Is it Slander or Free Speech?

Cyberbullying

.

According to Wikpedia , bullying is  a form of abuse.

The definition and explanation was placed in wordle and notice that the word, power stands out , that is what is being sought by the one who commits the act of bullying.

  Cyber bullying is bullying through email, instant messaging (IMing), chat room exchanges, Web site posts, or digital messages or images send to a cellular phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). Similar to traditional bullying, involves an imbalance of power, aggression, and a negative action that is often repeated.

Statistics show that 23 percent of students in grades 4-6 had been bullied "several times" or more; 20 percent had bullied others (1998 study of 6,500 students in rural South Carolina  and more recent was an incident in  Item dated October 17,2010  involving my school district where one family has filed a lawsuit against Sumter School District 2, saying the school officials failed to protect their child. The  recently filed lawsuit against Sumter 2 lists some harassment on Facebook, Superintendent Frank Baker and other school officials said they have yet to see a lot of cyber bullying in the area. It is covered in most of the schools' policies, though.

Roles of teachers and administrators with regards to cyberbullying

If there is nothing in place  then,

• The school develops an environment of fear and disrespect
• Students have difficulty learning
• Students feel insecure
• Students dislike school
• Students perceive that teachers and staff have little control and don't care about them

There is nothing in the sumter 2 internet agreement  that speaks directly to cyberbullying.School's internet policy  .  As for my school,  cyberbullying would be an act of improper use of internet which is a category 2 offense, which there are consequences.
The South carolina code  speaks to bullying and cyber bullying
SECTION 59‑63‑120. Definitions.

As used in this article:

(1) “Harassment, intimidation, or bullying” means a gesture, an electronic communication, or a written, verbal, physical, or sexual act that is reasonably perceived to have the effect of:

(a) harming a student physically or emotionally or damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of personal harm or property damage;  or .......

and

Section59-63-140 requires that schools have a policy in place to deal with this.

What the reports say?

 

What can we do ??
Educate children
Teach them to tell a trusted adult when this happen
Provide support
Have consequences for the bully so that it is clear this wil not be tolorated

References
http://www.asdk12.org/MiddleLink/AVB/bully_topics/EducatorsGuide_Cyberbullying.pdf

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/titl59.htm

http://www.olweus.org/public/bullying.page

http://www.olweus.org/public/cyber_bullying.page

Module1: Reflection on Web 2.0

Module1- Web2.0
It is amazing how I was a novice to many of the web 2.0 tools, something a simple as blogging was far from  my desire until this course. Interestingly this is  a great learning experience for us and also to enlighten us how to use this tool effectively.

In developing my tutorial on wordle  it was great after the hitches at first. It was interesting how even though I had been exposed to wordle I had not actually used it but then learning all about it and also learning to use jing which is absolutely fabulous. At first I was sceptical and was of the opinion that this should have been a face to face course where we are actually taken into a lab and showed how to use certain tools.
But I will retract on that; one of my most satisfying moments was actually when I did the first recording and playback after many failed trials.
I think we all did a very good job on the tutorials

Well I used photostory thus far, thanks to Janet for her tutorial , hope to incorporate as much as possible. Well I spoke with my principal today on sharing my tutorial with my faculty and she is all for that.

Credit for picture
lingeyhouseprimary.org