Cyberbullying

My inquiry question was to find out how we can encourage students to stand up to cyberbullying and become ambassadors for positive change. After completing my research, I found that cyberbullying affects everyone and there are numerous ways in which we can encourage students to proactively prevent it from happening. Media Smarts offers multiple strategies to combat cyberbullying as well as helpful tips to incorporate within schools. One of my favourite tips mentioned on this site is creating a mutual online contract for computer use where the student acknowledges what is appropriate behaviour. This also gives me an opportunity as a teacher to set realistic expectations and hold the students accountable when they are not adhered to. I think the site does a great job on addressing the importance of the role of the “witness”. The innocent bystander that may even contribute to the provoking thought process of cyberbullying and it suggests that there are different approaches that can be taken depending on the circumstance. Helping kids recognize that this is not a passive role in cyberbullying and rather, it makes them an active participant in the situation.

As a future educator, I believe that it’s important to discuss the impact of cyberbullying so that we can help set the standard of appropriate online behaviour. Cyberbullying is a difficult issue to address with students because it often happens off the radar and goes undetected. With the increased use of technology, teachers will need to adapt and find ways to tackle this issue using preventative measures that encourage students to become ambassadors for positive change. Helping students address these issues will change the way that cyberbullying is accepted and slowly work towards putting an end to it. I found that while researching the topic of cyberbullying it was also very important to teach kids about their digital citizenship. Understanding the importance of what they put on the internet and how they can protect themselves online.

Now that I know the best way to approach the issue of cyberbullying, I will make sure that it is incorporated into my lessons. Common Sense Media is an excellent resource that provides multiple lesson plans for different age groups as well as related activities and online worksheets. Making clear my expectations for appropriate online behaviour will improve my students learning because they will feel more confident knowing that they are learning in a safe environment where bullying is not tolerated. If we teach students to be proactive against cyberbullying, it will enable teachers to address it right away to create a positive environment for learning!