The Power of Chrome: Sign in to the Chrome Browser

The Power of Chrome: Sign in to the Chrome Browser

Log into a Chromebook and your whole Google world is at your fingertips. Mail, Drive, bookmarks, and extensions are suddenly a click away, and you never need to enter another password again.

This is part of the magic of Chromebooks, and what makes them so powerful in our schools. Anything that can save clicks can save time and give us more time for teaching and learning. And by helping teachers and students organize their resources with bookmarks and utilize extensions to improve Chrome’s functionality, we improving the efficiency of our technology use.

But many of us aren’t using Chromebooks at home--or even in class--and it’s important to have consistent access to these features. More and more, I’m realized that many don’t know that this feature isn’t just on Chromebooks but on any device with Google Chrome.

On your home PC, Mac or any other computer, you can log in to the Google Chrome browser to sync your Google account to the browser. This will connect your bookmarks, extensions, passwords, and more. With a few clicks, your empty toolbar can look like this:

Now whether you’re at home, at school, or anywhere else, your preferences are consistently accessible. Logging into the Chrome browser is the first thing I do when I turn on a computer. Then, anything and everything I do is saved and synced across all of my devices.

How to Log into the Chrome Browser

First, make sure you have the Chrome desktop browser installed. Find it here if you need it.

Then, before logging into any website, click the Chrome menu--those three vertical dots in the top right corner. From there, follow the steps in the GIF below: settings, sign in, and link accounts.

Once you’re logged into a primary account with the Chrome browser (i.e. the one you want to sync your settings to), you can also add additional accounts through Google Drive or other apps and toggle between them. Find more info from Google here if you’re interested.

When technology can make our lives easier or more efficient, we need to let it. It’s important to model these practices for students, too, and to have them do the same. Logging into the Google Chrome browser is just one powerful way to save clicks, develop consistent routines, and maximize the power of Google in your classroom, schools, and world.

What are your favorite Chrome tips and tricks? Share them in the comments or on Twitter @MrSchoenbart.

cross posted at www.aschoenbart.com

Adam Schoenbart is a high school English teacher, Google Education Trainer, and EdD candidate in Educational Leadership. He teaches grades 10-12 in a 1:1 Chromebook classroom at Ossining High School in Westchester County, NY and received the 2014 LHRIC Teacher Pioneer Award for innovative uses of technology that change teaching and learning. Read more at The SchoenBlog and connect on Twitter @MrSchoenbart.