Professional Development Plan Technology: Outlining the Issues and Uses of Technology

in the Classroom

Audience Full staff (Approximately 70 staff members) Context The dynamics of the school staff are very diverse. There

has been an extreme turnover of staff members with the

emergence of many new teacher graduates. With the said the

school would like the PD to be centred around providing

teachers with diverse ways in which we can implement

technology into the classroom. In addition, our schools

would like staff member to become aware of issues related

to cyberbullying. Our students who have become the “Always

On” generation face many issues related to cyberbullying.

As a school we have to come up with a school action plan

that will help us alleviate this problem.

Climate Our school is determined to make the use of technology fun

and practical. As students advance in areas of technology

so must teachers. Providing teachers with the necessary

tools needed to integrate technology in the classroom as

well as the current issues associated with student use of

technology will help us to create a fun, safe and positive

learning environment.

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Timing This PD will be initiated at the beginning of the school

year. The reason being is that teachers will be given the

opportunity to make use of the material presented in the PD

into their courses. In addition, the morning session on

cyberbullying will enable the bullying committee to take

the feedback from the PD in order to initiate post-

activities including the Cyberbullying-School Action Plan

that will be implemented for the duration of the year.

Rationale Identifying whether technology should be used in schools is

not longer the issue surrounding education. With an

increasing use of technology among our students the most

present issue is ensuring that technology is used

successfully to create new opportunities for learning and

promote student achievement. In addition, educators must

ensure that technology is being used for the betterment of

our students rather than using this form of technology to

harass and bully other students.

The implementation of educational technology requires

the assistance of educators who integrate technology into

the curriculum, align it with student learning goals, and

use it for engaged learning projects. Therefore, the need

for professional development for teachers becomes a vital

issue in using technology to improve the quality of

learning in the classroom.

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Desired Outcomes

To address some of the more serious issues of cyberbullying

Draw awareness on cyberbullying in order to create a school action plan to alleviate this problem

To make teachers feel comfortable when integrating technology in the classroom

To ensure that teachers are using Markbook effectively To demonstrate that technology is not as scary as many perceive it to be

Indicators of Success

3 different approaches to alleviating cyberbullying o handout “Cyberbullying: School Action Plan”

Greater use of technology in the classroom Increase demand for technological equipment in school

o LCD projector for each department Increased use of Markbook for importing grades/comments into Trillium during reporting periods

Decrease demand for technician help with projector set-up

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Agenda for Professional Development Day Full Day Schedule 8:00 Breakfast (snacks, coffee, tea) 8:20-8:30 Welcome staff- focus of PD is technology 8:30-8:40 Student Dramatization of cyberbullying 8:40-9:10 Cyberbullying PowerPoint Presentation 9:10-10:10 Guest Speakers 10:10-10:25 BREAK 10:25-11:10 Staff break up into groups: Group Activity 11:10-11:40 Discuss group Activity 11:40-12:00 Concluding Remarks 12:00-1:00 LUNCH 1:00-2:00 Markbook workshop / Asessment/Evaluation

discussion 2:00-2:15 Break 2:15-3:15 Digital Projection 3:15-3:20 Conclusion 8:20-8:30 Indicate as posted from staff email that today’s people will be centred around technology. In specific, the morning session will be based on the issue of cyberbullying. We have a few guest speakers who will be speaking to us in the morning including a police officer, member of crime stoppers and Toronto Argonauts Jason Colero 8:30-8:40 Students from Drama Club will be performing a 10 minute dramatization on cyberbullying.

Performers Student A Student B Student C Student D Student E Student F

8:40-9:10 A powerpoint presentation on cyberbullying will be presented by one of the staff members (Kristina Franjic).

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The central theme of this powerpoint is to introduce the issue of cyberbullying. In specific staff will become aware of:

What is Cyberbullying? How is Cyberbullying different than other forms of bullying?

Victims of bullying Why are educators and parents out of the loop? Cyberbullying and the law?

