Tuesday 12 January 2016

Cyber Safety and Digital Citizenship

Cyber Safety and Digital Citizenship


With technology usage in schools continually increasing it is important to be proactive and educate the students about appropriate Internet use. At my school each year we have the Stage 3 students involved in a Police chat about cyber safety and the consequences of making the wrong choice. As we begin BYOD in 2016 for Stage 3 we will be holding further sessions educating the students on appropriate Internet and technology use. They will also sign a BYOD Technology Agreement outlining the expectations for Internet use and using their own device at school. The more the students are educated about cyber safety and digital citizenship the reduced risk of the students making inappropriate choices.


In recent years at my school there hasn't been a great deal of cyber bullying either at school or at home. This is partly due to the fact that students are encouraged to report any cyber bullying issues to the school. When an issue has been reported the school has been very strong to act and deal with the issues immediately and have got the Police involved as well. As a school we also provide the parent with as much information as possible about bullying and cyber bullying from the NSW Department of Education. Our school also has its own Anti-Bullying and Discipline Policy which every parent in the school is provided with a copy of and is referred to by the Principal, Deputy Principal and Assistant Principals when dealing with any bullying for cyber bullying issues. This information and education provided to the parents about cyber bullying and Internet safety all play an important role in reducing and preventing issues from occurring.






http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/studentsupport/bullying/downloads/cyberbullying.pdf


https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/student_serv/discipline/bullying/PD20100415.shtml


http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/studentsupport/bullying/downloads/bystanderbhvr.pdf


https://esafety.gov.au/?from=cybersmart

3 comments:

  1. Hi Matt,
    It's great that your school is so proactive when it comes to cyberbullying issues.... Even more so is the fact that instances of cyberbullying are dealt with immediately and thoroughly rather than sweeping anything under the carpet. Clearly, all members of your school community are aware of the consequences of inappropriate technology use and decide to do the right thing. Awesome!

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  2. Hi Matt,
    It's great that your school is so proactive when it comes to cyberbullying issues.... Even more so is the fact that instances of cyberbullying are dealt with immediately and thoroughly rather than sweeping anything under the carpet. Clearly, all members of your school community are aware of the consequences of inappropriate technology use and decide to do the right thing. Awesome!

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  3. Hi Matt and Kim,
    Cyberbullying issues are sadly extremely prevalent even in younger cohorts. As technology becomes more common in our younger years, and more intuitive, I would reason that cyberbullying issues will become an issue for younger students. I dealt with 2 issues this year from year 3.
    I too organised the Police Youth Liaison to visit and work with the REELise program. She also delivered an excellent talk to parents about their responsibilities as 'digital parents'. I think my school could use your policies as a good reason to critically evaluate what we currently have and how we employ it. It may be time for a revamp. Did your policy evolve as a result of the BYOD introduction?

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