Installing and using the Google Translate extension

If you're dealing with online Hebrew texts and get stuck on a word, the Google Translate extension can help. It is far from perfect, and really can't deal with prefixes and suffixes well, but it can give you an idea of what the word means (at least its root if not its full form).

Go to the Chrome store and install the extension. (Click here for link.)

Once installed, go to your extensions

Then click the 3 dots next to Google Translate and click Options

And then choose Immediately display pop-up, and click Save.

When you double-click on a word now, Google Translate will try to detect the language (sometimes it thinks it's Yiddish) and translate. Verbs are almost never fully correct.

"Bring" is correct, but the proper translation is "that he should bring."

But here, Google Translate is more off-base.

In this context, הותרה means "loosened" or "untied" in the sense of being let off the leash to run wild.

And here it is waaaay off

The proper translation is "and take out" or "remove."

So beware. It can give you a sense of the word if you have no idea, but don't rely on it too much.

Link to Text Fragment extension

Google has a great new extension.

Did you ever have to direct students to a specific place within a long web document?

Link to Text Fragment is simple to use.

Highlight some text (more than a couple of words) and right-click. The extension will appear as one of your choices.

Click and it will copy a link to your clipboard that will direct students to the specific spot on the site.

Get Link to Text Fragment at the Chrome store 

Hebrew Vowels (Niqud) for Google Docs on Chromebooks

I have figured out how to insert vowels into Google Docs on a Chromebook. If this is documented fully anywhere, I haven't found it. Wikipedia is blank on this.

This is for Chromebooks and some newer PCs. It does not work on older PCs. (For Niqud in Windows, see this post.)

If you need a refresher on setting up Hebrew in Google Docs / on a Chromebook, see my post here.

The key (pun fully intended) to doing this is the Alt Graph key, often abbreviated AltGr. Don't panic. You do so have one. It's the Alt Key to the right of the spacebar.

When you are in Hebrew on a Chromebook (Ctrl + Spacebar to switch back and forth), position the cursor after the letter under/over which you wish to insert a vowel. Hold the AltGr (again, the Alt Key to the right of the spacebar) plus the following keys to insert niqqud.

(There's kind of a mnemonic to it - for many of the basic vowels, the key is the Hebrew letter that begins the name of the vowel. So [AltGR +] the ח'‏ key (J) for חירק; the צ'‏ (M) for צירה, the ד'‏ for דגש; the ש'‏ for שוא. The תנועות חטופות are immediately to the right of their counterparts. So פ'‏ (P) for פתח and the [ key for חטף פתח; the ק'‏ (E) for קמץ and the ר'‏ (R) for חטף קמץ; and the ס'‏ (X) for סגול and the ב'‏ (C) for חטף סגול.  The ו'‏‏ (U) is also the dot for the חולם. The backslash \ looks like a קבוץ, I guess.
Since the A is the ש'‏ key, the key to its upper right (W) puts the dot for the shin, and the  key to its upper left (Q) puts the dot for the sin.)

Key Combo	Vowel / Symbol
AltGr + E (ק)	קמץ
AltGr + R (רׂׂ)	חטף קמץ
AltGr + P (פ)	פתח
AltGr + [	חטף פתח
AltGr + X (ס)	סגול
AltGr + C (ב)	חטף סגול
AltGr + U (ו)	חולם dot
AltGr + J (ח)	חירק
AltGr + M (צ)	צירה
AltGr + S (ד)	דגש (also the dot for שורק)
AltGr + A (ש)	שוא
AltGr + \	קבוץ
AltGr + W	dot for שִׁין
AltGr + Q	dot for שִׂין
AltGr + 7	מתג
AltGr + -	מקף
AltGr + ‘/”	גרשים a/k/a tzupchik -  רש״י
AltGr + `/~	ר׳ - גרש
AltGr + ;	Bottom of the line quote mark - „
AltGr +	Quote mark proper direction - ”
AltGr + 4	₪ New Israeli Shekel NIS
AltGr + ]	רפה mark - רֿ
Niqqud for Chromebooks  © Jeff Kuperman 2020

Downloadable copy can  be accessed here.