(Please refer to cyberbullying PowerPoint Presentation) 9:10-10:10 We have invited three guest speakers to enlighten the staff on the issues associated with cyberbullying. This is a much bigger issue than we often hear about. Hence, it was important to invite these speakers to address how prevalent this issue is. Guest Speakers

Toronto Police Services -Community Liason Officer in your school’s division(416) 808-Division #00

Crime Stoppers -Vince Langdon (416) 808-7254

Huddle Up Against Bullying -Toronto Argonauts Jason Colero (416) 341-2711

10:25-11:10 At this point staff members will be required to break up into 3 distinct groups. They will be responsible for reading one of the following three articles assigned to them. Purpose of these articles is to draw awareness to some of the personal struggles that victims of cyberbullying have gone through. 1. Cyberbullying: David Knight’s Story http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/bullying/cyber_bullying.html 2.

Cyberbullies Target Girls http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/2933894.stm

3. Stalked by a Cyberbully http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/technology/article.jsp?content=20040524_81183_81183

(Please refer to resources for a copy of each story)

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Once staff members have completed reading the articles they will be required to complete the worksheet (Cyberbullying- School Action Plan) provided to them. Staff members will have 45 minutes to discuss and complete the worksheet. (Please refer to resoures for a copy of Cyberbullying- School Action Plan worksheet) 11:10-11:40 Staff members will reconvene and discuss the ideas they came up with. This will be used as a guideline for the bullying committee as they work on one collective school action plan toward alleviating cyberbullying. 11:40-12:00 Awareness and education are the keys to the prevention of cyberbullying. The school action plan that was generated by all three groups today will be used as a guide to help generate a school action plan. This school action plan will be presented at the next staff meeting. To conclude to morning session, a few handouts will be distributed as useful tips on how to stop cyberbullying and resources you can use to find out more information on this topic.

1. An Ounce of Prevention 2. Online Acronyms 3. Website Resources

(Please refer to resources for a copy of these handouts) 12:00-1:00 LUNCH 1:00-2:00 Workshop A: Markbook Workshop (Assessment and Evaluation

Discussion) In small workgroups (under 15 teachers per group), teachers will learn how to setup Markbook, import student information from Trillium and enter and analyze assessment data in Markbook. Teachers will also walk through the process of setting up Markbook for a reporting period and practice exporting grades and comments back into Trillium. By the end of this workshop, each participant will have at least 1 class set up in Markbook with assessment data entered. Teachers will also leave with a short manual detailing various features of the program as a reference.

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2:00-2:15- Break 2:15-3:15 Workshop B: Digital Projection Rationale: If used properly, the digital projector is a powerful educational tool. It allows the possibility of flashy presentations that carry weight with today’s technophilic students as well as templates that facilitate visually pleasing documents. The projector is also an invaluable tool in demonstrating the use of the many software packages that we expect students to use in our courses. The session aims to help teachers utilize this powerful technology and also to avoid some of the pitfalls that accompany the technology. Resources: Handouts, multiple projectors, computers (preferably laptops) with presentation software pre-loaded. A room with many accessible outlets and several empty walls would be the most appropriate venue. Procedure: The following is only a guide to the content of this workshop: diagnostic data from the actual participants should be used to alter the presentation as necessary. A projector should be used to facilitate and demonstrate content. Several other projectors will be required for participant practice.

A. Why the Digital Projector? a. Benefits vs. Overhead projectors b. Photos integrated into a lesson c. Video integrated into a lesson d. Animation e. Perceived epistemic weight of technological

information delivery systems f. Live software demonstrations

B. The Projector a. Demonstration

i. The facilitator will show how the projector is attached to the laptop, activated and how the laptop toggles the projector on and off.

b. Handout (see attached) c. Guided Practice

i. Participants are broken into the smallest groups possible given the available projectors, computers and outlets. The facilitator will circulate to guide groups

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through the process. Where possible, create groups that mix teachers from various disciplines and prep rooms.

