Safe Classrooms in a Connected Culture

SAFE CLASSROOMS IN A!CONNECTED CULTURE: !HOW TEACHERS CAN TAKE !ACTION AGAINST DIGITAL ABUSE!

KATE REILLY, MPH!DIRECTOR OF START STRONG RHODE ISLAND @ SOJOURNER HOUSE!

This  is  Captain  Obvious  

I’m  serious,  he’s  actually  

Captain  Obvious.    

He’s here with an important message about technology…

TECHNOLOGY IS!CHANGING!

FAST.!REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY!

for  technology,  change  means  growth.    

check  this  out…  

>  1  Million  social  networking  profiles  

25  Million  social  networking  profiles  

75  Million  social  networking  profiles  

175  Million  social  networking  profiles  

600  Million  social  networking  profiles  

1  Billion  social  networking  profiles  

1  Billion  if  your  students  are  in  high  school  or  younger,  they  grew  up  in  a  24-­‐7  connected  culture  

1  Billion  you  are  educaLng  the  first  generaLon  of    digital  na)ves  

connected  culture  CONNECTED!CULTURE IS !THE WORLD OF!

DIGITAL !MEDIA!SOCIAL !NETWORKS!&!MOBILE DEVICES!

kids  between  the  ages  of  12-­‐17  has  a  social  networking  profile.    

3  out  of  4    

of  tweens  have  a  cell  phone  

47%  

connected  culture  is  not  good,  or  bad…it  just  is  and  it’s  here  to  stay.    

TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING BUT!

TEACHING!

IS NOT!*!

**OK,  OK….that’s  not  exactly  true,  teaching  is  highly  innovaLve  profession  whose  workers  are  constantly  adapLng  their  craS  to  meet  the  changing  needs  of  students….I  get  it.  

BUT…  

*  Over  the  past  couple  of  decades  teachers  have  been  very  successful  in  their  work  to  prevent  bullying  and  daLng  violence.    

         Teachers  can  apply  many  of  those  same  lessons  to  prevenLng  cyberbullying  if  they  understand  the  culture  in  which  it  takes  place.  

TECH !SAVVY!NOT!REQUIRED. !

sojourner  house  is  a  domesLc  violence  advoca

cy  center  in  RI    

so,  why  do  we  care  about  cyberbullying?  

 glad  I  asked!            

 well,  it  turns  out  that  teen  da'ng  violence  is  the  greatest  predictor  of  domesLc  violence.    

teen  da'ng  violence  

domes'c  violence  

 since  young  people  live  so    much  of  their  lives  online  it  makes  sense  to  help  kids  build  healthy  relaLonships  and  prevent  abuse  online  and  in  the  real  world.  !

 here’s  how  we’re  doing  that…!

teens  submit  their  relaLonship  

stories  here…  

…and  vote  on  whether  other  stories  describe  healthy  or  unhealthy  relaLonships  here…  

..and  can  give  adv

ice  here  

 here  are  some  stories  that  teens  have  submiXed  to  our  site.  !

•  we  know  that  online  abuse  has  a  major  impact  on  academic  achievement.  

•  teacher  have  the  power  to  help  young  people  prevent  digital  abuse  in  their  lives  and  communiLes.    

•  it  all  begins  with  understanding  connected  culture.    

here  are  some  realiLes  of  connected  culture:  

We  adapted  these  from  Common  Sense  Media’s  Digital  Literacy  and  CiLzenship  Curriculum.  They  are  awesome.  If  you  don’t  know  about  them,  go  to  their  website  right  now…I’ll  wait  here.    

vast,  invisible,  oSen  anonymous    

distance  and  anonymity  gives  kid

s  

how  can  schools  prepare  kids  to  live  and  thrive  connected  culture?  

What  will  the  school  define  as  digital  abuse?  

How  oSen  will  these  definiLons  be  revised?  

What  steps  will  you  take  if  digital  abuse  occurs?  

How  will  you  work  with  other  administrators  if  the  abuse    involves  students  from  another  school?  

GOOD  RESOURCES  FOR  DIGITAL  ABUSE  

PREVENTION  POLICIES  

commonsensemedia.com  

wiredsafety.org  

ncsl.org  

…and  it  usually  does.  

?  federal  courts  are  SPLIT  as  to  whether    

schools  can  discipline  students  for  digital  abuse    perpetrated  off  of  school  property.      

in  the  case  where  the  perpetraLng  student  prevailed,  the  court  could  

not  find  a  sufficient  nexus  between  the  student’s  cyber  speech  and  disrupLon  of  the  

school  environment.    

what  can  we  do  to  clarify  that  connecLon?    

but,  the  most  powerful  resource    we  have  to  

prevent  cyberbullying  is…  …

you.!

because you can give kids something that will really help them stop digital abuse…!

