Unit 3- Activity 1- Filling Up My Toolbox!

(photo credit: Pixabay)

I had a great time "filling" my toolbox with cool new tools and shortcuts. Keep reading below to find out more!

Bitly

Bitty is an excellent resource that allows you to shorten links and website URL's to make them shorter. I found that this is especially helpful when you are using links to blogs and pages within websites, because you have so much less to retype when trying to access the site. A good example of this would be my blog website and link:

Before using Bitly: /https://mhsfirstfun.blogspot.com

After using Bitly: http://bit.ly/2flWwK7

Notice how much shorter the link is when using Bitly! I love that they make it so easy to create shorter links. I especially love that they include the "copy" button next to the input box. This makes it easy to just press and go, and not have to use the above tool bar to copy then paste. What a nice feature!  One of the most impressive link shortening tests that I performed was (this was while I was online shopping :))

Before using Bitly: https://www.loft.com/spiced-stripe-flounce-shirtdress/437722?skuId=23743083&defaultColor=0040&colorExplode=true&catid=catl000013

After using Bitly: http://bit.ly/2ygUG0K

How AWESOME is that?! I think that I would use this tool most when accessing links for parents to use. How much easier would it be to hyperlink and access shorter links for them?

QR Codes with Deliver

QR Codes are one of my favorite tools to use in the classroom and personally too. I love the ease of using the scanner to scan a code and immediately takes you to the link that is embedded in the QR code. This is so convenient in the classroom, because I love to make QR codes for books and other sites that I use. We also access SeeSaw via a class QR code. I posted a QR code to my blog below:

Here is a great link for QR codes and ways to use them  in the classroom:

Bookmarklets:

These are the most convenient way to keep the sites that you use most at hand. No searching, finding, or typing. One click and you are there! I chose to bookmark Quietube. I use YouTube so much in classroom, and often need to access videos with no commercials or advertisements. This was a perfect choice for me. I posted a photo of it below:

I found this site to be just as easy to use as SafeShare, and am glad to have two different resources now!