C. The Software a. PowerPoint/Corel Presentations introduction (To

be determined by the package present in the school)

b. Handouts circulated. i. Printable “how-to” handouts are available

from the websites listed below. Most School Boards also have instructional packages on supported software.

c. Choosing a layout d. Editing frames e. Adding a frame f. Importing content g. Saving and playing the show h. “Show on the go” executable files i. Printable handouts as for note taking j. Importing shows from the other presentation

package D. Group work

a. Return to the groups defined earlier. b. Small groups build presentations themed around

advertising digital projectors. c. View shows d.Discuss experiences of difficulty in building the

presentation and strengths of the medium. E. Other possibilities

a. Role model Internet searching taught by live demonstration

b. Role model Smart Ideas taught by live demonstration

c. Discuss the possibility of showing Internet-only content on the big screen

F. Cautions and Strategies a. The temptation toward purely teacher-centred

presentations i. How do we involve students in a passive

medium? b. Too many colours, animations and fancy wipes

i. Preparation time wasters and the telltale signs of a PowerPoint novice.

c. Large fonts, small screens and diluting content

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i. Presentations often best to introduce images, survey material or conclude a unit by drawing various lessons together.

ii. When using an attractive layout, complex thoughts are hard to articulate in PowerPoint/Presentations

1. Supplement with lectured material 2. Take breaks in the show and use other

strategies where greater depth of thought is required

3. Use only for appropriate lessons d. How do I get help?

i. How to access your school technician ii. Websites resources

3:15-3:20 We would like to thank you for your participation in today’s PD. We hope you found today’s discussion and workshop around technology worthwhile. These are tools that we feel you can take and implement within your class. Have a great day. Drive Safely!

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Resources for the Professional Development Day The resources mentioned below and the cyberbullying PowerPoint Presentation are all included as attachments. Cyberbullying: David Knight’s Story http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/bullying/cyber_bullying.html

I N D E P T H : B U L L Y I N G

Cyber-bullying CBC News Online | March 2005 Reporter: Joan Leishman Producers: Lani Selick, Alison Hancock Aired: Oct. 10, 2002 on The National | Updated March 2005 David Knight's life at school has been hell. He was teased, taunted and punched for years. But the final blow was the humiliation he suffered every time he logged onto the internet. Someone had set up an abusive website about him that made life unbearable. "Rather than just some people, say 30 in a cafeteria, hearing them all yell insults at you, it's up there for 6 billion people to see. Anyone with a computer can see it," says David. "And you can't get away from it. It doesn't go away when you come home from school. It made me feel even more trapped." He felt so trapped he decided to leave school and finish his final year of studies at home. These days the internet is a crucial part of teenage culture. Kids can't imagine life without it. They run home from school and the first thing they do is log on. They "talk" for hours using instant messaging, bulletin boards and chat-rooms. But the chatter and gossip can spin out of control, slip into degrading abusive attacks. A recent survey found that 14 per cent of young Canadian users had been threatened while using instant messaging; 16 per cent admitted they've posted hateful comments themselves. In David's case, the website about him had been active for several months before a classmate told him about it.

David Knight

"A kid from school sent me a message on the internet saying, 'Hey Dave, look at this website,'" says David. "I went there and sure enough there's my photo on this website saying 'Welcome to the website that makes fun of Dave Knight' and just pages of hateful comments directed at me and everyone in my family." Whoever created the website asked others to join in, posting lewd, sexual comments and smearing David's reputation. "I was accused of being a pedophile. I was accused of using the date rape drug on little boys," says David. Along with the website, there were nasty e-mails too. David: "Here's an e-mail, 'You're gay, don't ever talk again, no one likes you, you're immature and dirty, go wash your face.'" CBC's Joan Leishman: "Why do you think they were picking on you?" David: "I don't know. I honestly don't know. I'm not different from any other kid."

