Google has infused itself within education by offering a ton of web services that make it easy to create and lookup content within your web browser. But, if you are like me, sometimes you discover a great Google service only to forget to use it to its full potential. As great as all the Google services are, navigating about Google is not one of its strongpoints.
Wouldn’t it be great to easily navigate to the Google service directly without having to click numerous times to finally get to the where you want to go. Enter Google Shortcuts, an extension that works on both Firefox and Chrome browsers. Both platforms are good, but I actually prefer the Chrome version so I’ll illustrate its power with the Chrome extension.
After installing the extension, you will find the extension icon in the normal Chrome extension area:
I have populated the list with the services I think I might use the most. It comes with a default set of services and all you have to do is click on the Options icon, which is by default the last icon in the list as seen above. Once you click on Options, you can populate your services any way you like:
After you’ve completed the options to your taste you’re all set to go. Click on the extension icon and click on the shortcut! You’re right there!
Some of my favorites are:
- Gmail this
- Dashboard
- Docs
- Picnik
- Reader
- Docs-New
Another great feature is that you can substitute your Google Apps domain for some of the more common services instead of your personal account.
Finally, Tekzilla released a nice video explaining the extension for Firefox. Take a look at the multimedia box in the upper right hand corner.
Hopefully, this will make navigating Google services a lot easier for everyone!
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