I was recently introduced to Blendspace (formerly Edcanvas) - https://www.blendspace.com - via a recommendation on edmodo and it has already changed the way that I teach! This powerful web 2.0 tool allows you to organize and share content such as videos, images, documents and text using its intuitive drag and drop interface. The tool also allows you to create online lessons by embedding content from popular sites such as YouTube, Google, Vimeo, Flickr etc via its built-in search tool. You can also upload content from your computer, Dropbox or Google Drive. 

Blendspace is ideal for flipping your classroom – students can research a topic at home and use lesson time more effectively. As a teacher you can monitor students progress and measure students understanding with the built-in quiz creation tool. You can even check to see if your students have actually viewed the resources you have shared with them. Blendspace is also great for Project Based Learning (PBL) or differentiating learning.

eSafety lesson created using blendspace 

How to get started using blendspace:

This teachers guide will help you with setting up your first lesson and adding students

http://www.ncksec.net/docs/certified/examples/Edcanvas.pdf

This YouTube video will help you get started

YouTube video: Getting started with blendspace - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_Mg3lSoew

As this is my first year teaching GCSE Computer Science, I have decided to blog about my experiences in the hope that I will be able to help others who too are new to teaching GCSE Computer Science. Each week I will also suggest alternatives for some of the activities in each lesson. You can read my first blog post here: Teaching Computer Science: Day 1: The day I took my screwdrivers to work.

With the dangers of being online hitting the headlines over the summer, here is a selection of resources to help you teach your students how to stay safe online:

Staying Safe Online  - These videos provide a great starting point for for discussing the issues related to staying safe online.
Cyberbullying - These resources provide a great starting point for discussing the issues related to cyberbullying.
Social Media (a good thing or a bad thing?) - These resources provide a great starting point for discussing the merits of Social Media.