month/Day/Year, Hour:Minute:Second, and Event Location. What’s more, you can detail the font style as well.

This makes counting down to a date far in the future easy. Take a look at this birthday countdown:

This timer offers popular countdowns, too. Those include a countdown to the New Year, to an eclipse, or for a season (e.g. fall). This makes this timer one of the most versatile. While banner/side advertisements are present, full-screen mode eliminates most. You are also able to share links to timers on social media.

Try Timers with Animation

4. Tick Counter

Tick Counter offers countdowns to dates or time periods. It also makes it easy to load a background of your choice and change the color of the timer name, border, and digits.

After you make your countdown timer, you will be able to share a link to it. What’s more, an embed code allows you to place it on a website. Instructions for other types of websites and platforms are available.

Try Tick Counter

Various Web-Based Timers

As you might imagine, there are many timers that offer a wide variety of features. Here are a few of my favorites. Be aware that most, if not all, have advertisements. You will have to decide what is appropriate for your teaching and learning situation.

Toy Theater’s Timer. This timer allows you to specify the shape of your timer. Shapes can be any geometric shape you choose, each a different color.
Egg Timer. With no built-in ads, this timer offers preset times for 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes. It also offers a few customization options.
Dayspedia. This website offers a stopwatch, online clock, timer online, and countdown timer. Other features appear on the website.
User-Configurable Countdown Timer. This timer from Harvey Mudd College is a javascript that runs in your browser. This means you could save it the HTML page for offline use.

While there are many other timers available for free, these are a few that jumped out at me.

Chrome Extension Timers

Let’s take a look at some Chrome Browser Countdown Extensions. Here are a few you can try:

Of course, you can always rely on Google Search’s built-in timer in a pinch. Or if all you have is your smartphone, ask Siri to set a timer or open the clock app (works on Android) to set a timer. I hope you find one (or more) from this list that serves you well!

September 7, 2023 0 comment

Five Big Google Announcements From June 2023

by Miguel Guhlin July 7, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

Wish you could stop students from copying from ChatGPT and other AI tools? Google might have an answer for that if students are doing it on a Chromebook. Let’s explore this and a few other big announcements made by Google, including:

Google Classroom enhancements
Stop AI plagiarism
Improved accessibility
Google Meet’s paired tiles, Q&A, and polling
Google app licensing management

Let’s take a closer look at these updates. May you find the emergence of long-awaited features exciting!

#1 – Google Classroom Enhancements

Analytics. Wish you could leverage Google Analytics-style graphs and information for student work? Then you will love the announcement of Google Classroom’s new analytics features.

Gif showing several new analytics features in Google Classroom recently announced by Google.

These provide insight into student performance and engagement. What’s more, they address the following:

Assignment completion
Average grade
Active students
Missing assignments
Growth and loss for courses

That’s a pretty incredible analytics update. The analytics features will be launched in the coming months and are currently being evaluated.

Temporary Class Access. What’s more, Google made the announcement that Classroom now has the option to visit a class with temporary class access. That is, any of the following can now have temporary access without needing to be a co-teacher:

Principals
Department heads
School counselors
Curriculum leaders
Administrative assistants
Coaches and mentors
IT admins

In addition, trusted educators visiting a class can do the following:

Share links to class templates
Import content into classes
Plan, organize, and analyze assignments and grades
Choose grading scales to align with the district’s grading system
Disable submissions after the due date*
Make comments more engaging*

These features will be available to select Google Workspace for Education editions, including Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Education Plus, and must be enabled by administrators.

*All Google Workspace for Education editions will have access to asterisked features shown.

#2 – Stop Student Copying from AI

Ready to stop plagiarism and AI-assisted learning before it happens? Google announced that it’s adding ChromeOS data controls that allow Google Admins to:

Prevent copying and pasting from AI-based tools
Stop screen capture, sharing, and printing efforts
Disable cameras and microphones when not in use
Turn on an electronic privacy screen when viewing content

These features make it easy for school technology staff to enact restrictions. Some ways to identify when restrictions are enacted include:

Data source
Destination
User access

There are system requirements. ChromeOS devices must be on version 103 or later. What’s more, they must be in user or managed guest session mode. These ChromeOS updates have profound implications for device management in schools. Google provides some example scenarios and rules online at Google Support for you to explore.

#3 – Improved Accessibility

Google reiterated its commitment to accessibility with new releases and improvements. These releases improve viewing in the browser and read alouds for Adobe Portable Document Format (PDFs).

Image showing Google's announcement of an image to text feature available in the Chrome Browser.

Now, you can also take advantage of improvements on:

Google Reading Mode. This is now available for Chrome browsers on all devices. Reading mode makes text larger, changes the font, and eliminates distractions.
Image to Text Conversion in PDFs. This ensures screen readers can convert images in a PDF to text. Then, the screen reader can read the text aloud.

These changes will become available in the coming months.

