Have you ever been scrambling to write an essay the night before it’s due? Have you ever needed to upgrade your vocabulary and prove to your teacher that you know your Membean words? If any of these apply to you, then there is a new Chrome extension for you, created by a student from the high school. Lev Stambler (’19) has coded and created a new extension for Google Chrome that can help students everywhere.

Chrome extensions are programs that can be added onto a Chrome web browser. According to developer.chrome.com, extensions are software programs that customize the browsing experience. They allow users to tailor Chrome to individual needs or preferences. Synonym for Me, the extension created by Stambler, provides a synonym for a word from thesaurus.com when the word is highlighted in a Google Doc. Chrome extensions are made by web technologies like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Synonym for Me was made by Stambler using Javascript.

Stambler was inspired to make this extension when he was writing essays for school. “I would bold every word that I didn’t like and wanted to find a synonym for. I don’t really like Google’s built in synonym finder, so I decided to make this extension,” said Stambler.

Stambler worked alone while making this extension and even learned code by himself. “I learned to code almost exclusively from YouTube and this site called Stack Overflow, which just helps answer programming questions,” he said. Stambler says that Synonym for Me was a simple extension to make, but faced some trials along the way. “The most challenging part … was getting the highlighted text from the document,” he said.

Synonym for Me is not the first extension Stambler has created. He has designed two others before starting this project. “I have created other Chrome extensions, one of which did not work, and the other is under development,” said Stambler. He was able to create Synonym for Me in one day by using his experience with the Chrome store, and using a code he had already created for a previous project.

This extension has proven useful to students and teachers as well. Although it is not whitelisted to the Chromebooks on the school network yet, many people think it should be soon. “I like that at the click of a button or two you’re able to retrieve synonyms of words when your in a Google Doc, rather than having to open up another tab and go on thesaurus.com and search the word,” said user Mr. Whitehead. “It is helpful for everyone and I’m hoping it’s going to be available to students, too.”

The school is most likely going to add this feature to the Chromebooks soon so that this extension can help students and make writing more convenient for them. Stambler doesn’t plan on becoming a computer programmer in the future. “I actually want to go into computer or electrical engineering,” said Stambler. He does, however, “plan on making more extensions in the future.”

Synonym for Me will be of great help to students writing their essays when it becomes available. Students will be able to expand their word knowledge and increase the chances of getting a better grade. Try out Stambler’s new extension when it becomes available and look for more of his projects in the future.