When I was in high school the internet was still really new. And most of what could be found was porn. I remember the worst thing anyone in my high school did with the internet was send an email to the president of the United States, thinking it wasn’t really the right email, and threaten to kill him. Well the CIA did show up at the school (3 days later, it was a remote community), he was told he would never be allow around a 150 meters near a politician and a few others things I can’t recall now.
Now with adolescences going on sites like Facebook, Bebo, and others I’m to old and uncool to know about. Cyber-bullying is the new thing. Is bullying something that can be stopped? Should it be? Not all peer pressure is bad; there is a lot around smoking cigarettes. If you light up it’s not uncommon for someone to say something. I just read this article about cyber-bullying, is making illegal going to make people stop? Lots of things are illegal that adolescences and adults do all the time. I really don’t think it is the answer.
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=faff34b9-d856-454b-80e7-360bbd1574af
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Day 16 Thursday July 24
Q & A period *blog readback due – hand it in to Leanna
Day 17 Friday July 25
Eportfolio sharing & honouring
Here is a space for us to continue to explore issues related to education. With limited class time, a blog can allow us freedom to think and write when we are able and ready. A blog can also help us create and explore with a community of learners. Looking forward to the dialogue!
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Day 16 Thursday July 24
Q & A period *blog readback due – hand it in to Leanna
Day 17 Friday July 25
Eportfolio sharing & honouring
“If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.” Win Borden
7 comments:
The Internet is becoming more and more important for accessing various studying resources. You could use dictionary.com to look up words so much more quickly than paper dictionaries. Although much information on the Internet isn't credible, many websites do provide professional materials such as Norton Literature Online. Our summer790a blog and the Moodle are also very helpful for after class discussion and getting studying materials. I feel I no longer need to carry many books to class; most things that I need are online now. I can simply go to a computer lab and access all the notes that I am looking for.
One of my students' mother told me that she thought her daughter spent too much time on the Internet. She wanted to limit her Internet usage, so she would take the modem with her when she went out. I was quite shocked and thought no wonder your daughter wasn't doing well at school. People should think out of the box and find new ways to work more efficiently. Using the right new technology can always dramatically improve efficiency. The Internet is one of such technologies if you use it correctly.
Undoubtedly the internet is a great tool. It is a useful resource for teachers to connect with students through interactive media and online projects etc...but when something as vast as the internet is involved, there are going to be opportunities for foul play. The question is what can WE do to stop it? Criminalize?....we can do better than that.
Parental awareness and countermeasures would seem to me to be a more positive deterrent than putting kids in "the System". Maybe I'm just being naive to think that anything other than the threat of jail will prevent things like cyberbullying from occurring. Shouldn't we ask why these kids are bullying instead of putting out the fires afterward? I know what Smokey the Bear would say....what about you?
I'm with Sean (and Smokey the Bear) on this one. I can't see criminalization having any deterrent effect. The realities of enforcement and assigning punishment are going to hinder this law completely. And even if some cyber-bullies end up being punished under it, I agree that they will end up worse off than if this behavior had been dealt with preemptively.
But I'm quite sure that bullying is something that can't be completely prevented. I'd guess it's the modern day human equivalent of animals competing for their place in the pack (maybe we'll cover that in 406... maybe...).
Part of the responsibility lies with the parents - many are simply way too "in the dark" about what their children are doing on the internet. I've heard PSA's time and time again about getting involved with your children and what they're doing - but is there any change?
What is the current policy in schools regarding internet usage? Is it cached and monitored? Do they block out certain sites (I know of offices that restrict youtube, facebook, etc)?
No, Eliza, I don’t think criminalizing cyberbullying will make the problem go away – in fact, sometimes it seems that once something is forbidden, it becomes even more of a problem. Someone will always abuse the internet.
It’s kind of tempting, though, to brush off cyberbullying and think of it as just another problem that students face. I was surprised to find out in this article that a teacher’s survey found that 84 % of teachers in Ontario have been cyberbullied over things like their appearance or their fairness in classrooms.
Although the article you mentioned, Eliza, says that cyberbullying is different than traditional bullying because of its anonymity, it is not really anonymous: the cyberbullies are usually caught. If the bully makes a threat that endangers the safety of their school or fellow students in any way, the school has grounds for an investigation. Here are some useful tips that teachers and students can use as preventative/follow-up measures to take against cyberbullying.
I am in agreement with Sean as well. I believe that the internet and computers in general are vital tools for both students and teachers. Even if we look at University classes, how many professors even accept hand-written assignments? Internet research is not only faster, but provides a lot more sources in one place than anywhere else provides. . . except for a library that is. Nevertheless, in reality, it is hard enough to get high school students to even do their homework, let alone spending time in a library to research an assignment. Times are changing, it is hard to find a household without a computer nowadays, and children as young as two and three are learning to use the computer and the internet. I was shocked at Christmas to see my 4-year-old niece able to go on the internet to the Sesame Street site and start playing games with no assistance. She was even helping me figure it out. It made me really step back and see that using technology is a part of adolescents lives and integrating technology in the classroom is a necessity and a way to "connect" to students.
The increased use of the internet does open the doors to many problems - plagiarism, questionable web sites, off task work, facebook, etc. Therefore, as teachers, we do need to monitor computer usage when the students are in our care. However, I'm in complete agreement with Sean. When it comes to online bullying, hate mail, and other forms of cyber mischief, the responsibility should be put in the parents’ hands. They need to be aware of what their students are doing. Teachers cannot monitor at home behaviour, and can only try to control within the realms of the school walls.
As for the general issue of bullying, there are usually underlying issues that need to be dealt with, and I truly believe that institutionalizing students for bullying will only add to a deeper issue.
I have to agree with Sean and his followers on this one. I think that the internet is becoming an increasingly useful technology for students and teachers. The internet provides students with a wealth of information. While not all of the information students find comes from legitimate sources, there are reputable websites that they can access. Using the internet makes research and studying much more accessible for students who are already familiar and comfortable with using computers and technology. The internet also opens up the possibility of new ways for students and teachers to communicate with each other through online forums and blog-sites. As we discussed in an earlier blog, this new way of information sharing seems like a step in the right direction. As we move forward, the use of technology in teaching and learning will only increase. Therefore, it is important that students use the technologies available to them to increase their skills and abilities.
The problem of cyber-bullying is certainly a concern connected with students using the internet. However, I think making it illegal would have little to no effect in stopping or preventing students from doing it. As suggested by another blogger, sometimes making something illegal for teenagers can cause it to become even more enticing. I grew up in a relatively small town and remember many of my peers breaking certain laws just because they existed. To them it was cool and rebellious to do something that society had deemed illegal.
I was surprised that the Teacher's federation in the article was planning to treat the offense of cyber-bullying more seriously than face-to-face physical bullying. "The idea goes far beyond the expulsions and suspensions that some students have been punished with for bullying fellow students or targeting teachers." My question is, what is the difference really? Should cyber-bullying really be treated any differently than other types of bullying? Personally I think it would be wiser to put a stronger emphasis on preventing bullying in schools. In addition, it would be useful to assist students who are being bullied by providing them with strategies they can use to deal with bullies.
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