Wish you knew what to do about cyberbullying? The Office of Instructional Technology Services launched a web site in 2007 to help you prepare teachers and students how to deal with cyberbullying by encouraging Digital Citizenship.

Educators definitely need to understand how powerful and dangerous this new type of bullying has become as it has greatly impacted the classroom.

Paris and Robert Strom define cyber bullying as harassment using an electronic medium (E-mail, chat rooms, cell phones, instant messaging, and online voting booths) to threaten or harm others (Strom & Strom, 2005). This author believes that the definition should also include any form of information posted on the Internet, as in blogs, forums, etc. This latter form of cyber bullying involves gossip, humiliation, and threats (Sparling, 2005).

In the year 2000 a University of New Hampshire study found that one out of every 17, or six percent of kids in the United States, had been threatened or harassed online. But in March of 2006, statistics showed that 75 to 80 percent of 12 to 14 year olds had been cyber bullied. Furthermore, 20 percent of kids under 18 have received a sexual solicitation. So cyber bullying is clearly on the rise, and it affects both genders. An American Educational Research Association study shows that female bullies preferred the use of text messaging harassment versus face-to-face bullying by 2 to 1 (Toppo, 2006).

Students need to be educated on how to deal with cyber bullying as much as learning the traditional issues of drugs, sex, and nutrition. There are additional strategies that should be employed when dealing with cyber bullying. Never respond to a cyber bully. This just provides fodder and they now know that have actually made official contact. Protect your personal information with technology and change your online information including password and screen names on a regular basis.
Source: Scott Meech, Cyberbullying, TechLearning.com

Visit SAISD's Digital Citizenship Resources and learn how to flip the tables on Cyberbullies!