Getting Started with the Wayground AI Chrome Extension

Modified on Mon, 15 Jun at 1:25 PM



The Wayground AI Chrome Extension puts AI-supported teaching one click away. From any page you already use (a YouTube video, a Google Doc, a PDF, a ChatGPT response) you can generate Assessments, Flashcards, and Passages, give feedback on student work, and grade Google Classroom assignments. Everything happens in a side panel that opens next to the page you're on.

This article takes you from install to your first resource in about five minutes.


What you'll need

  • Google Chrome on a Chromebook, Mac, or Windows computer. The extension is built for Chrome and runs in its side panel

  • A Wayground account. Most teachers sign in with the school Google account already linked to Wayground. There's nothing separate to create

The extension is for teachers. Student accounts are detected and blocked with a "For Teachers Only" message.



Step 1: Install the extension

  1. Open the Wayground AI listing on the Chrome Web Store.

  2. Click Add to Chrome, then confirm.

  3. A welcome tab opens once the extension is installed, with an Open the extension prompt that takes you straight to the side panel.

If your school manages Chrome, your administrator may have installed Wayground AI for you. If it's already in your toolbar, skip ahead to signing in.


Step 2: Pin the extension (recommended)

Pinning keeps the Wayground icon in your toolbar, one click away.

  1. Click the puzzle-piece (Extensions) icon in the top right of Chrome.

  2. Find Wayground AI in the list.

  3. Click the pin icon next to it.


Step 3: Open the side panel and sign in

  1. Open any web page. Your Wayground library, a YouTube video, or a Google Doc all work.

  2. Click the Wayground icon in your toolbar. The side panel opens on the right.

  3. On the welcome screen, choose Sign up for free or Sign in, then sign in with your Google account.

  4. After signing in, you'll see a short overview of what the extension can do. Click Get Started and you're in.

Before you sign in, the panel shows a welcome screen like this:

A few things worth knowing about sign-in:

  • The extension checks your sign-in every time you open the panel, so you won't get logged out mid-task from sitting idle

  • If your session ever does expire, you'll see "Session expired. Please sign in to Wayground again." Sign in once more and continue

  • The first time you use a feature that reads a Google Doc or your Classroom data, Chrome asks you to authorize that Google access. This happens once per type of access


Step 4: Get your bearings in the side panel

Everything in the extension happens in the side panel. Once you're signed in, the panel shows what you can create from the page you're on: an Interactive Video on YouTube, feedback on a Google Doc, an Assessment, Passage, or Flashcards on an article. You'll always see a "What would you like to create?" menu with the options that fit the page.

You'll also see a "Create activity" button directly on some pages (Google Slides, many articles), and a Wayground button on educational ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude responses. These shortcuts open the same side panel.


Step 5: Create your first resource

The fastest way to see what the extension does: turn a YouTube video into an Assessment.

  1. Open any educational video on YouTube.

  2. Click the Wayground icon to open the side panel.

  3. Under What would you like to create?, choose Video (an Interactive Video with built-in questions) or Assessment (a standalone question set).

  4. Set Subject & GradeNumber of questions, and Question Types. The defaults are fine; you can adjust later.

  5. Click Create Questions.

  6. Questions stream in. When they're done, you'll see "Saved to your library."

  7. Click View on Wayground to open the resource in the Wayground web app, where you can edit it, preview it, or assign it to your class.

That's the whole loop: open a page, pick a format, set a couple of options, create, open in Wayground. Every other source (Docs, Slides, PDFs, ChatGPT, selected text) works the same way.


Where your resources go

Everything you generate saves automatically to your Wayground library. There's no save button to remember. Click View on Wayground to jump straight to a resource, or find them all later in your library on the Wayground web app.

The panel also keeps your 50 most recent resources so you can get back to them quickly.


What to do next

  • Create Assessments, Flashcards, and Passages From Anywhere : the full set of sources and generation options

  • Give AI Feedback on Student Google Docs : leave comments in your own voice

  • Grade Google Classroom Assignments with Wayground : draft a whole class's grades at once

Running into trouble? See Troubleshooting the Wayground AI Chrome Extension 

Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select at least one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article