Whether you are a high school student or a University student, you are most likely seeking tools for making your life easier as a student. Education has grown rapidly with the ever-changing advancements in the tech world. whiteboards and screen projectors have been replaced by interactive Smartboards, online classes, and eBooks, and a standard pen and paper have been replaced by phones and high-speed computers.
Today, computer developers constantly add new features, plugins, and extensions to help us access useful, relevant, and personalized data. In fact, developers at Google released an extension-friendly web browser called Google Chrome in 2008. Chrome offers extensions, or browser plug-ins, with unparalleled tools for learning that help to improve one’s productivity, creativity, security, and access to information as a modern student. Here are 10 of the very best Chrome extensions for students in 2020.
1. Grammarly for Chrome.
Grammarly for Chrome is like your personal proofreader which is not only capable of detecting spelling mistakes but also correcting improper grammar. Grammarly works in real-time showing all your errors as you write anything and give suggestions to correct them. Like Google Dictionary, it also provides meanings of words by double-clicking on them, although it works only on English. Grammarly is a godsend whether you are composing a mail to your professor or making your resume, as it corrects all those tiny blunders that might be missed by you and making you look a lot more professional.
Price: Free ($11.66/month billed annually for Premium)
Download: Grammarly for Chrome
2. StayFocusd
Might not be the best looking, nor really fancy Chrome extension, but the best productivity booster that has ever been created. It helps you stay focused on what is important by restricting the amount of time you spend on time-wasting websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and etc. Just Like your parents restricted the time you can spend in front of the TV, this extension takes up the task of limiting the time you can spend on some websites. Once the allotted time is up, the website is blocked for the rest of the day.
Download: StayFocusd for Chrome;
3. FireShot
FireShot is a screen capturing utility like no other available on your machine. It is capable of taking screenshots of webpages on your browser; but, how is it different from your system’s screenshot taking tool? Well, for starters, FireShot captures only the webpage omitting your menu bar and opened tabs, providing a cleaner and more professional looking screenshot. The feature I like the most about FireShot is it can also take an extended screenshot of the webpage, by automatically scrolling till it reaches the end. And not to mention the whole host of options available to which you can convert your screenshot directly or share them directly. I use this app whenever I am taking a screenshot on Chrome and cannot recommend it more.
Download: FireShot for Chrome
4. Evernote Web Clipper
If you are an Evernote user (you are weird if not), then the extension comes as a great companion. Although the main purpose is to read-it-later service that saves articles allowing you to read them later offline, it can be great researching tool as well since it helps you save interesting things you find on the Web into your Evernote account, CLIP any webpage, HIGHLIGHT what matters most, ANNOTATE, take SCREENSHOTS, and have access to that information whenever and wherever you need it.
Download: Evernote for Chrome
5.Memorize
Memorize is another chrome extension that helps you learn new facts by asking a number of preset questions, in random order. You add questions, Set the interval between questions, Click start, and answer questions as they come. You can procrastinate and study, all at the same time.
No limits to what kind of questions you can add, and you can combine various types of topics – you can even learn geometry while brushing up on your Star Wars knowledge (…though that won’t exactly help you pass your exams).
6. Momentum
This is another must-have Chrome extension to enhance your Chrome experience and get more out of it. Momentum is a replacement for the new tab page in Chrome and does so much more. First off, it displays a new beautiful picture every day along with an inspirational quote, to-do lists, reminders, weather report in a customizable dashboard. And the best part is that you do not lose any functionality of the new tab page, as you can also keep your bookmarks and other links in Momentum. While there is a plus version which offers deeper to-do list integration and greater customization, we felt the basic version should be perfect for most students.
Download: Momentum
7.Save to Pocket
Save to Pocket allows you to save articles, Web pages, images and videos for your reading or viewing pleasure. Then it syncs everything across numerous devices, such as your smartphone or tablet. There’s also a Pocket Chrome App for viewing saved content on your desktop.
Download: Save to Pocket
8. Imagus
Imagus is another one of those simple tools you never thought you needed, Enlarge thumbnails, and show images/videos from links with a mouse hover without needing to open each individual image or video in separate tabs to see whether they’re what you’re looking for.
Download: Imagus
9. Honey
Only a student knows how tight money can be during those times at school and college. We decided to include an extension that can potentially save you a lot of money if you tend to shop online. In primitive terms, Honey is a coupon code provider for various online retailers but what makes it smart is that it intelligently applies all of the coupons available on the website and automatically selects the most discounted or best one for you. While outside the US, Honey is more of a hit or miss with most online retailers; but if you are a student in the US and not using Honey, you are losing out on a lot of free savings!
Download: Honey for Chrome
10. Session Buddy
We all have been there when we are researching for a project or studying for a particular topic, and the whole browser gets overwhelmed by all the tabs that are opened and if we want to work on it next day, we have to either open them from history or bookmark them; overall, it’s a hassle. Session Buddy is a simple session manager using which you can save a “session” of your browser, i.e. all the tabs that were open and later open them just by a single click. This extension has saved me time and inconvenience on multiple occasions and is a must-have for any student.
Download: Session buddy
Mercury Reader
Lastly, as a bonus on our list for the techyuzers, is Mercury Reader, an extension that will enhance your reading experience on the web. With just a click [Command + esc], Mercury Reader reformats the page, removing all the intrusive ads and providing you with a smooth reading experience without all the distractions. You also have the option of customizing your reader with text size, fonts, themes and also assigning a shortcut for quicker access to Mercury reader. With Readability being discontinued, Mercury reader is a great alternative, if not better, for your clutter-free reading on the internet.
Download: Mercury for chrome
So this was our list of the best Chrome extensions for students. How many of these do you use daily and did we miss Amy of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
