ICT Tip: TinyUrl – Shorten long web addresses

19 Jun

Quick overview: The TinyURL (http://www.tinyurl.com) website allows you to transform long and complicated web addresses into really short ones that are easy to type or jot down on a piece of paper.

How can it be used in the classroom? I cannot emphasize enough how GREAT this website has been for me as a teacher and as a pedagogical consultant with the RECIT FGA. Whenever I give out a long and complicated web address (URL) there’s always the chance of someone unintentionally copying down a spelling mistake. If there’s even ONE single spelling mistake in a web address, the webpage will simply not come up! TinyURL addresses this problem (no pun intended!) by taking long and complicated web addresses and shortening them into something easy and simple to type.

How does it work? The “short” address is stored permanently on the TinyURL website and automatically redirects web users to the more complicated web address whenever someone types it in.

For example, you can turn this long and complicated (URL) web address:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?daddr=London,+UK&geocode=&
;dirflg=&saddr=paris,+france&f=d&sll=51.500152,-
0.126236&sspn=0.697593,2.081909&ie=UTF8&z=8

…into a simple tinyURL address, like this:

http://tinyurl.com/6yxpsg

Video Tutorial: Want to know more? I’ve created a detailed video tutorial below: