How to Send a Link to Students {Without E-mail}

Have you ever tried to have your students visit a specific URL, only to still hear comments like this 15 minutes later:

"Hey...what am I supposed to type again?"

"Mrs. X! I can't find the page!"

"Is THIS it?" *turns computer screen around so you can see that no, that is not, in fact, the page she is supposed to be on*

It can be frustrating. And let's face it, nobody has enough instructional time to spend 15 minutes getting to one website. It's enough to almost make you not want to use technology... I get it. Luckily, there are a couple of solutions.

If your kiddos have the newer iPad model, just AirDrop the URL to their device(s). But if you're working on desktop or laptop computers, try using Google Tone.

Google Tone is a free Chrome extension that allows you to broadcast your URL to any nearby computer on WiFi.

To Use: 
1. Make sure all devices are using Google Chrome {click here to download it for your computer}.

2. Make sure all Chrome browsers have the Google Tone extension installed {click here to visit the extension page directly and press the blue button that says, 'Add to Chrome'}.

3. Go to the website you'd like to share. Make sure your speakers are turned up, all receiving devices have their microphone on, and that you are logged in to your Google account. Press the blue megaphone extension {pictured at the very right of the URL bar below}:

4. Your computer will broadcast the URL to all other computers within earshot {including any computers that are listening over the phone, Google Hangout, or webcam}. The other computers will receive your profile picture and Google profile name along with the URL so they can know if they want to accept the link or not.

Although I do think even the youngest students need to learn what a URL is and where to type it, Google Tone and AirDrop can be real time savers if you need students to visit a complicated link {ex: a Google-shortened URL that's just a jumble of numbers and letters}!