#4 – Google Meet’s Paired Tiles, Q&A, and Polling

Have two people presenting in a virtual meeting? Will there be a translator or a sign-language interpreter? You can now “Ask to pair the tiles” so that the tiles appear together. If one of you speaks, both tiles are highlighted.

There was also a Google announcement of new question and answers (Q&A) and polling features that will be available for livestreams. Additionally, for schools with the Education Plus option, the limit is now set to 1,000 attendees.

#5 – Google App Licensing Management

In a move sure to please finance department superintendents, Google announced streamlined app purchasing. That is, Google Admins for schools can now buy apps from developers directly. Locate these available apps in the Google for Education App Hub.

The Google for Education App Hub makes it easy to access apps that work with Google for Education tools. App licensing “can be provisioned and managed within the Google Admin Console.”

Image of Adobe Express showing app licensing options.

Source: Adobe Express at the Google for Education App Hub

What’s available? Explore the Hub, but you won’t want to miss these offerings:

Any one of these alone would be amazing, but to have easy access is wonderful. Also, these are now available at no cost (FREE!):

Adobe Express for Education. It’s free for schools using Chromebooks across the U.S.
Figma. This is already free for all K-12 schools in the U.S. who use Chromebooks.

I hope these Google Announcements benefit you, your school, and your students. Once you give them a try, let us know what you think in the comments.

July 7, 2023 1 comment

Chromebooks CTO/CIO Cybersecurity Digital Citizenship Google Tips and Tricks

Update Your Browser Now: Seven Tips for Securing Google Chrome

by Miguel Guhlin August 22, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

“Update now! Multiple vulnerabilities patched in Google Chrome.” It’s a headline that you encounter with surprising regularity. Here are a few more from May to July 2022. Each is sure to chill any IT Director’s heart:

Let’s explore some steps you can take to avoid Google Chrome issues and keep your browser secure.

Did You Know?
In August, 2022, a new Gmail attack was announced that exploits Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers. “SHARPEXT is a malicious browser extension,” reports Volexity.com. The threat? It can bypass two-factor or multi-factor authentication on Gmail. This means that even if you do have two-factor authentication, your Gmail may be accessed by nefarious individuals seeking to steal your data. Follow the suggestions in this blog entry to avoid SHARPEXT.

Use a Secure, Chromium Alternative

Want to keep working in the Chromium ecosystem but are worried about the headlines? Then consider getting one of the following Chromium-based browsers that are hardened for security:

You might also try Microsoft Edge as an alternative browser. It supports the Chrome web store but enjoys Microsoft’s ongoing support. Of course, Google will tell you to use Chrome, and Microsoft will say browse securely with Edge, but it’s up to you to choose.

If you would rather not deal with Chrome/Chromium browsers at all, then consider Firefox. These Firefox-based browsers get the job done and enjoy increased security:

For the best compatibility with websites, Firefox works great while safeguarding your privacy. If you need more intensive protection, get Firefox Focus. Both work on mobile devices, too. Of course, LibreWolf offers even more stringent protection on the desktop.

What’s the main problem with Google Chrome that these alternate browsers address? A wide variety of permissions and settings set to “open” or “allow.” It’s like leaving the doors and windows of your domicile open when there are criminals around.

Let’s see how you can secure Google Chrome, especially if you have to use it for work purposes.

Securing Google Chrome

A Google Chrome browser design flaw could allow malicious websites to record audio or video. This could occcur without alerting the user. The user would not get any visual sign that they are being spied on. (Source: The Hacker News, 2017)

Here is a list of suggestions that Zaafir (@zaafirsalam) provides, and I’ve shared a video or image with each one. Let’s explore each one at a time.

Tip #1: Set Site Permissions

Google Chrome may be set to allow access to your location, camera, and/or microphone. To limit what Chrome makes available to websites you visit, follow these instructions:

Go to Settings in Chrome.
Select Privacy and Security.
Click Site Settings.
Disable access for location, camera, and microphone.

Here’s a no-audio video walkthrough on how to do that:

Tip #2: Secure DNS and Connections

A lot of websites fail to secure their connections with your browser. That is, they allow connections that enable malicious folks to steal your password. Think of it as writing your bank account and password on a postcard. It’s not the best way to send confidential information.

Google’s Chrome browser allows both secure and insecure connections. You can restrict that by follow these steps:

Tip #3: Restrict Pop-Ups and Redirects

Ever visited the wrong website by accident? If the site is malicious, it may attempt to open countless pop-up windows. These will open up faster than you can close them. A malicious site may also redirect you to a series of inappropriate websites. Combined with unstoppable pop-ups, you may find yourself a long ways away from where you began.

Only allow pop-up windows for sites you trust. Here’s how you can restrict pop-ups and redirects in your Site Settings.

Note that you can allow specific, or custom, websites to send you pop-ups that are allowed. This can be handy on government and education websites that require pop-ups.

Tip #4: Disable Third-Party Cookies

As you may know, cookies are bits of code that store information about your internet use in your browser. Worse, these cookies can track you across websites. Websites like Facebook use these cookies to track your interests. Then, based on your interests, deliver tailored advertisements. Do a search on baby formula, you will soon see advertisements for diapers and baby stuff.

