Blog 4: Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a hot topic in today's schools.  However, it is one that does not have any easy solutions as to how to stop students who are doing it or how to better protect victims.  In many instances teachers and administrators can hit walls when trying to deal with this issue as much of this bullying happens away from school.  It opens questions about what is and isn't within their investigative arena, will parents be cooperative in turning over their child's devices in investigations or will they defend their child (either because they are positive they are not the bully, or because they don't feel the school will protect their child who is the victim), and when do school personnel involve police in these issues. Too often, all involved are left unsatisfied with how accusations of cyberbulling have been handled by school officials, including school staff themselves.

So where does that leave us?  How do we do better? Many will argue that that one of the main ways we can improve is in educating students on Digital Citizenship, so that they will better understand all aspects of how to better handle themselves appropriately on the internet.  I think this is a step in the right direction, if the resources provided are accurate and timely.  In the high school where I currently teach as a high school English teacher, we were instructed by the county to deliver a Digital Citizenship lesson that was designed by the county.  It was almost counter-productive as the examples provided were overly juvenile for a high school audience.  Instead of tackling the real and tough topics like sexting, it was a very PG rated version that my students laughed and mocked as the student actor on the video discussed.  As they clearly knew there were much more serious things going on digitally among them, the lesson was ridiculous them. We cannot speak down to our students if we hope to educate them on Digital Citizenship/Literacy/Safety. We must be honest and real.

A great example of an honest teaching tool is The Seven Digital Deadly Sins.  Be sure to make sure it is appropriate for your age group, but there are a wealth of honest resources here.  You can pick and choose what you would want to use or share.

http://sins.nfb.ca/#/Grid

I think it would go a long way in our efforts to educate to show them that this is not a teenage problem.  I think too often in our efforts to educate about Cyberbullying and Digital Citizenship we can be too condescending and take a "these kids" exasperated tone. However, if we use some of the great information and statistics found in the article "From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace" then I think we can help students understand this issue is an important one, not just for high school, but for life.

Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal Of Education And Training Studies, 3(6), 111-125.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog 5: Virtual and Augmented Reality

Virtual and Augmented reality technology has made incredible advances in the last few years.  It is no longer technology that is only available in expensive gaming systems.  It can now be used and utilized on any smartphone and in a variety of ways.  Today's librarians need to educated themselves on this technology and find ways to incorporate it into their space. As a high school librarian there are a few ways that it could be helpful to focus on the VR and AR technology.  One way would be to get students familiar and interested in how the technology works through gaming.  Pokemon Go is a game that has been around for the last few years that incorporates AR in a fun way.  This summer, a similar game launched called Harry Potter Wizards Unite.  This game was made by the same group that developed Pokemon Go in conjunction with Warner Brothers Games and other developers.  In this game you are a wizard and you are fighting to keep magic a secret fr...
Read more

Blog 1: Intellectual Freedom

Image
In the library field, librarians have traditionally been champions of intellectual freedom. As future school librarians, it is essential that we remember this is equally essential in our area of service as well. This can feel a bit dicey at times, as it is only appropriate when working with youth to be aware of what is age appropriate and this is something that teachers and administrators often have to consider and discuss when purchasing whole class texts.  However, in the library, students need to have the freedom of inquiry, to ask any question, to research any topic, to check out any book.  As librarians "we need to educate superintendents [and principals] about the role of the First Amendment in education and the principle of intellectual freedom" (Adams, 2016). If we will do this, we will be more likely to have their support if there are issues or challenges. One of the areas where students in school libraries are regularly denied intellectual freedom is in the over-f...
Read more

Blog 3: Digital Tools for Adaptive Technology

As librarians and future librarians, our roles and duties are varied and seemingly endless.  However, this challenge is an exciting one, and why many of are eager to enter and stay in this field. One area that we must champion in our schools is not only Universal Design in our library space itself, but to help provide resources, or possibly even provide education and training on Adaptive Technologies for students that we serve in our building.  "As educators, we must often find creative, alternative means of satisfying established standards and criteria for student learning, and of making them achievable for our diverse learners" (Copeland 2011). These adaptive technologies may not necessarily be designed with students with differently abled students in mind, however they can be used and adjusted and work will all of our student population. One such program that could be highlighted for staff is called Edji.  This is a great program as it would work for students in a va...
Read more