7 Good Docs Add-ons Ideal for Teachers

Google Docs is a popular tool among teachers and students and several of you use it in their daily instruction. It offers a number of interesting features that allow users to easily create and share documents. It also supports collaborative team work and enables users to collectively work on the same document, exchange feedback and edit each other’s work in real-time. There are tons of other important features that make Google Docs a must have tool in your instructional digital toolkit. We have covered several of them in previous posts here in EdTech and mLearning. Today, we want to draw your attention to the functionalities that are not supported by Google Docs but that can be easily added to it using add-ons.

Google Docs add-ons are third party applications that you install on Google Docs to empower it with extra functionalities. Add-ons store can be accessed from your Google Docs by clicking on ‘Add-ons’ in the top menu and selecting ‘Get add-ons’. Add-ons are organized into five main categories:  Education, Productivity, Utilities, Business tools, Social and Communication. You can also use the search box on top left-hand side of the page to search for specific titles. However, what you should keep in mind is that unless the add-on provides a functionality that is not actually provided by Google Docs then no need to install it. As you will see in the store, several add-ons there are just a waste of time.

That being said, we have curated for you this list comprising what we think are some very good add-ons to try out in your Google Docs. These are add-ons we have ourselves tried and are content with their overall functionalities. We invite you to check them out and share with your colleagues.

1- EasyBib Bibliography Creator
An easy way to create citations and bibliography lists. It supports different formats including MLA, APA, and Harvard.

2- Kaizena
A great add-on to use to provide audio feedback on students work. Simply highlight and record your voice comments.

3- Lucidchart Diagrams
Create and insert mind maps, diagrams, flowcharts right into your Google Doc.

4- Speech Recognition SoundWriter
A speech-to-text add-on that lets you voice type your Google Docs documents. This one is better than the Docs built-in voice type feature.

5- Template Gallery
Provides you access to a wide variety of professionally designed document and spreadsheet templates.

6- Table of contents
It ‘automatically creates table of contents in the sidebar that can be clicked through, for easy document navigation.’

7- Easy Accents
Easily add accents for different languages right into your Google Docs document.
 
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