Here’s how you can disable third-party cookies via your Privacy and Security Settings:

Tip #5: Enable Enhanced Protection

You can turn on an additional layer of protection. The purpose of enhanced protection is to provide more protection. What’s more, it enables you as the user to flag suspicious content to Google. This helps everyone reduce the risks of malware spreading to others.

Here’s how you can turn it on:

Tip #6: Stop Background Apps

Wondering why your computer is running slow? It may be that Google Chrome is taking up memory. This happens even when you’ve “closed” Chrome. It’s closed for you, but Chrome continues to work in the background of your computer. It uses up valuable resources other programs may need. Turn it off completely.

To do that, go to System in the Settings and turn off “Continue running background apps.”

Tip #7: Conduct a Safety Check

Want to conduct a safety check? Access your Settings, looking for Privacy and Security. Select “Check now” to run a safety check on your browser.

Ensuring Browser Security

If you want to avoid making these changes, consider using one of the alternative browsers. They are already locked down. Keep a browser like Firefox or Chrome around. Use them only for legitimate websites that need a less restrictive experience.

Also, consider using these browser add-ons that allow you to turn security on or off as needed per website:

Finally, consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when using the web at home or on the go (work environments may restrict their use). Let me know how your browsing experience changes for the better.

Feature Image Search

Photo by Amol Tyagi on Unsplash

August 22, 2022 1 comment

Chromebooks

Five Free Tools for Chromebooks

by Miguel Guhlin August 18, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Have a cart full of Chromebooks but aren’t sure what digital tools you can use? Or why? While many use Chromebooks every day, it never hurts to review some amazing digital tools. Of course, you can find a lot of great apps for Chromebooks at the Chromebook App Hub. It offers paid apps for every subject and grade level. But what if you want free, no-cost apps? This is the list for you.

Two New Features for Chromebooks

You may have missed the announcement earlier this summer. Chromebooks are arriving with two special powers. These include built-in screencasting with closed captioning and simple video editing. Check out my infographic for more info.

Now let’s get to a quick roundup of Chromebook-friendly tools and add-ons. Here we go.

Digital Tool #1: Kapwing Video Editor and Creator

Kapwing Pro is now 100% free for students and educators. No longer will you have to pine for some free, high-quality video editor. Kapwing Video Editor, featured in this TCEA blog entry, offers so much. And the Pro version is now available at no charge for educators and students. Isn’t that amazing?

Kapwing Pro for Education features:

Presentation recording
Group projects
Video editing and greenscreens
Template and worksheet design
Video translation
Subtitles
Copyright-free images, music, and templates
Video import from the Internet

Want to know if you qualify for the Kapwing Pro plan? Per their website:

Teachers at accredited K-12 schools and higher education institutions are eligible for the Kapwing for Education Plan.

Students currently enrolled at accredited K-12 schools who are at least 13 years old are eligible for the Kapwing for Education plan. (Students enrolled at higher education institutions are not eligible at this time.)

Digital Tool #2: Canva for Educators

Canva is an incredibly versatile tool that you can use for everything. You only have to read these TCEA blog entries to see how amazing Canva is. It does everything:

Here’s a quick video overview of how to get started:

Want some help with back-to-school resources? Canva has you covered.

Get verified as a teacher or student to use Canva Pro for free.

Digital Tool #3: Book Creator

If you haven’t used Book Creator, it is an excellent ePub creation tool boasting over 15 million ebooks. It works on Chromebooks, iOS, Android and Windows devices.

Book Creator allows you to create a simple ePub without media. Or you can liven things up with an enhanced ePub. The latter includes video, audio, and more embedded. Read their blog for TONS of ideas. You can also share your creations to cloud storage (e.g., Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, or iCloud). It also supports the creation of digital comic books.

Get Book Creator for free.

Note: You can create one library and store up to 40 books for free. It’s enough to get started. Be sure to explore templates! Then get become a Book Creator Certified Educator via TCEA’s $39 online course with one year membership FREE! Start Your Journey of Creativity and Learning NOW.

Digital Tool #4: Image Capture Tools

Need an easy-to-use image capture and annotation tool? You know, a browser-based add-on that captures your screen, then lets you annotate the image? Lightshot is my all-time favorite tool and works great in the Chrome browser.

Sometimes, you need a tool that can capture a scrolling webpage, not only what appears on the screen. Give Fireshot a try. It’s a great tool to have in your toolbox. Of course, if you need a photo editor, give Pixlr E and Photopea a shot. Need another amazing tool that makes assembling content easy? Try out Sketch.io’s Sketchpad, which I’ve written about before. It offers support for multiple languages, so it’s usable in any space you like.

Digital Tool #5: GIF Cap

Need to make a quick walkthrough of steps to share with students or colleagues? You could record a video. Another popular approach relies on creating animated GIFs for a screen recording. gifcap makes that possible.