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At the Knight's home near Burlington, Ont., David's mother Nancy says one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole affair was that the bullies who went after her son hid behind the anonymity of the internet. "It's a cowardly form of bullying," says Nancy Knight. "It's like being stabbed in the back by somebody (and) you have no way of ever finding out who they are, or defending yourself against the words they say. So it's more damaging than a face-to-face confrontation with somebody who is clearly willing to tell you what he or she things of you." Nancy says the electronic bullying seemed to have a different affect on David than even the verbal attacks and bruises. "After this bullying started, he began withdrawing completely, isolating himself from everyone," she says. "I guess it's a matter of not knowing who knows about you sort of makes you feel you don't want to know anyone."

Nancy Knight

Most adults don't understand how damaging cyber-abuse is. But a group of Grade 8 students at Deer Park Public School in Toronto says it causes deep emotional wounds. "This happened to a friend of mine," says one girl. "And people were sending her weird messages about her physical appearance and how she may have been overweight or not pretty and things that would hurt her feelings." "One of my friends was checking his e-mail and it was kind of a threat, like me and my brother are going to beat you up," says one boy. "People may think it's funny, but actually it frightens people quite severely." When the students are asked if any of them have used the internet to make fun of kids they know, one girl admits she has.

Grade 8 students at Deer Park Public School

"Yeah. I used to be best friends with this girl and one night, me and my friends were just kind of, I don't know why, but we just decided to be kind of mean to her. We started calling her all these names and everything. After that, I regretted it… I tried to be her friend again, but she didn't want to because like she didn't want me to hurt her. So I guess I deserved it, but it made me feel really bad because I knew I shouldn't have done it." When David's parents learned of the website about him, they asked police to investigate, to try and find out who was behind it and have it removed from the web. But the site stayed up.

"...it made me feel really bad because I knew I shouldn't have done it."

Detective Constable Kevin McCart

Detective Constable Kevin McCart won't comment on David's case, but he says, in general, internet bullying is tough to investigate unless it crosses the line into death threats or other criminal offences. "It's an unfortunate situation, but quite often are hands are tied," says McCart. "There's nothing supporting a criminal offence by which we can investigate and obtain records and identify the person responsible for setting up the site." As for schools, they often say their hands are tied, too. They usually want clear evidence the material is being sent from a school computer, and that can be hard to prove. All too often, students do their dirty work from home. So where do you turn? The Knight family found themselves trying to solve the problem on their own. Finally, Nancy contacted Yahoo, which in this instance was the website host. "Hidden somewhere among the advertising on that website was a contact number down in California for the head office of this service provider, and so I phoned them and asked them if I could have this web page removed," she says. "I waited a couple of weeks and checked the web page and found that it was still there and so I called them again and asked them to take it down again, and again the same thing. Nothing happened." Yahoo is just one of thousands of internet companies and most allow people to set up websites. They all have policies telling users not to post offensive material. But in reality, most of the time people can say whatever they want. Yahoo wouldn't comment on the David Knight website.

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Jay Thompson, president of the Canadian Association of internet Providers, says it isn't the job of the providers (the ISPs) he represents to decide what should or should not be on the internet. "ISPs are not censors, they are not morality police, and we don't think Canadians want their ISP to be making determinations as to what is appropriate content for them or their families to view,' says Thompson. "That is a decision to make in their own homes based on their own value systems and their own interests." The champions of free speech on the internet strongly support this position.

Jay Thompson

Jeffrey Shallit

"I think that free speech is an important value in Canada and I think that we should start at an early age to tell kids that this is an important value," says Jeffrey Shallit, who speaks for a group called Electronic Frontier. "When a person is in a position of authority says 'Look, you say this and I don't like it and therefore I'm going to censor it,' we are sending students really the wrong message. We are saying free speech isn't a value that we support. "It sounds trite but people say 'sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me,' and I think that part of the response should be to tell people, look, this is name calling, no one is coming after you with brass knuckles or a baseball bat." David disagrees. "That's very easy to say that censorship's a bad thing, but I don't think you'll ever understand how much it hurts until you see a website up there about your family," he says. CBC's Joan Leishman: "This is the site that was posted about David Knight. What's your reaction?" Jeffrey Shallit: "My immediate reaction is that this looks pretty mild compared to some things I've seen. I've seen things far worse than this." CBC's Joan Leishman: "But if that was posted about you child, how would you feel? What would you tell him?" Jeffrey Shallit: "I'd be very unhappy. What would I tell him? I think I'd tell him the same thing, that people are jerks and people are mean and just ignore it. And who's going to be looking at this? It's not like the whole school is going to be logging on to see this. It's just the guy who wrote it and his small number of friends. So they can get their laughs and you just ignore it. You hold your head high. "Freedom of speech protects the thought we hate just as much as the thought we like. It's not a pleasant lesson to learn all the time, but we know in societies where they don't allow freedom of speech that the consequences are much worse." Still, the potential for kids to use the internet as a weapon for bulling is enormous. A recent survey found that:

