Cyber Bullying in Schools

Teachers

Teachers, the two most important things that you can do to help prevent cyber bullying from happening in your classroom is 1) monitor and 2) talk.  It is extremely important that teachers monitor the computer activity in their classrooms.  If computers, cell phones or tablets are being used during class time, then it is important for teachers to supervise their use and to be continually on the lookout for misuse, students on the wrong sites and so on.  Students should not be left unsupervised on computers at recess or lunch times.  Constant supervision is required if we want to at least stop this from happening at school.  Talking to your students is the second most important action that you can do to help prevent cyber bullying.  Constantly talk to your students as a whole class about what cyber bullying is, how it can be stopped and what they should do if they are being cyber bullied.  Talking with individual students about monitoring and looking out for cyber bullying is also important.  Let students know that they can come to you to discuss issues they are having. 

The following list of articles and resources has been provided for teachers to give them some suggestions and guidelines on how to help prevent cyber bullying within their classrooms and schools. Many have further links to resources and could be used within lessons with students about cyber bullying.
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Resources to Support Appropriate Online and Anti-Bullying Behaviours. Nova Scotia Department of Education. Available from http://lrt.ednet.ns.ca/media_library/express/Anti-Bullying.shtml

        This site, published by the Nova Scotia Department of Education, lists videos that can be bought or borrowed. There are also several website resources that teachers can use to help teach their students about cyber bullying.  It also includes the provincial code of conduct for schools and the provincial Internet use policy.
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Cyberbullying: Selected key issues affecting education. Canadian Teachers’ Federation. Available from http://www.ctf-fce.ca/Priorities/Default.aspx?id=625879

        Published by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, this site aims to keep teachers informed.  News releases, articles and web resources related to cyber bullying are included within this site as a resource to support teachers.
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Classroom Resources to Counter Cyberbullying: Lessons on Cyberbullying for Grades 5-12. Media Awareness Network. Available from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/lessons/cyberbullying.cfm

        This site has a wealth of lesson plans for different grade levels, available for teachers to teach cyber bullying and citizenship.  The lessons include learning outcomes, student handouts, rubrics and teacher resources.
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Trolley, B.C., (2010). Cyber kids, cyber bullying, cyber balance. Available from http://ibistro.library.ns.ca/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0MASTER/0/57/5?library=E_E&searchdata1=cyber+kids+bullying+balance{ti}&user_id=ECHEWEB&password=pooka666

         “Trolley (counselor education, St. Bonaventure U.) and Hanel (school counselor, skills coach) offer an introduction and guidebook for educators on cyber bullying. The authors focus on prevention, intervention, assessment, and evaluation. They also stress the importance of helping students understand the good and the bad aspects of technology with real-life scenarios. The book also includes legal guidelines and reproducible incident reports, student assessments, and evaluations.” This book is available through the Nova Scotia Provincial Library system.
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Roher, E. M. (2007). Confronting Facebook, YouTube and MySpace: Cyberbullying In Schools.  Available from http://www.ctf-fce.ca/Documents/Priorities/EN/cyberbullying/CyberFacebook.pdf

        This article includes a discussion an Educator's Duty of Care, the potential Criminal Liability of some forms of cyber bullying and suggestions on how teachers and administrators can assist with Prevention and Early Intervention.  “Students should be encouraged to speak out when they see someone being mean, threatening or intimidating to another person online. Students should also be encouraged to report incidents of bullying or harassment to a person they trust, such as a parent, teacher or principal.”
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Lowe, K. (2011). Social Media and Cyberbullying. Available from http://antibullyingresources.pbworks.com/w/page/34986245/Social-Media-and-Cyberbullying

        This site is a resource site for teachers.  It lists website resources, lesson plans, media and books available to help support lessons surrounding the concept of anti-bullying.
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Focus on Cyberbullying. My Secure Cyberspace. Carnegie Mellon University. Available from http://www.mysecurecyberspace.com/articles/classroom.html

        This is a resource for elementary teachers that includes games, articles and resource links about cyber bullying.
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The following academic articles have been included here for teachers who are interested in cyber bullying research.

Keith, S. and Martin, M.E. (2005). Cyber-bullying: creating a culture of respect in a cyber world. Reclaiming Children and Youth: The Journal of Strength-based Interventions, 13(4) 224-228.

Li, Q. (2008). Cyberbullying in schools: An examination of preservice teachers’ perception. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 34 (2).  Available from http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/viewArticle/494/225

Popović-Ćitić, B, Djurić, S. and Cvetković, V. (2011). The prevalence of cyberbullying among adolescents: A case study of middle schools in Serbia. School Psychology International, 32 (4) 412-424. Available from http://spi.sagepub.com/content/32/4/412

Shaheen, S. (2005). Cyber-dilemmas in the new millennium: School obligations to provide student safety in a virtual school environment. McGill Journal of Education, 40(3), 467-487. Available from http://mje.mcgill.ca/article/download/586/468