Ready, Set, Go! Google Chrome, Here I Come!

These first two weeks of school have been busy at the Birchfield homestead! Traveling to soccer tournaments, driving to the high school for early morning soccer practices, cross country meetings, the fall sports kickoff parade, open house at the high school, middle school and my school!  Oh, and did I mention that I teach full time, manage a household and am starting a new online class to complete my master's degree?  Yowza!  So, I finally had a moment to myself to sit down at the computer, read the syllabus and look at the first week's assignments.  First week...create a blog. Ahhhhhh! Sounds fun, but I only read blogs, I don't know anything about creating one!  Oh well, I can only go up from here, right?  And trust me, I have a ways to go!

After I spent some time creating the blog and navigating my way through the many capabilities of Google Chrome, I got to thinking...what makes this browser so great?  To be honest, before today I have never thought too much about web browsers and what they can do for me. You see, I grew up with card catalogs, Encyclopedia Britannica's and microfiche, so any search engine is amazing to me! Well, I have to say, once I started looking at all the apps and tools available, I became a convert. Google Chrome has so many amazing features, like my fave, the OMNIBOX!  Sounds cool doesn't it?  Well, it is.  It's this box along the top of the page that will allow you to type in any keyword and it pops up all kinds of topics to search.   I tried it out with keyword: deciduous forest, because my 5th graders will be researching forest biomes this week. I got all kinds of links to videos, maps, images and articles that will be great for my students!  A feature that is also a part of Chrome is that you can search topics within an article or web page, so that you don't have to skim the whole thing to find what you are looking for! This will be awesome for the slower readers and those who struggle to select the correct information in an article! Another thing I noticed was how FAST the Chrome browser was!  Wowza! Anything that can save this busy momma some time...sign me up!  If you're like me and you have never tried another browser, I highly recommend you check Google Chrome out...RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!  It will save you time and is so easy-peasy to use! Trust me, if I can use it, anyone can! 
Happy Chroming!
-Sarah