It’s so easy to use, that you’ll be creating short walkthroughs of steps for students. If you need a digital tool that takes a series of images and turns them into an animated gif, give EZGIF a try. EZGIF “…is a simple online GIF maker and toolset for basic animated GIF editing.” It makes it easy to “create, resize, crop, reverse, optimize, and apply some effects to GIFs.”

Now that you’ve seen some of my favorite, go-to tools for Chromebook, what would you add? Add them in the comments.

Bonus Tools!

What, you thought I was done? Here are a few more that make my life easier. I bet they will make your life easier, too.

Custom Scrollbars. What a lifesaver. The current trend in browser scrollbars is thin and thinner. But when you’re working on a Chromebook or tablet, small scrollbars are problematic. They disappear, and if you scroll through content (imagine a long Google Doc), whew! It can be tough. That’s why Custom Scrollbars add-on is so awesome. And it’s free!
Icon Insertion Tools: Explore these two tools to get icons you can insert into Google Slides.
- Icons for Slides and Docs
- The Noun Project
Background Removers
- Remove.bg
- Icons8’s AI Background Remover
Classroom Screen makes it easy to share information with your students on the big screen.
Tab Resize. Split your screen layout on a Chromebook, if you need to. Many are accustomed to working on dual monitors, but when you are on the go, you may still need a split screen. This Chrome add-on can make that possible.

Have an incredible year. Use technology to lessen your stress, increase connections with others, and make your life easier.

August 18, 2022 0 comment

Android Chromebooks Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Sync Your Browser Bookmarks

by Miguel Guhlin May 5, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Need a quick way to synchronize your browser bookmarks or favorites across browsers? You may already know that several browser-based tools synchronize your bookmarks. But the ability to make a copy of your browser favorites is often limited to a type of browser. Let’s review some synchronization options and learn about one solution that works across various browsers. It can be a lifesaver when transitioning from one browser to another (e.g. Chrome to Firefox).

The Bookmarking Problem

While many take advantage of social bookmarking tools like Diigo, others do not. For example, a colleague of mine kept all her bookmarks in Internet Explorer. She clung to that browser longer than she needed to. The reason why? She didn’t want to lose her bookmarks. It’s understandable because it’s easy to lose your bookmarks!

Many of us switch browsers, often as we move from one computer to another. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox synchronize our bookmarks, thank goodness. But what happens when you deviate from security-poor browsers to more secure ones? You lose access to your bookmarks.

One scenario I find myself in often is relying on new browsers that maximize privacy. Some browsers, like Microsoft Chrome and Microsoft Edge, often fall short. Privacy Tests revealed study results that show how less-than-private your browser use is.

If you’re working on a different computer between home and work, you want to be able to bring in your home browser’s bookmarks to work and vice versa. I like to synchronize all my “work” bookmarks to a home browser so I can access links I update all day at work. If the browser I use at work differs from my Chromebook at home, then favorite bookmarks may not appear.

Bookmarking Solutions Abound

A quick solution to the problem? Use either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox in a consistent manner. Google Chrome offers synchronization of bookmarks, as does Mozilla Firefox. For the most part, synchronization even works with Chromium or Firefox derivative browsers.

Here’s what sync settings look like across browsers:

In Microsoft Edge, a Chromium browser like Google Chrome:

In Librewolf, a Firefox browser derivative with a high privacy rating:

Security-conscious browsers like Librewolf turn off Firefox sync, remove all bookmarks, and save items when you close the browser. Learn how to turn on Sync in Google Chrome or activate Firefox Sync.

If jumping from one browser to another, you may find the export/import bookmarks options of use. That said, it’s an inelegant solution. Your version of bookmarks becomes obsolete once you add or remove a bookmark on a browser.

This brings us back to the question, How do you sync your bookmarks across browsers and devices? As I said before, there are many solutions available. I’m going to focus on one so you can see how it works. That said, I would be remiss in not pointing out other solutions, and you can find a list at the end of this article.

Introducing xBrowserSync

Skip browser synchronization options on Google or Firefox. Avoid the game of exporting and importing bookmarks. Give this solution a try and save yourself some trouble.

xBrowserSync offers a secure, anonymous, and free solution. Per its website:

xBrowserSync is a free and open-source alternative to browser syncing tools. No sign up is required and no personal data is ever collected. To start syncing, download xBrowserSync for your desktop browser. Enter an encryption password and click Create New Sync. You’ll receive an anonymous sync ID. This identifies your data and you use it to access your data on other browsers and devices.

What’s more, xBrowserSync offers a search interface that simplifies finding and sharing bookmarks. You can use it to add descriptions and tags to bookmarks. You can get it as an add-on for Chrome/Chromium and/or Firefox browsers (or derivatives). Google Android users can also take advantage of it.

xBrowserSync in Action

Here are a few screenshots of xBrowserSync in action:

Search for a Bookmark:

Edit Bookmark to Add Title or Descriptive Tags:

Browse your xBrowserSync Bookmarks:

Settings Sync:

Settings Backup and Restore:

Avoid Browser Lock

There are many ways to keep track of your bookmarks now. But it is easy to get “browser locked.” Don’t get locked into any one browser. Find the browser that works best for you, then use xBrowserSync to sync your content.

