It is encouraging to see an increasing number of schools making Firefox available as a web browser for learners.  Here’s another add-on to make it even more worthwhile.  This one takes tabbed browsing to the logical next step.

Split Browser is a Firefox add-on that enables you to view multiple open tabs (websites) on the same screen.  In practical terms, this works just the same as tiling multiple open programs into “windows” so that they can be seen at the same time.

There are many ways that splitting the browser can be helpful.  It makes most sense if a learner needs to make comparisons when doing research.  To illustrate, let’s say that I want to compare the specs on two cameras that I’m considering.  It helps me greatly to see the specs for both side by side, as shown below.  The image is too small to see the actual specs, but I’m sure you get the idea.

Once Split Browser is installed, you can split the browser with context menu options that appear with a right mouse click.  These options are shown below.  A ‘Split’ menu is also installed on the menu bar, and that can be activated with a keyboard command.  It seems that you have to use the Split menu to close split browsers.  Finally, it seems that you can split the screen into as many “windows” as you wish, and these can be sized and shaped in almost any way imaginable.