Sunday, January 10, 2016

The Best Virtual Protractor and Ruler for Chrome

As we continue to move more into digital activities for our students, some things that often stay non-digital are physical manipulatives including rulers and protractors. Certainly there is nothing wrong with using wooden or plastic rulers and protractors (our students do need to know how to use them) but there are also benefits to having online alternatives:

  • They can’t be left at home, or at school, or broken
  • They are easy to turn on and off as needed
  • They work great with online activities and websites (no concern about scratching the screen)
  • Students can't hit each other with digital rulers
  • They are free!

Below you will find information about my favorite virtual ruler and favorite virtual protractor. Both of these require the Chrome web browser, but once you have them open they work on any website. You can watch the short video below to see them being demonstrated and/or read the rest of the blog post below for details.




Edge: The Web Ruler

My choice for the best virtual ruler is Edge: The Web Ruler. This tool is a Chrome Web App that can be installed from the Chrome Web Store at:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/edge-the-web-ruler/njlkegdphefeellhaongiopcfgcinikh

After installing the Web Ruler you can launch it from your Chrome apps screen. This will open up a virtual floating ruler on your screen

  • You can move the ruler around by simply clicking and dragging it.
  • You can make the ruler longer or shorter by dragging the end of the ruler.
  • You can switch between pixels (px), centimeters (cm), or inches (in) for your unit of measurement.
  • You can make the ruler more accurate by entering the diagonal measurement of your actual screen.
  • You can click the gear icon and choose “Always on top” to keep the ruler from falling behind your webpages.
  • You can open another copy of the ruler by clicking on the horizontal or vertical ruler icons.
  • When done using the ruler, click the “x” to close it out.



MB-Ruler for Chrome

My choice for the best virtual protractor is MB-Ruler for Chrome. This tool is a Chrome Web Extension that can be installed from the Chrome Web Store at:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mb-ruler-for-chrome/amljbooecondkehcjahklnjokfohkfnk

After installing MB-Ruler you can launch it from your extension bar in the top right corn of Chrome. Then simply click on the protractor icon to open the virtual floating protractor.

  • You can drag the red dots on the edges of the protractor to rotate the protractor, as well as the change its size as needed.
  • You can drag the red dot at the center of the protractor to move it around the screen.
  • You can also drag the blue dot to drag out a reference line for a more accurate angle measurement.
  • When done using the protractor just click on the same protractor icon you used to open it.


Both of these virtual manipulatives can be very useful for instruction, practice, and inquiry in the classroom. Students can use them to measure and explore angles, as well as measure lengths in both inches and centimeters. This could be used with activities including Google Drawings (measuring shapes and angles), Google Maps (angles of street intersections), online photos (using proportions for indirect measurement), or any website. Best of all they are free, easy to use, and impossible to lose!

If you have a favorite tool for a different virtual ruler, protractor, or other measuring tool, please share in the comment below.

Also, if you found this information useful, you may also like some of my other technology ideas for math including:




13 comments:

  1. Thank you! I am going to add the app and extension to our district "approved" list in the admin panel now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agree with @Pam-- will add for our teachers. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The respective thoughts would possibly influence the mind of the students regarding all those concerns which must have been followed by the individual to regard about.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Of the millions of websites that I have ever visited, only this time I was impressed and amazed by posting here. Moreover, the title of the website is very cool

    ReplyDelete
  5. On the off chance that you are the copyright proprietor of any material and might want to obstruct the change of any recordings to MP3,

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stainless steel case, fake watches diameter 37 mm, pearl frog fake watches dial 12 diamonds, hours, minutes, seconds, moon phase display, 35800 self-winding movement, power storage 42 hours, double-sided anti-reflective swiss replica watches sapphire crystal glass mirror, waterproof 30 M, Santoni crocodile leather strap, reference price NTD 280,000.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The iPad Pro 2 is definitely one of the most anticipated tablets to hit the market this year. With a 12.9-inch screen and a price tag of $799, the iPad Pro 2 is conveniently placed against the Samsung Tab S3. We believe that the iPad Pro 2 Price tag will not be a deterrent for such a quality device.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is quite useful information for me,As i have been searching for it since long time and finally got it from here.Actually i usually do research for my academic prospectus so i will do it on chrome,As it shows convenient way.Ans sometimes i have to search for my academic help so i have to set a ruler for specific topic like you can say that Dissertation Writing Service UK,so chrome shows me best result for my assistance,so it is a good sharing for all of those whom are looking for chrome ruler help for their different requirement.Looking for more useful data.Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What about the part that says: 'It can read and change all your data on the websites you visit.' ???? What would it be doing? Would I no longer be able to use the websites I visit due to a protractor changing all the data on them and also on my files???

    ReplyDelete
  10. As we know that writing of assignments and essays are kind of hard and difficult. So I was curiously waiting for someone to write an essay for me, so I get greater marks in my class.

    ReplyDelete
  11. There is possibly still a lot needed to be done and made in this regard and hopefully with such values and essentials we would be able to seek more information.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you very much for sharing information about Chrome ruler protractor. Being a dissertation writing service expert, I believe it will be much helpful for me in designing and development process.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It is no doubt that e-learning is the future of education. There is nothing that will be left analogue in this era of increased advancement in technology. You may want to click on this link: Help with Topic for My Capstone Project

    ReplyDelete