Here are some additional solutions that are similar to xBrowserSync that you can explore:

Be sure to read the fine print for privacy and cost details for each of these solutions. What’s for sure– you now have a way to avoid switching browsers!

May 5, 2022 0 comment

Chromebooks Digital Literacy Google Tips and Tricks iOS Tips and Tricks Uncategorized Web 2.0 Tool

Four Ways to Avoid Pop-ups When Reading Online

by Miguel Guhlin March 21, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Have you ever wanted to read and annotate a news article, but a wall of advertising and pop-ups stood in your way? If so, you may have encountered a paywall. These may prevent you from distraction-free online reading and/or content annotation. But let’s explore four approaches that can help you access content without all the distracting pop-ups and advertisements.

Before we jump into that, let’s explore how paywalls work.

What Is a Paywall?

You may find yourself ready to read an engaging story. You reach for your digital highlighter, then a window pops up. The window is the paywall– an invitation to become a subscriber. Once you become a subscriber, you can access the content. At this point, you can use your highlighting/annotation software.

How Do Paywalls Work?

Paywalls rely on browser cookies stored on your device. If your identification cookie reveals you as a paid subscriber, you get access. If not, you’re blocked. Your annotation tools may not work, or the article may feature advertisements despite your access. How can you make the content more readable and accessible?

Approaches for Your Consideration

Ready to read and annotate content without advertisements? These approaches can save you time and effort.

Approach #1: Browser-Based Readers

Most modern browsers, including Microsoft Edge and Apple’s Safari browser, include a reader. The reader strips out unnecessary advertisements and content, focusing on the text. As you can see in the article below, the Reader View extension in Microsoft Edge strips away clutter:

Apple’s Safari browser does much the same thing. Tap on the Aa that appears next to the web address/URL at the bottom of the screen, as shown in the image below:

Apple’s Safari browser makes it easy to avoid advertisements and pop-ups. Use its built-in reader.

Most Chrome and Firefox browsers have this functionality. If they don’t, you can add it easily with a Chrome extension. Here are a few Chrome extensions with a brief description from their website:

Unpaywall.

Legally get full text of scholarly articles as you browse. When you view a research article, Unpaywall automatically looks for a copy in our index of 20 million free, legal fulltext PDFs.

Reader View.

Strips away clutter like buttons, background images, and changes the page’s text size, contrast and layout for better readability.

Bypass Paywall.

Bypass Paywall is a browser extension that allows you to read content that is behind a paywall on websites or blogs, etc.

Clear This Page.

This service takes any web article or news page and returns only the relevant content, freeing you from any clutter, including ads, paywalls, article limits, pop-ups, and more.

Let Me Read That Article.

Here’s an extension that will intercept those annoying popups and let you read that article.

These are only a few of the available extensions. Start at the top of the list and find the one that best meets your needs.

Approach #2: URL Shorteners to the Rescue

Here’s a hot tip since we’re discussing browser-based avoidance of advertisements: Website address (a.k.a. Uniform Resource Locators or URLs for short) shorteners also can help you avoid ads. This approach, introduced to me by Jennifer Bergland, involves copying a web URL and pasting the URL into a shortening service like TinyURL.com (others may prefer Bit.ly). The resulting short address is pasted into a website annotation tool.

For example, let’s say you wanted to get an easy-to-read version of “Five History Walks for Teaching Texas History,” a phenomenal article in TCEA’s TechNotes blog. But it has embedded videos, sidebar advertisements, and a pop-up email subscription request. Let’s follow Jennifer’s steps.

Step 1 – Copy the Website address.

Highlight the website address at the top of the page, and press Ctrl-C (Command C on a Mac) to copy it. Or right-click on the address and copy it, as shown below.

Step 2 – Shorten Address with a URL Shortener

Go to TinyURL.com and paste in the address. Then you’ll get a shortened address or a “tiny URL.”

In this case, the result was https://tinyurl.com/5n8mne86.

TIP: What’s amazing is that you can use a Chrome extension for TinyURL or Bit.ly without going to their websites. The Chrome extension will copy the shortened address into your device’s digital clipboard.

Once you have the shortened URL, you’re ready for Step 3.

Step 3 – Go to Your Annotation Tool

With your shortened URL in hand, you’re ready to go to a website. This step makes it a simple matter to annotate an article or website. There are other web-based annotation tools. In this example, I am relying on the Reader extension:

When you click on the Reader view, you will get a reader-friendly version of the article. It will be available sans advertisements and annoying content. With an account, you can create highlights of text or annotations.

Another approach is to rely on a website like 12ft Ladder. It suggests this use for itself:

Prepend 12ft.io/ to the URL of any paywalled page, and we’ll try our best to remove the paywall and get you access to the article.
Source: https://12ft.io/

Approach #3: Flipboard App

The third approach you can take to reading ad-rich content with pop-ups is through mobile apps. One popular app is the Flipboard app.

