Working with long, unwieldy URLs can be quite challenging. For example: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2066367,00.html would be impossible for students to copy, so why not make it more user friendly: tiny.cc/whateveryoulike
There are hundreds of different URL shorteners.
The one I turn to is tiny.cc. It’s simple and you can customize the URL.
- (See image below)
- Step 1: Copy your long URL (Highlight it and hit CTRL C)
- Step 2: Go to Tiny.cc and paste the long URL in the main box in the middle of the page
- Step 3: Make a custom URL: If the “customurl” box is left blank, the default link created will be 5 random characters. But you have the option of entering a keyword into this box to give the URL an alias or something that’s easy to remember.
Custom URLs are case-sensitive – if you make it with capital letters it must be used with capitals.
Also, make your custom URL unique. Tiny.cc/science or Tiny.cc/maths would already be taken by other users, but Tiny.cc/yr7refugees or Tiny.cc/yr10examprep could still be free.
This is how you customise the URL. Now simply copy the URL you’ve created and write it on the whiteboard, email it to the students or put it in a document.
PS, the short link for this page is: tiny.cc/anicetrick