Line Numbers for Google Docs now works for Right-to-Left docs as well

One of the things that kept me using Microsoft Word is the line number feature. When teaching texts to students, it helps to be able to direct them to the right line easily.

The useful Google Docs extension Line Numbers for Google Docs adds line numbers along the left side of the page. But what if your document is a Right-to-left document, like Hebrew or Arabic?

Thanks to extension designer Pablo Gamito, the extension now easily handles such documents. (I e-mailed him on Friday and he updated the extension the very next day!)

EDIT: Two caveats - the numbers do not appear in a shared document (although there's nothing stopping the recipient from installing and utilizing the extension herself) and they are not retained if you use Download as pdf, although if you use Print to pdf, they are preserved. This has dampened my enthusiasm somewhat.

Install the extension from the Chrome Store. Once in a Google Doc, click the extension and choose how many lines (every one, every five, etc.) you want numbered.

Click on "Show More Options"

There are many ways to customize the numbering, as you can see. Choose the last item to have the numbers appear on the right.

If the numbers don't appear immediately, click Reload Google Docs Page. And voila!

If this is useful, be sure to give the extension a positive rating on the Chrome Store. And if your corporate / school account is like ours and won't let you log in to the Chrome Store even if you can download extensions, log in under your personal account and give the designer the thanks he deserves.

Sir Links-a-Lot Chrome extension

Here's a handy extension that can change your Google Doc's sharing setting from "Anyone with a link can edit / view" to forcing anyone with the link to make a copy.

Why would you want to do that?

I use it all the time to send out a Google Doc when I want every student to have his/her own copy to edit, highlight, take notes on, etc. but not as a class.

It can be found in the Chrome store here.

When installed, it looks like this when you click it while you have a Google Doc open.

Click Force copy and it with change the "edit" in the link to "copy.

Then share this new link with your class.

There are other functions available; I have found this one to be the most useful.

You can also do this manually, without the extension. Directions here.

Mute tab in Chrome

Want to stop music or sound from a side-panel video from playing on Chrome?

Type (and by type, I mean copy and paste) the following in your address bar:

chrome://flags/#enable-tab-audio-muting
and then hit Enter.

Choose to enable the feature.

Now when something starts playing just click the little speaker icon in the tab, and it will mute whatever is playing on that webpage.

CheckMark Extension adds years to your life

[UPDATE: The new Comment Bank feature in Classroom makes this extension obsolete.]

Well, maybe not years, but I probably just saved over an hour of typing the same comments on 40 tests. It adds up.

CheckMark is an extension that lets you add customized comments (or canned comments if you teach English Composition on the grade level it's aimed at) on Google Docs at the click of a button. They can be as long as you need, and can include multiple languages, symbols or anything else you can put in a Google Docs comment (i.e. no special formatting).

Go the Chrome Store and get CheckMark

When you install it, it will appear in your Chrome Menu in the upper-right hand corner.

If the first time you click it it does not say Enabled, enable the extension.

At first it will present you with a list of canned comments for English Comp. If they work for you, enjoy. If they do not, you can delete every single one by clicking the red X.

Here's where it gets useful. Let's say you start grading and soon realize that several students have made the same mistake. Do you want to type "I think you confused Jefferson Davis and Thomas Jefferson" on 40 Google Docs? I didn't think so.

So let's go:

Click on the Extension, and then on the Preview Edit Pencil.

Click on the green + sign. Give your comment a 3-4 letter abbreviation so that you can readily identify it, and type (or paste) the comment you're going to be re-using. Click Apply.

I, by the way, ended up with about 11 "stock" comments for this particular test.

Back in Google Docs, when you come to one of those answers...

 Highlight a word in the answer, and the CheckMark bar will appear translucently above the line.

If you hover your cursor over the little blue box it will get darker and he comment will appear in a hover text box, just to be sure you're choosing the correct response.

 Click the blue box and CheckMark will automatically enter the pre-selected comment into Google Docs comments and close the comment box.

Downsides: If you're moving among different assignments, and you don't need CheckMark for one class, (mine were VERY test-specific) the only way to silence it is to [click the 3 square dots at the top-right of your Chrome browser] go into More tools, Extensions, and temporarily disable the extension.
Also, I have had limited success with it fully syncing between computer, and have gone home and not found all of my added comments available.
But I suspect these will get ironed out in future iterations.

I still think it is a fantastic addition to my Google Docs tool case.

Get the Google Apps you need directly from your Chrome Menu

As a teacher in a G Suites school, I use Google Apps (Docs, Forms, Drawings, etc.) all the time. And I need fast access to them if I'm going to get anything done.

The following two Chrome extensions, used in conjunction, make my life so much easier. Let me make your life easier, too.

Part One:

The first extension is App Launcher Customizer for Google™ .

Install it, and you can customize the App Launcher that appears on any Google App page in the upper right-hand corner. (It looks like a 3x3 grid of blocks.)



Click on the extension in your Chrome Menu and you'll see this screen.

Just drag all the apps you use into the "My services" window, and all the one that you DON'T want out of the "My services" window back into the "Available" window.

There are an AWFUL LOT of Available apps! Use the Search feature to find the ones you're looking for.

I personally like to keep my App Launcher window clean, so I ruthlessly limit it to 12 icons. Any time a new one comes in, an old one goes out, but you can cram it as full of apps as you wish.

Part Two:

The second extension is App Launcher in popup

After installing this, it will put the app launcher icon directly on your Chrome Menu.

The biggest advantage is now I don't have to be on a Google-related page to access the App Launcher, and now I have access to the apps I need on a daily basis, and only those apps, from anywhere in Chrome.

Supercharge your Google Apps with Add-ons and Chrome with Extensions

ICYMI - From today's Mimi Charnoff Professional Development Day, my list of my go-to Add-ons for Google Apps (Docs, Forms, Slides) and my favorites extensions for Chrome.

REMINDER: Extensions only work in Chrome on a Chromebook, a PC or a Mac. They do NOT work on Chrome on a phone or tablet (iPad, etc.) as they are not true Chrome browsers.

Google Doc Add-ons
Change Case	For those typing mistakes - ALL CAPS all gone
Extensis Fonts	Find precisely the right font
Kaizena	Add voice comments to a shared doc thru Google Classroom
Highlight Tool	Share labeled highlighter categories
Sefaria	Add Jewish texts directly to docs
In an open Google Doc, go to Add-ons.

Google Form Add-ons
123RF Stock Photos	Free photos to insert into Forms
All Questions Required?	For Quizzes - Click when finished
CheckItOut	For keeping track of inventory
Form Publisher	Convert to Doc, Slide, Sheet
Form Limiter	Limit time or number of responses
PaperScorer	Create bubble sheet from form - scan w/ phone to score

Google Slides Add-Ons - NEW!
AdobeStock	Free photos to insert into Slides
ShutterStock
Unsplash Photos
Pear Deck	Create formative assessments and interactive slides
Slides Toolbox	One-click for repeated tasks

Supercharge Chrome with Extensions
Office Editing for Docs, Sheets and Slides	Edit Microsoft Office files with converting to Docs, etc.
Save to Pocket	Save articles to read later
AdBlock	Blocks ads online
Convert web page Adobe PDF	Does what it says
Share to Classroom	Post or push site to Google Classroom
Send from Gmail	Click and e-mail webpage
Google Keep Extension	Save directly to Keep
Mercury Reader	Declutters distracting pages
Readability Redux	Declutter and open multi-page articles
ShoutKey	Create a temp, real-word URL shortcut
Empty New Tab Page	New tabs open blank
Google Dictionary	Double-click on a word for its definition
OneTab	Turn all your tabs into 1 link page
Google Input Tool	Translate, transliterate into other languages
G Suite Training	On-screen tutorials within Google Apps
Accent Grid	If you need to insert foreign accents
Alice Keeler Gradebook Split	Opens Rediker in parallel window from Classroom
Drive20	Opens up to 20 docs in separate tabs