Tap on the Reader view, and you get a nice view!

Approach #4: Archive.is

A fourth approach that is reported to work? Archive.is website. Simply paste in the website you want, and it will create a version of the content you can view. You can also get a web browser extension (e.g. Chrome or Firefox).

Consider the Law

Worried that these approaches may have you breaking the law? The truth is, you will have to make a determination on a case-by-case basis. Only you know if you are using these approaches to bypass paywalls for content you haven’t paid for. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides some guidance. It prohibits circumventing technological means of control. These means of control restrict access to copyrighted work (source).

No More Advertisements

Want to avoid advertisements altogether? It’s difficult to imagine a web that isn’t advertiser paid. But you can take more forceful action against distracting ads and pop-ups. You may have to add AdBlock Chrome extension, for example, or rely on a security-conscious browser like Brave. Give these solutions a try next time you want distraction-free articles.

Bonus: Five Digital Tools for Note-Taking and Outlining

March 21, 2022 0 comment

Chromebooks Educational Research Good Teaching

Digital Notes: Three Steps for Video Annotation

by Miguel Guhlin January 31, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Need a quick way to annotate YouTube videos? Then look no further than LunaNotes, a new Chrome extension now available. Come along with me as we take a quick look at this YouTube video note composer.

First, though, let’s take a look at why it’s important to add notes to video. It can have a powerful impact on student learning.

View or Get a Copy of the Google Slides version

Notetaking Makes a Difference

You may be familiar with a Surface Learning, evidence-based instructional strategy. This strategy is notetaking and enjoys an effect size of 0.51. Learning how to take notes yields the following benefits:

Increased engagement
More generative learning
Greater self-efficacy

To take full advantage of notetaking, students have to learn the skills involved in taking good notes. This means that note-takers engage in an active process to work through material. Also important is making connections or relating it to their existing knowledge (source).

An Active Process

You may ask, “What does an active process of notetaking entail?” It is not transcribing verbatim. In other words, just having students copy notes that the teacher created is not effective. Instead, students must paraphrase and summarize what they are learning, whether it is from the teacher, a resources like a textbook or website, or each other. These processes stimulate “deeper semantic processing,” and result in generative notetaking.

Generative notetaking pertains to “summarizing, paraphrasing, concept mapping.” Nongenerative notetaking involves copying something verbatim (source).

As students take notes, it’s important that they put what they see and hear in their own words. That is, paraphrase and summarize concepts. This means a three-step approach may be useful when considering digital notetaking.

Digital Notetaking: A Three-Step Process

When employing digital notetaking tools, you want to discourage verbatim transcription of information. Instead, encourage students to do the following:

Step 1: Take notes with paper and pencil.

The benefit of watching a video on the computer and taking notes by hand can stimulate learning as the deeper semantic processing gets the long-term retention results.

Step 2: Type up notes using LunaNotes.

Once you have jotted notes down on paper, review them. Type them up in LunaNotes as you watch the video a second time. Again, the goal is to revisit your notes over time to take advantage of spaced vs massed practice effect.

Step 3: Create a quiz on what you viewed.

Take advantage of the practice testing (a.k.a. retrieval practice) strategy. Create a quiz using one of the many tools available, such as Blooket, Vimboard, Podsie, or Knowt. For example, with Knowt, you can copy-and-paste your LunaNotes into it. Knowt will then create a quiz for you or your students.

Ready to see what LunaNotes can do?

Introducing LunaNotes

With a Chrome or Chromium browser (works fine in Microsoft Edge), get the browser extension. Other compatible browsers include Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi.

You can learn more about LunaNotes online at their website. They offer a short minute and a half video you can watch.

Features make it easy to do the following:

Add annotations to any YouTube video
Add colors, lists, bold, and other styles
Take screenshots of the video and draw on it

Your notes get saved to the cloud, so no need to worry if they disappear.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author

January 31, 2022 0 comment

Web 2.0 Tool

Sketchpad, the Free and Easy Draw and Paint Tool

by Miguel Guhlin January 27, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Are you a gifted artist? Or more a wannabe like me? Often when I stare at a blank canvas, it evokes a happy face or stick figures. In a flash, I imagine myself painting a Rembrandt or Picasso, then remember I don’t have a clue how. That’s where tools like Sketch.io come to the rescue.

What Is Sketchpad?

Sketchpad is a drawing, photo-editing tool that you can use to paint or enhance images. It has a wealth of built-in features you can explore and play with to create detailed line art. Visit the Sketch.io main site, and you get a multi-lingual option. That’s right, you can use this tool in your native language.

In addition to working in multiple languages, Sketchpad is a beautiful drawing and paint tool. It makes combining images and text easy and fun.

How Does Sketchpad Work?

Sketch.io offers Sketchpad. As the name implies, there are an unlimited number of blank pages that you can fill with endless color. Billing itself as a digital makerspace, you can use it for free online. If you want to use it as an app on your Windows device, Sketchpad Premium will cost you $4.99. More on that in a moment.

