What Can You do on a Chromebook?

Why the Chromebook? Time, Age, Location, and Platform Agnostic Learning

There are millions of web resources you can access on any web-based device, but here are a few suggestions for web apps that you can find either in the Google Chrome Web Store or on the web.  These work on the Chrome browser on a desktop or laptop and on Chromebooks.  

I want kids to . . .	. . . and on Chromebooks or using Chrome, they could use . . .	Link to Resource
create a document		GoogleDocs
create a presentation		GooglePresentation Prezi  Haiku Deck  ThingLink MoveNote
create a spreadsheet		GoogleSpreadsheets
create an audio response or presentation		VoiceThread Schoology
create a webcam video recording of themselves		VoiceThread WeVideo
take pictures		Chromebook camera app (built into Chrome OS) Webcam Toy
create and edit a movie		WeVideo Animoto
create a digital publication		LucidPress Canva
create a graphic/drawing		GoogleDrawings SumoPaint SketchPad Pixlr Editor
create a comic on the web	MakeBeliefs ComicMaster Chogger ComicCreator
create a Thinking Map		GoogleDrawings LucidChart Cacoo
use a graphing calculator		Desmos Graphic Calculator
interact w/ digital geometry		Geogebra Robocompass
learn about astronomy		3D Solar System Planetarium
create 2D & 3D graphics		3D design publisher Build with Chrome Lego Builder
practice keyboarding		TypingClub Typing Web Typing Tutor
use speech to text		Dictation Speech Recognizer GoogleSearch
use a digital whiteboard		RealtimeBoard Simple Whiteboard
access & read eBooks		GoogleBooks Kindle Cloud Reader Open Library Book Search
access online textbook content		Open Educational Resources Commons CK12.org
create online notes		Google Keep Evernote
create & interact with maps		GoogleMaps ScribbleMaps ArcGIS Online
build/interact with vocabulary		Vocabulary/Spelling City InstaGrok Search Engine Quizlet

In addition to all of the things you can do on a Chromebook, there are some great extensions for Chrome that students & teachers can use to “extend” what they can do on the browser itself.  Here are a few of our faves:

Extension	Icon	Added Functionality
Readability		No account required; gets rid of the “extra” stuff on a website that can be distracting and just gives you the text.
Read&Write for Google		Free version adds read aloud functionality to websites and GoogleDocs and highlights each word as it reads. Also has a translator function.
Auto Text Expander for Chrome		Provides a way to set keyboard shortcuts for frequently used phrases in Chrome. (Helpful for younger students w/ long school email addresses.)
Notable PDF		Lets you annotate and highlight PDFs; integrates with Google Drive; also allows you to share a marked up PDF via link
Scrible Toolbar		Online highlighting & annotation tool for web-based text. Account required for saving annotations (Google account option).
Turn off the Lights		Hides (by dimming) anything except the video window in YouTube or other video sites. Helpful for making comments, related videos, and other content invisible.
SnagIt		A screen capturing tool, this lets you grab screen caps & animated GIFs. Also lets you do screencasting with narration. Integrates with Google Drive.
AdBlock		Effectively blocks ads on websites. Great to “push” onto student profiles to keep the ads away from kids.
GoogleCast		If you’re using Chromecast, this is a must-have.  This lets you cast your Chrome tabs to Chromecast for projection.
Google Tone		Want to send a link to computers near you? If Google Tone is installed (on your browser and theirs), use this to “send” the link.

Originally from Cherry Creek Schools’ Office of Instructional Technology (+Kellie Ady-CCSD, @kellie80); additional contributions welcome by contacting Kellie Ady & requesting editing access