Bitly is a handy URL shortener that Ive used for several years. As a signed up user I can develop customized, shortened URLs that individuals can really spell. I use these whenever I need to share a link to a Canva or Google Slides discussion because the default URLs supplied by those services are incoherent and always long..

This post initially appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. It has been utilized without permission if you see it in other places.

Applications for Education.
Structure good digital citizenship and cyber safety skills is something that everyone need to be helping our students do. Showing them little pointers like this one to prevent clicking on suspicious links is among the ways that we can assist our trainees construct their digital citizenship and cyber security skills.

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, however adding a “+” at the end of that TinyURL will take you to the page where you can see the initial link without clicking on it.

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

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

Not all Bitly users are using them for excellent factors. Some people utilize them to hide nefarious links. There is a simple way to rapidly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. The technique is to just include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you include the “+” the URL will redirect to Bitly rather of to whatever the original URL was. That will then show you the Bitly page on which the shortened URL is hosted and will show you what the original link was..
You can try this trick with a URL that I just recently shortened. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you directly to a copy of the slides that I utilized in my recent Intro to Teaching History With Technology webinar. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL+ will lead you to the Bitly page where you can see my original discussion URL and see when I developed the shortened URL..
Watch this brief video to see how you can use the “+” technique to find out whats hidden behind a Bitly link..

Bitly is an useful URL shortener that Ive used for many years. There is a simple method to quickly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without in fact clicking on the link. The technique is to merely add 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.