By now, I think we can all agree on how stressful and difficult online learning can be. Passively staring at a computer screen for hours on end has become such a normal reality for me that sometimes I forget what it’s like to sit in a classroom surrounded by all the noises of my peers chattering and clicking away on their keyboards. There’s only so much we can do to alleviate the challenges and annoyances that come with online school, but there are some things to combat them.
Here are five Google Chrome extensions to help make online learning a little easier.
- Weava
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If you’re the type of person who loves making notes or highlighting all over the text you read, this extension is perfect for you. Weava allows you to highlight any online text you read―whether it’s on a website or in a PDF form, and you can choose from 5 different colors (yellow, green, pink, orange, and blue). It also allows you the option to organize all your different highlights into different folders (I do this by class), so you can easily return to any of your highlighted text whenever you want!
- Marinara: Pomodoro Assistant
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This browser extension is based on the “Pomodoro method,” where you repeatedly alternate between working for a certain amount of time (typically 25 minutes), and a 5-minute break. It’s a proven technique that helps combat poor time management, and now it’s been developed into a handy little extension. What’s nice about this extension is it gives you a ton of customization options with the ringer sounds and how long your working sessions and breaks are. You also have the ability to see your productivity over time with how many Pomodoro sessions you completed.
- Dualless
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Ever since I discovered Daulless, it’s honestly been a life changer. You know that annoying frustration that comes with constantly having to switch between two different tabs all the time? This extension eliminates this annoyance by manually doing putting two different tabs next to each other itself. Not only that, but you have the option to choose from different sizes on how you want the tabs to be displayed, so you never have to try to resize the 2 tabs yourself.
- Dark Reader
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One of the biggest things I’ve struggled with when it comes to online school is how tired my eyes feel at the end of the day―especially when it comes to completing assignments on my laptop late at night. I found that Dark Reader helps combat this because it allows you to change any webpage you’re on into “dark mode,” so the light is less harsh on your eyes at night. You can also change the brightness and contrast of the dark mode in the settings as well.
- Momentum
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At first glance, Momentum may seem like it’s an extension for aesthetic purposes only but it actually has a ton of practical purposes to it. Momentum is basically an extension that configures your Google Chrome homepage and displays a quote, photo, weather, and time. In addition to these features, you can also create a to-do list on the side so you never forget to do anything for your online classes.
It’s astonishing how many Google Chrome extensions there are. No matter what you may be using your computer for, there’s a Chrome extension out there that will provide what you need for a better user experience! These extensions not only work in a school setting but also in a professional setting. I know I’ll definitely be using these extensions in the workplace.
Happy learning!