I’m  talking  about  a  digital  educaLon  

the social web revolution may be overwhelming, but its only just begun. !

the digital world that we live in today is only a sliver of what will exist 10 years from now. !

digital  educaLon  gives  kids  the  tools  they  n

eed  to  navigate  

and  shape  the  digital  world.    

EffecLve  digital  educaLon  does  this:  

Gives  kids  an  acLon  plan  for  what  to  do  if  they  see  online  abuse.  

• How  to  block,  delete  and  call  out  harmful  comments  and  contributors.  

• How  to  record  evidence  of  bullying  through  screenshots  and  print  outs  

•   Who  to  tell?  Parents,  teachers  or  law  enforcement?  

EffecLve  digital  educaLon  does  this:  

Dives  deep  into  issues  about  privacy  and  

reputa'on.  

• Everything  leaves  a  digital  footprint.  Nothing  online  is  private.  Kids  must  be  their  own  first  line  of  defense.  

• What  are  you  sharing?  Help  kids  figure  out  which  informaLon  should  remain  private  online.  

•   Who  are  you  sharing  it  with?  Teach  kids  to  consider  the  nature  of  their  different  relaLonships  and  adjust  their  privacy  sehngs  accordingly.  

EffecLve  digital  educaLon  does  this:  

Gives  kids  ownership  of  and  responsibility  in  the  

connected  world.      

• The  digital  world  is  their  world,  so  how  are  they  going  to  shape  it?  

• Focus  on  the  role  of  the  upstander.  True,  the  barriers  to  cruelty  are  lower  online  but  so  are  barriers  to  speaking  up  against  abuse.  Most  cases  of  digital  abuse  happen  without  adult  knowledge.  We  must  prepare  kids  to  monitor  their  digital  world.    

…and  not  this:    

Tells  kids  to  escape  digital  abuse  by  deleLng  or  

abandoning  their  online  accounts.      

Focuses  on  idenLfying  one  perpetrator,  especially  when  it  comes  to  sexLng  or  burnpages  

Doles  out  harsh  punishments  for  kids  who  mess  up  

good  resources  for  digital  abuse  prevenLon  

•  Common  Sense  Media—If  you  want  a  scaffolded,  standards-­‐based  K-­‐12  curriculum,  look  no  further.      

•  MTV’s  A  Thin  Line—This  is  perfect  for  high  school  students  and  young  adults.  Lots  of  cool  interacLve  apps  that  help  kids  tell  their  story.    

•  That’s  Not  Cool—Perfect  for  middle  school  students  who  are  learning  how  to  draw  and  defend  digital  boundaries.    

       you  can  encourage  kids  to  be  good  digital  ciLzens  no  maXer  what  your  technological  savvy.  

Be  a  role  model  

Do  you  ever  ov

erhear  kids  say

ing  stuff  

like  this?  

Be  a  role  model  

listen  for  the  buzz  words  

“lets  start  a  page  about  all  of  the    [superlaLve]  [group  in  the  school]  ”  

Be  a  role  model  

listen  for  the  buzz  words  

“lets  start  a  Facebook  page  about  all  of  the    [hoXest]  [10th  grade  girls]  ”  

Be  a  role  model  

listen  for  the  buzz  words  

“lets  start  make  a  fake  MySpace  so  that….”  

All  of  these  describe  digital  abuse  (even  if  the  kids  talking  about  it  don’t  realize  that)  

here’s  what  you  can  do…  

#1.  SAY  IT  

“Hey  girls,  I  just  heard    you  say  that  you  were    going  to  make  a  fake  MySpace  page  to  fool    someone  else.”      

#2.  NAME  IT  

“…When  you  intenLonally  deceive  someone  it’s  lying  and  it’s  abuse.”  

#3.  STOP  IT  

“Abuse  of  any  kind  is  not  OK  in  this  school  and  it’s  not  OK  with  me.”  

How  do  you  feel  about  your  child’s  use  of  social  networks  like  Facebook  and  YouTube?  Do  you  have  any  concerns?  

SCREEN  FOR  CYBERBULLYING  

AT  PARENT  TEACHER  

CONFERENCES  

Has  your  child  experienced  digital  abuse  this  year.    

SCREEN  FOR  CYBERBULLYING  

AT  PARENT  TEACHER  

CONFERENCES  

Would  you  know  what  to  do  and  how  to  get  help  if  your  child  experienced  digital  abuse?  

SCREEN  FOR  CYBERBULLYING  

AT  PARENT  TEACHER  

CONFERENCES  

kreilly@sojournerri.org  

kate  reilly,  mph  

@kategalloreilly  

@hkupwithrespect