David Knight

• 99 per cent of Canadian students have used the internet. • 48 per cent use it for a least an hour a day.

• Nearly 60 per cent use chat rooms and instant messaging.

"The internet has really given everyone a voice and they've decided to use that voice to either criticize people or make fun of them in some sort of way," says one of the students at Deer Park Public School in Toronto. "(With) the internet, you can really get away with a lot more because I don't think a lot of people would have enough confidence to walk up to someone and be like, 'I hate you, you're ugly,'" says another student. "But over the internet you don't really see their face or they don't see yours and you don't have to look in their eyes and see they're hurt." So why don't kids just turn the computer off, not read the messages at all? David tried that for a while but he says today kids can't just drop out of the wired world, nor should they have to. "I should have a right to be able to log on to the internet or use my cell phone or check my e-mail without having people sending me those messages," he says. "I mean, sure you could just hide from everything, you could shut the door to your room and sit in a chair for the rest of your life, but that wouldn't work out too well." How big a deal is this? Is it something students can read and forget or is it something that they find incredibly upsetting? "It's a huge deal... it should be taken seriously," says one student. "Even though they may not be getting physically hurt, a lot of people are getting hurt emotionally," says another student. "Sometimes when they're hurt physically, their scars will heal. But when you're hurt emotionally, that could stay with you for the rest of your life and you may be going to need help for the rest of your life and it may not ever heal."

A student at Deer Park Public School

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"Eventually the Knight family did get Yahoo to take down the website about David. But it wasn't easy. It took seven months of messaging, phone calls and, the family thinks, the threat of legal action before it was removed.

"When companies

don't step in and say, 'You're not allowed to post this. We're gonna take it down,' basically they're promoting it, they're allowing it to go on," says David Knight. "The message is, 'Yeah, we agree with this and it's causing trouble for people, it's hurting.'" David is now trying to recover from the bullying and beginning to realize his dream. He's learning to fly, hoping to become a fighter pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces. David's starting to soar beyond the nightmare delivered to him by the new technology that, now, all of our children have access to.

David Knight piloting a plane

Cyb

erbullies Target Girls http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/2933894.stm

ellow pupil tried to take a

She said: "I was really hurt because I did not know who'd done it. I

Jodi's mother, Gail, felt the bullying had disrupted her daughter's

Bullying policy

She said: "I want Jodi to be able to go back to her GCSEs without any

"Hopefully, any other children with problems can then come forward

Mrs Plumb was also concerned how little action the school had taken.

But head teacher Paul O'Brien rejected this, saying the school's anti-

The site has now been removed.

Cyber bullies target girl

Bullies targeting a 15-year-old schoolgirl set up a website devoted to their victim.

Jodi Plumb, 15, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was horrified to discover an entire site had been created to insult and threaten her.

The site contained abuse concerning her weight and even had a date for her "death".

Jodi's mother has called for tougher action by her school against bullies.

The school, Queen Elizabeth School, has defended itself, saying it has a well-defined anti-bullying policy.

Jodi's family says there has been a two-year campaign of intimidation and she has twice been attacked in school.

Jodi found out about the website when a fphotograph of her with a digital camera and said it was for the web.

was just really upset."

education at a crucial time.

problems.

to speak because there is no use in suffering in silence."

bullying efforts had been recognised in a recent Ofsted report.