This tool includes layers, clipart, and more. Spend a few minutes exploring, and you’ll be creating masterpieces like this one:

What’s more, you can export your creations in a variety of formats, such as JPG, PNG, PDF, and SVG. You can also grab a region of the screen and print or share your creation with a link. Adding images is a cinch, and you can have a fun design put together fast. Since it’s browser-friendly, Chromebook users will love this web editor.

What Comes in Sketchpad Premium?

The Sketchpad Premium version offers the following to assist your creativity:

18 brushes, including high quality stamps, line, and path tools to trace images
5,000+ images, including open source and vector images that you can use for professional and commercial work
The ability to add your own vector or raster images by dragging and dropping
14 shapes that you can customize and add colors, gradients, and patterns to
Coloring inside of shapes
More than 800 fonts from Google’s font library. You can add fill and outline options to fonts with colors, gradients, and patterns.

If you are on a Windows computer, you may find getting the application worthwhile.

So What?

Sketchpad makes it easy to draw free hand or do amazing things with fonts and images. The fact that you can layer content and add stamps to the collection from your own images makes Sketchpad a winner. This is quite a powerful tool available for free to staff and students. What’s more, students don’t have to create an account to login; they can just start working right away.

dice — **Another Sketchpad example**. Be sure to read the blog entry it goes with.

Give Sketchpad a swipe and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this Sketchpad creation featuring a quote from Bertrand Russell:

"There are two motives for reading a book; one that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it."

January 27, 2022 0 comment

Web 2.0 Tool

Shape Word Clouds Made Easy

by Miguel Guhlin January 19, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Need a nice cover for a student anthology of writing? Why not drop a custom shape word cloud on the cover? When I graduated from Abydos writing program one summer, the cover of the anthology was a word cloud. Making word clouds has gotten so easy since then, many forget how much fun they are. While word clouds, like the one below, are entertaining, shape word clouds provide even more fun. What’s more, you can also use word clouds tools to enhance Bitmoji. So much fun! Come along as we explore these.

Screenshot by author. Created with MonkeyLearn’s WordCloud Generator (requires free account)

Word clouds suffered a bit of a hit when Adobe Flash expired. Some even looked a bit boring, as mentioned in this blog entry. But many have bounced back, and others have emerged. Allow me to share a few with you in this blog entry.

Screenshot by author. Image Credit: WordArt

Shape Clouds

Word clouds constrained to a shape engage the eye in a way words never can. You learn to see the expression of words in the shape, similar to a haiku or acrostic poem. For fun, I created this in anticipation of the holiday season:

As you can see below, the interface is straightforward. You need not create an account unless you want to do something more. such as saving your creation or ordering a poster, mug, t-shirt, or other product. That creation will feature your shape word cloud on it.

The interface allows you to modify shapes from a variety of clip art images.

Lots of fonts are available, too:

Cloud Maker #1: WordClouds.com

This impressive word cloud generator works on a variety of devices such as your computer, tablet, and/or smartphone. You have the option of typing in words, uploading a document, or providing a web address. You can pick a shape, select colors and fonts, and control how WordClouds generates the cloud.

Artists will especially appreciate this feature. You can draw your own image with a transparent background, then upload it to WordClouds. One feature I found wonderful includes themes so you can change colors for the entire word cloud. You can also use custom shapes, such as for a country or state maps. Give this versatile tool a whirl.

Leo’s Dream via Willow5

Cloud Maker #2: WordArt.com

This may be my favorite on the list. I had lots of fun making shape word clouds. WordArt features a gallery full of great ideas for your shape clouds. For example, this creation from Willow5 takes a pencil shape into wall art:

This word art tool has a simple interface, allowing you to customize each word. You can adjust size, color, angle, and font for every word that appears.

WordArt also offers a wide variety of images and includes the option for you to add some of your own.

Cloud Maker #3: Tagxedo

A go-to word cloud generator for many, Tagxedo has a few features to offer. Unfortunately, it’s starting to show its age. As a result, it’s become incompatible or unusable with Chromebooks and smartphones. That aside, Tagxedo offers some great suggestions for creative uses of word clouds.

Be sure to visit the Tagxedo Gallery for more ideas.

One drawback to Tagxedo? You will need to install Silverlight on your Windows or Macintosh computer. You may also need to use Firefox browser.

As a no-frills word cloud generator, you may also want to check out Word Wanderer. In this TCEA blog entry, Word Wanderer offers simple word cloud goodness.

But Wait, There’s More! Wordmoji Magic

Whether you call it “wordmoji,” “shapemoji,” or “shape art,” you can combine two fun tools. The tools are WordArt and Bitmoji. Here are two examples featuring two TCEA staff, Peggy Reimers and Emily Hopkins.

Emily Hopkins at TCEA:

This Bitmoji had a transparent background.

Peggy Reimers at TCEA:

This is an image that has a non-transparent background. This allows you to get MORE words into your creation.

