This post initially appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. It has actually been utilized without permission if you see it elsewhere. Websites that regularly take my (Richard Byrnes) work include CloudComputin, TodayHeadline, and 711Web.

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

Bitly is an useful URL shortener that Ive used for many years. There is a simple method to rapidly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without actually clicking on the link. When you include the “+” the URL will redirect to Bitly rather of to whatever the initial URL was.

Applications for Education.
Building great digital citizenship and cyber security abilities is something that everyone should be assisting our trainees do. Showing them little pointers like this one to prevent clicking suspicious links is one of the ways that we can assist our students develop their digital citizenship and cyber safety skills.

There is an easy way to quickly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. The trick is to just include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you include the “+” the URL will redirect to Bitly instead of to whatever the original URL was.
You can attempt this trick with a URL that I just recently reduced. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you directly to a copy of the slides that I used 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 initial presentation URL and see when I created the shortened URL..
Watch this brief video to see how you can utilize the “+” technique to learn whats hidden behind a Bitly link..