Addressing CyberBullying in Schools

Published by in ethics, isafety, socialnetworking on November 20th, 2006

I have written a new article for the TechEdge, the journal of the Texas Computer Education Association, which will be published in its winter print issue. The article is titled “Addressing CyberBullying in Schools.” This is the abstract/first paragraph:

The digital environment increasingly provides a window into face to face (F2F) as well as virtual interactions between people. Bullying, which sadly seems to be a timeless activity, has moved into virtual environments as more students have gained access to and knowledge about the Internet. While some educational leaders may prefer to metaphorically “paint over” these windows in schools to hide these negative interactions from public view, schools need to take a more proactive stance than merely banning social networking websites to adequately address issues like cyberbullying. On November 1, 2006, a panel of educators addressed issues of bullying and cyberbullying at the Oklahoma “Safe and Healthy Schools” conference sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The following are ten specific suggestions for educators and school district leaders to effectively address bullying and cyberbullying which emerged as a result of this panel discussion.

If you have any other suggestions for dealing with cyberbullying, I would love to hear them. This panel presentation is available as an audio podcast recording as well.

On this day..

2 Comments »
  • Jen

    My question is shouldn’t we also be concentrating on reducing bullying of any kind? The internet is just another tool for students to bully more people in a faster amount of time. I think social networking should be monitored in schools.

    The problem is schools need to develop a policy for what they are going to do if students are caught cyber bullying. Is just taking away computer privileges going to be effective? Schools need to develop and follow through with a plan to detour students from bullying others via the internet. That program should also include bullying in general. If we can focus on teaching the students approprriate behaviors in dealing with their peers, hopefully they can act as their own filter and make educated and safe choices.

  • Ryan

    Bullying of any kind is of course tragic, but cyberbullying represents harm not only to the student(s) involved, but potentially to the entire scholastic community. Most secondary schools in my home of Las Vegas, Nevada are woefully slow to introduce the Internet and its related technologies into the classroom. It is not simply an issue of money—many educators here seem to distrust the technology and resist its incorporation into the curriculum. Cyberbullying gives them another excuse to avoid “authentic” learning possibilities and continue with traditional teaching models.

    For example, I recently heard a story about a teacher at a high school in a neighboring community who, to supplement a unit on The Grapes of Wrath, had decided to create a chat room in which his students could share ideas and exchange opinions about the novel. Sadly, a large number of students—many of whom were not even enrolled in this particular class—decided to use the chat room to ridicule and threaten various members of the student body. Administrative staff, backed by outraged parents, immediately pulled the plug on the project. A friend of mine had the opportunity to talk to the English Department Chair at this school, who told him, “We’re going to have to think twice before we allow a teacher to try something like that again.” Thus, cyberbullying made victims not only of the students who were being ridiculed, but also of any forward-thinking teachers who may have had the creativity to make the secondary curriculum a little more authentic.

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