Aren’t those amazing? Let’s see how to make them.

How To Make Shape Art or “Wordmojis”

How do you make these? Oh, it’s so easy. You can right-click and save your Bitmoji to your device, then add it as a shape in WordArt.com. Or, save the Bitmoji on your phone, then add it as a shape in WordArt.com.

Please find a quick step by step below.

Step 1 – Open WordArt and Navigate to Shape bar

If the image has extra content that Bitmoji includes in its creations, remove it. You can use an online tool like Remove.bg to get rid of dark backgrounds and erase extraneous content. Or, use Kleki.com to remove content. Learn more about this.

Step 2 – Bitmoji added as a shape in WordArt.com

Step 3 – Screenshot or Capture Image

One of my favorite screen capture tools, that works in your browser (e.g. add-on) or your device (e.g. Mac, Window)? Lightshot. It’s a great all purpose tool, and you can even use it to annotate images.

Classroom Applications

There are a wide variety of classroom applications. Here are two quick ideas.

Acrostic Shape Art

You can use this “shape art” for kids to make an acrostic poem. You can brainstorm lists of words in class or rely on a Thesaurus. Here’s one I made using the “smile” Bitmoji for my own name, Miguel:. Each first letter links to more words that start with that letter. And, I tried to make my adjectives aspirational, capturing my hope for a better me.

Please note I spent about two minutes on this, but your students will want to spend more time. Each word choice is an opportunity to expand their vocabulary.

Magnanimous

Intense

Gustatory

Upbeat

Effervescent

Lucid

You can also make the background image stand out…use the background image slider to bring the image into focus.

Here’s what that looks like full-size:

Science Connector

Want to make a science connection? Find a concept you would like to explain. Then, combine your Bitmoji with that item. Here’s one that takes the Scientific Method in that direction.

Although I left it blank, you can drop an exhortation to use The Scientific Method in the speech bubble. See original image.

As you can see there are many applications. Have fun!

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author.

January 19, 2022 3 comments

Chromebooks Google Tips and Tricks

Google’s Note-Taking Tool: Cursive

by Miguel Guhlin November 13, 2021

written by Miguel Guhlin

Do you and your students have a touch-friendly Chromebook device? Then you’ll want to take advantage of a new, web-based note-taking tool. Cursive makes it easy to take handwritten notes and edit them with simple gestures. In this blog entry, we will explore several ways Cursive works.

Wait, Is This Only for Chromebooks?

Worried that Cursive only works on Chromebooks? Don’t be. This web app works fine on other devices in a Chrome or Chromium-based browser.

A Visual Tour

When you visit the Cursive website, you will have the option to complete a visual tour that these components:

Scribble over existing content you would like to remove, then tap to delete it.
Draw a circle to select content, then drag the circle to move content.
To insert space between lines, draw a line then drag line down.
Select content to copy, then press and hold to paste it.

Cursive

Once you are into Cursive, you have a blank canvas to begin taking notes. If you are not on a Chromebook, you can use a tablet (e.g. Wacom Intuos). To be honest, I did find installing the app a bit of a challenge.

Did You Know?

Researchers have found that taking notes by hand involves “cognitive engagement in summarizing, paraphrasing, organizing, concept, and vocabulary mapping” (source). This manipulation and transformation of information leads to deeper understanding and retention. Read more about note-taking strategies that work.

Installing the App

“How hard can it be to install a progressive web app like Cursive?” If you’re like me, you may have missed the visible cues on the screen. For example, below is what happens when you first visit the Cursive app website. Note that you have to look for a specific icon to install the app. I found the icon was different on a Chrome browser than it was on Microsoft Edge browser (Chromium-based).

Chrome browser install icon for Cursive app:

Cursive

Microsoft Edge browser install icon for Cursive app:

Cursive

Once you select the install icon, you can make some more adjustments to options:

Cursive

I had to close out the Cursive Notebook window and launch it from my desktop icon. I was then able to create my own notebook for my notes:

Cursive

Without a touch screen Chromebook, I didn’t get too far with Cursive. On a Chromebook with a mouse, you only get so far as well.

A OneNote Competitor?

When I started up Cursive, I had hoped for a Microsoft OneNote competitor. In time, it may become that. For now, it reminds me of Jamboard’s early days: a few bare-bones features with little to commend it.

Cursive

That aside, it’s obvious that if Google spends a bit more time on the tool, it could have a Microsoft OneNote competitor at last. A few things I noticed include:

Notebooks sync with the Google account you log in with.
You can organize notes into notebooks.
Adding images is easy and you can write on top of them.

Areas for improvement:

Make this at least as good as Google Keep.
Add text boxes so typing is an option, not handwriting alone.
Make it easy to export Notebooks and Notes as series of images and/or PDFs.
Add shape drawing support.
Make Notebook access collaborative.

These are obvious suggestions and I suspect Google is working on them already. So even if you don’t want to use Cursive now, keep an eye out for when the improvements happen.

Cursive

Image Credit: 9to5google.com

November 13, 2021 1 comment

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