Say What You Want, But Think About It First

 Hey Everyone!!!

Lets talk about something that is VERY important! 

Cyberbullying has been an ongoing issue around the world. Several individuals, middle school to grown adults, experience it everyday. Faucher et al. (2015) states that the classical definition of bullying is the, “repeated aggressive behaviors that are intended to cause harm to a victim with relatively less power to defend themselves” (p. 112). Several students and faculty experience this in several contexts, “within physical and online classrooms, through email, on message boards, in residences, in faculty meetings, on list-serves, in teaching evaluations, on professor-rating websites, in online gaming websites, etc” (Faucher et al., 2015, p. 113). Which can lead to various degrees of self loathing, self harm, and sometimes the taking of one's life because the bullying becomes too much to handle. Therefore, when I read about the Digital Citizenship Project, I loved the idea of the older school generation coaching the younger school generation about what is and what isn’t cyberbullying. 

In the sample mentoring exchange provided below, it showcases the importance of knowing what is cyberbullying and making an individual aware that they can hate cyberbullying, but should be aware of how they respond to situation because they can, in return, participate in cyberbullying: 

(Orech, J. (2012). How it's done: Incorporating digital citizenship into your everyday curriculum. Tech & Learning, 33(1), 16-18.)

What Can We Do To Prevent Cyberbullying? In my school district, we participate in the OLWEUS program which includes lessons from Common Sense. There are 4 lesson plans on cyberbully that can be modified for older students. The topics are labeled as, “Putting a STOP to Online Meanness”, “Is It Cyberbullying?”, “Upstanders and Allies: Taking Action Against Cyberbullying”, and “Online Dishibition and Cyberbullying” (Citiation). Here is the link: https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-cyberbullying-prevention 

What I love to do is the Digital Footprint assignment. This allows students to literally write or draw all the apps they use onto a footprint. It makes them aware of what they use and if they are actually using it for good or cyberbullying. It also makes them aware that they need to protect their privacy and once they post the content, even if they delete it, it is still out there to be found. 

Link to lesson:  https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/the-power-of-digital-footprints 

References

Common Sense Media. (2023). The power of digital footprints | Common sense education.            Commonsense.org. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/the-power-of-digital-footprints 

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.

Orech, J. (2012). How it's done: Incorporating digital citizenship into your everyday curriculum. Tech & Learning, 33(1), 16-18. 

Wilkey, E. (2019). Teachers' essential guide to cyberbullying prevention | Common sense education. Commonsense.org. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-cyberbullying-prevention