Cyber-Bullying

Dealing with cyberbullying in the school can be tough. A lot of cyberbullying can take place after school hours. But the effects can show during the school day. Anytime a student does not feel safe in the school environment action needs to be taken. When looking at online resources about cyberbullying, I found Internet Safety 101 the most helpful. It had really great definitions for adults and teachers. I thought the FBI Safe Online Surfing website had great tools for the classroom. There were games that may appeal to younger students. IN our school cyberbullying is treated as bullying. Whither it happens online or in school there is a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. I think the most important concern is that students are made to feel like they can and should come forward if they are being bullied or if they see someone else being bullied. I think that this is just as, and maybe more, important that trying to prevent it. This does not mean that we should not try to prevent cyberbullying, but we will not be able to prevent it all so we need to try to create safe place for those students to tell that they or someone they know is being bullied. I think that staff and students should be taught about cyberbullying in different ways. Staff should be shown real life examples of things that have gone terribly wrong as a result of cyberbullying. Some teachers may think that it’s not a big deal. If those staff members are confronted with the real ramifications of cyberbullying maybe they will be more likely to watch for and report it. Students on the other hand need to be told about cyberbullying in the same way they are taught about other forms of bullying. They need to know the school rules and policy on this and there should be no exceptions to the rule.

1-to-1

When a school implements 1-to-1 devices the benefits to students far outweigh any barriers that a district may face. Benefits to students include: *being allowed to explore their own interests during free time. *completing or participating in class no matter where they are--I've had students FaceTime to participate in a class discussion while they were away at a 4H activity. *checking their grades at any time. *taking the responsibility of having a device ready to go for class. *having access to information in the classroom—you don’t have to reserve computer labs or library time. The biggest barriers you face (other than money): *working through the first few years when students (and their parents) will think of the device as a toy. *the illusive “same page.” Staff, community members, and administration will all have different ideas about how to best utilize the technology. And there will be meeting after meeting about how “we all need to get on the ‘same page.’” This could be about what websites should be blocked, can we use social media in the classroom, or how everyone should be going paperless—anything really. GET ON THE SAME PAGE! The “same page” does not exist. Teaching will change when everyone has a device. The most important change I have seen is about the information itself. For example, I do not worry about students memorizing dates in a history class. They can look that up on their phone--it's always with them. Instead, I am teaching them to think critically about the information they find online. Does this seem accurate? What makes it credible? Can I find this fact anywhere else? Is this a primary source? I think that the benefits of a 1-to-1 initiative outweigh the barriers. They help students—not having devices for each student can hold them back. School boards should support the endeavors of schools looking to make these changes. And it would be nice if we could all get on the “same page” with that…

Copyrights! (I stole this title.)

My school does not have an official copyright policy. Just because we do not have a policy does not mean that we do not follow copyright guidelines. (Copyright violations are a legal issue and not every legal issue is addressed in specific school rules. I think that copyright guidelines are implied in two ways in my school: 1. Student acceptable use policy, and 2. Teacher’s code of ethics. Students are held to an acceptable use policy which includes the prohibition of unethical behavior. Copyright violations would be an unethical behavior. Teachers are held to a teacher’s code of ethics which requires teachers perform duties in accordance with local, state, and federal rules and laws. Both of these seem to remove blame from the district and place it back on the offending individuals. In a blog like this I am hesitant to make concrete remarks about the use of copyrighted materials in my school. I do not wish to make sweeping statements about this subject in a public forum. Does my district follow copyright laws? My district works within the confines of the law at all times. I cannot, and will not, speak for individual teachers. I like to have vague rules and guidelines for students regarding behavior. All situations involving students are different and should be treated as such. Copyright, however, is a specific law and should be dealt with in district policies. I also think that having a policy on copyright/digital copyright is not enough. This is something that needs to be taught too. I think that copyright laws are an essential tool in American government. They are there to protect artists, visionaries, and entrepreneurs. Because of this, I think there is a way to connect its importance to all students. Music students can relate to the struggle of Prince, who for years fought for the protection of his music. And those students with goals to make money—owning their own business or creating and innovating industries will be interested to learn about the struggles between Apple and Samsung. Copyright violation can be a teachable moment for students.