Today, as we know, children are more
tech-savy than they have ever been. Many classrooms are equipped with
technologies like IPads or tablets and students are most likely carrying a
cellphone. Although there are many positives that come with technology in the
classroom, cyberbullying is something that has become a big issue. As teenagers
are becoming more equipped with social medias and how to use the internet,
there are more chances for students to use them for harassment. There are very
serious consequences on the children that are being bullied through the
internet. "More than 1 in 3 adolescents
say they have been threatened or bullied online. Over 80 percent of teens have
used their cellphone as a bullying tool."[1] They become depressed and
there have been many cases of suicide from students who can no longer stand the
harassment. Obviously, using technology in the classroom is not to blame, but
the inability of professionals to handle cyberbullying correctly is. As
educators we have to watch for certain things when it comes to bullying on the
internet. We have to make sure that when we use technology in our classroom ALL
kids are using it appropriately. We cannot control the home environment, but
the classroom environment is something we have to watch. I read research that
many tech companies are trying to find more and more ways to stop cyberbullying
through a technological program. Everything is so public on the internet it is
a surprise that cyber bullies go unnoticed. Using a cell phone is a private
way, but in the end those messages can be found. There is a lot that needs to
be done to stop this problem; the classroom environment is something we as
teachers can police. Cyberbullying often starts in the classroom and continues
outside of school. Teachers need to be equipped with technology as much as the
students are so they can to the best of their ability keep students safe!
I don't understand how I've gone through two months of this class and did not once consider cyberbullying. Thank you, Carly. I like how you clarify the difference between what a teacher has no control over (student internet access at home) and what he or she does have control over (the classroom).
ReplyDeleteIn my posting on April 14th, I reviewed an English Classroom website in which the teacher posted a link to a classroom Facebook group. When I wrote the post, I had believed that this was a poor choice on her part; students' personal Facebooks should not ever intertwine with their teachers' Facebooks. Now, however, you've made me see a different side of it. Perhaps this can be a teacher's -- or a school's -- doorway into his or her student body's cyber life. Students could productively contribute to classroom discussion, and teachers could clandestinely monitor their students' Facebook activity.
Then again, this cannot always be done. What sort of exercises could a teacher do to keep his or her students empathetic to the peers they might bully? As an English major, and a student of the wonderful Dr. Nicosia, I might introduce "Thirteen Reasons Why" into the curriculum. It is a book about the "snowball effects" of bullying and teen suicide. It is a tough read, of course, but it is successful in demonstrating the impact of our daily actions in others' lives, something that we often have too little time to consider. After that, maybe I can conduct an anonymous survey, questioning whether students had ever been cyberbullied or not.