I have been asked to review this page on cyber bullying.
I have had no experience with cyber bullying, and it’s not a topic (as far as I can remember!) that I have ever covered here, so I’m probably quite well placed to see what I can take from the page.
My first impressions on a technical level were that it’s quite difficult to navigate. I spent a lot of time trying to find the information I was looking for, perhaps a basic list of links would help ie ‘Find out about cyber bullying, how parents can help prevent cyber bullying etc… This would be particularly helpful for parents who aren’t used to navigating and researching on the internet. For example this list of Ten Tips to pre-empt cyber bullying is good, solid advice but unfortunately it’s a little too tucked away (scroll down, it’s about half way down). A simple redesign and reorganisation of the information is all that is needed.
On a teaching level, there is a wealth of information and resources which includes lesson plans to help tackle the issue. I’m not sure whether they cover cyber bullying widely at school (any teachers in the audience?), I would hazard a guess that it would be discussed within the larger topic of bullying in general.
There is a glossary of definitions for parents who are not used to hearing terms like ‘URL’, ‘Blog’, ‘Bash Board’ and ‘Trolling’. Even being able to use the language can demonstrate to your children that you are ‘with it’ and gives them confidence they can approach you if there is a problem, which is the angle that the Kamaron Institute comes from.
There is a table of ‘big brother’ style software to track internet usage, however, I’m glad to see that the Kamaron Institute does not directly recommend such software as the answer to the problem.
Overall, good information, that unfortunately is badly organised from a reader’s perspective, and seems somewhat out of order. I hope that when the site manager reads this it will prompt a rethink in the layout and flow of the information so that parents can benefit even more.
Check out the page and add your own views.
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3 Responses to “Cyber Bullying”
I think it’s interesting the way ‘cyber-bullying’ has become the new cause celebre amongst our educators and lawmakers. Frankly, it’s just another venue for regular old bullying, and I think the time is better spent examining and combating the reasons why children become bullies than getting into a moral panic over the method by which it is carried out.
I agree, cyber bullying is no better or worse than ‘regular’ bullying, and the reasons are the same. I happen to think a lot of it comes down to low self-esteem in the bully and mimicking the aggressive behaviour which some parents display, in their own lives, towards their partners, and society in general.
Hi. I am the Regional Office of Education #26 Internet Safety Coordinator. For the past two years, I have championed online safety education and awareness not only in my elementary school, but entire region. I have developed and implemented personalized curriculums, which include cyber bullying. I have developed numerous presentations for parents and educators, assembled a team of community leaders of which I Chair and work with over 500 children every single week in a computer lab environment as well as write a regular online safety column for the local newspaper. Internet Safety education is not only a job for me, it is something that I am extremely passionate about.
Not only does Internet Safety need to be taught in schools, cyber bullying needs to be addressed as well. Bullying of all types, as we all know, can be harmful in many ways. Cyber bullying is a rapidly growing issue and studies suggest the effects of cyber bullying may be longer lasting than “traditional” bullying. I recently wrote a anti-cyber bullying policy for my District–am waiting on approval. I highly encourage all schools to implement such a program that specifically addresses cyber bullying.
If you’d like more information, please visit my blog–a current, updated educational resource for parents, educators and law enforcement, which includes a plethora of information, including links.
Have a great weekend.