This week we started our class presentations, the first three presentations were on cyberbullying, filtering, and the history of the internet respectively. One thing I would really like to comment on is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is definitely on the rise these days, and I think that in the school we need to be doing a little more preventative measures. I think the reason that cyberbullying is one the rise is firstly just because the technology that is used in cyberbullying is more redily availavle for students, and it is also just at their fingertips. Also I feel that the distance associated with cyberbullying also promotes an increase in cyberbullying. There are a lot of things that people would not say face to face with someone, however through texting or the internet people wouldn't think twice about saying to someone. This seems to give people a false confidence that what they are saying or doing to the other person does not bother them. I think that schools need to start doing more preventative measures at an early age to make students aware of the damaging effects of cyberbullying. One of the best ways I feel this could be done is through using real life examples such as stories or videos of people who have been cyberbullied. I feel that these types of methods really hit home for students and would hopefully give them an understanding of the damage cyberbullying may cause. Sometimes I don't think students really understand the effect their action may have on others and just feel that what they are doing is a joke. These students need to be made aware of potention effects of cyberbullying.
Another topic from this week is filtering and the use of filters in schools. Personally, I do not feel that filters for websites such as facebook, hotmail, twitter, etc. are necessary in a school. These websites can be great resources within the classroom and blocking them really does not do any good because if a students wants to get onto the site they will find a way around the filter. What are your thoughts on filters??
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey Laura,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of "preventative measures" in regards to cyberbullying. Perhaps high school students could talk to younger students about their experiences with cyberbullying and how it has affected their lives. Hearing about cyberbullying from someone that the students actually know/one of their peers would probably have a bigger impact than just having the teacher talk to them about it.
I also do not think that filters are necessary in schools. All of us love YouTube because it has so many neat things that we can use in the classroom to help our students. I think that students need to be taught that during classtime they need to be doing their work, but on their own time I do not see what is so bad about letting them go on Facebook.
Good luck student teaching!
Ryan