Bitly is an useful URL shortener that Ive used for several years. As a signed up user I can produce customized, shortened URLs that people can actually spell. I use these whenever I require to share a link to a Canva or Google Slides discussion because the default URLs supplied by those services are constantly long and incoherent..

As I do every year, Im taking this week as a break from publishing new blog posts and will be republishing some of the most popular posts of the year. Heres one from April.

There is an easy method to rapidly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without actually clicking on the link. The trick is to just include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you add the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly rather of to whatever the initial URL was.
You can attempt this technique with a URL that I recently shortened. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you straight to a copy of the slides that I utilized in my current Intro to Teaching History With Technology webinar. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL+ will lead you to the Bitly page where you can see my original presentation URL and see when I developed the reduced URL..
Enjoy this brief video to see how you can use the “+” trick to find out whats concealed behind a Bitly link..

This post initially appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it in other places, it has been utilized without approval.

Bitly is a handy URL shortener that Ive utilized for numerous years. There is a simple way to rapidly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without in fact clicking on the link. The technique is to simply include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you add the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly instead of to whatever the initial URL was.

Applications for Education.
Structure great digital citizenship and cyber safety abilities is something that all of us need to be helping our students do. Revealing them little suggestions like this one to prevent clicking suspicious links is among the manner ins which we can assist our students construct their digital citizenship and cyber safety abilities.

Heres a video summary of how to see whats behind a TinyURL without actually clicking the link.

If you wish to try this with a TinyURL, tinyurl.com/emkns9a8 will lead you to the page for the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp, but adding a “+” at the end of that TinyURL will take you to the page where you can see the initial link without clicking it.