
Richard Byrne reminded me earlier this week that URL (uniform resource locator) shorteners are very simple ways to make web navigation more effective and time efficient for you and your students. Here is a comparison of three popular URL shorteners; Google URL Shortener, Bitly URL Shortener, and TinyURL.com.
Google URL Shortener - is my personal favorite. Simply copy the original, lengthy URL and paste it into the space provided at goo.gl. Google then creates the short URL that can be copied and pasted as a link into blogs, tweets, or presentations. Google URL Shortener becomes even better when the Chrome browser is partnered with the Google URL Shortener Extension. One click condenses the URL from dozens, to possibly hundreds, of characters down to a randomized assortment of five letters and numbers. In addition, this click provides an option of creating a QR code from the URL. Usage statistics for the shortened URL can be tracked through Google Analytics.

There are numerous classroom uses for short URLs, including; sharing presentations, documents, pictures, or videos. Tracking statistics help teachers identify how many students have accessed the specified digital resource. Short URLs are easier to share, and help limit the number of clicks needed for students to access class-related information. In short, shortened URLs save time.
What can your students do with a short URL? Use the comment feature to share your suggested classroom use for short URLs.
Comments