I was really hurt because I did not know who'd done it Jodi Plumb

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Stalked by a Cyberbully http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/technology/article.jsp?content=20040524_81183_81183

talked by a Cyberbully

ellphones and the Net are kids' social lifelines. They can also be their social death.

MICHAEL SNIDER with KATHRYN BOREL

AMY BOUCHER learned early how mean kids can be. In elementary school, she was taller than the rest of the rls and that made her an easy target for ridicule. Often teased and excluded, the Montreal teen would come

home and escape into her drawings or play on the computer. So when she discovered a Web site about art where ith others, it gave her a sense of belonging and, more importantly, acceptance.

But all that changed when she got into a spat with another girl on the site over an unanswered e-mail. Amy tried to ake up, but the girl rebuffed her attempts, and for the next three years made her the object of an on-line bullying

campaign that drove Amy to tears and eventually to depression. A posse of girls would taunt her over e-mail or gn onto the site under her name before launching attacks on other members that she would then be blamed for. kept thinking, 'What's wrong with me?'" says Amy, now a chatty 15-year-old. "Why does everybody hate me?"

ullying, whether it occurs in the schoolyard or on-line, is at its core about power and control. And today, when kids cruise around the Internet the way they do around their neighbourhood, getting slammed on a Web site can

just as bruising as getting slammed against a playground wall. Through e-mail or over cellphones, tormentors s, harassing them while their parents sit in the next room. It's called cyberbullying

and, for both parents and teachers, it's a growing concern. According to the Media Awareness Network, an ttawa-based non-profit group that monitors on-line activity, a quarter of young Canadian Internet users report

having received material that said hateful things about others. These can be threats, gossip -- or worse. Groups metimes gang up on one student, bombarding them with "flame" e-mails or infecting their computer with viruses. ne jilted boyfriend posted his ex's personal information on porn sites, while a girl who visited Toronto became the

subject of a rumour that she had SARS.

"It's so far beyond the passing of notes," says Jan Sippel, coordinator of abuse prevention at the Vancouver chool Board. "This bullying gives kids the same feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness as the traditional

yberbullies' weapons of choice are e-mail, cellphones that can send text messages, and instant-messaging programs that allow users to chat electronically in real time. With IM chat the No. 1 on-line activity among kids,

actised by some 60 per cent, it's a natural medium for abuse. Some bullies post slurs on Web sites where kids congregate, or on personal on-line journals, called Weblogs. In a macabre twist on the American Idol craze, sites

where students vote on their school's biggest geek or sluttiest girl. "Who here hates teressa as uch as i do," asks a student with the screen name silentgothichell on a site called Schoolscandals2.com. "She is

such a f***ing poser who thinks she is so kewl and awesome and pretty and she is DEFFINATLY NOT!" "Yeah," sponds Do_a_crazydance. "She's freaken ugly."

ll Belsey, a father and education consultant in Cochrane, Alta., who runs Web sites about bullying, has studied growing phenomenon of cyberbullying and says the anonymity of the Internet emboldens the culprits. "When s feel there aren't consequences for the communications, they take liberties," says Belsey, whose sites,

y a million hits a month. Kids and parents write in to the sites about

eryone hates her."

Perhaps the most famous victim of cyberbullying is Ghyslain Raza, the 15-year-old boy from Trois-Rivières, Que., fight scene was posted

on the Internet by some classmates. Millions downloaded the two-minute clip and the media dubbed him the "Star nselling, and his family has launched a lawsuit against his

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Bithekidbullying.org and cyberbullying.ca, receive nearltheir own experiences. "[My daughter] set up a Web site for herself and asked people to sign her guest book,"

rites one anonymous mother. "A gaggle of girls started signing it, telling my daughter she should just die and that wev

who became an unwilling celebrity when a film he made of himself emulating a Star Wars

Wars kid." He was so humiliated he sought coutormentors.

The growing number and severity of cyberbullying incidents are leading educators and the authorities to start taking action. Calgary police recently issued a warning about such electronic activities, pointing out that written

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death threats are a crime. In Vancouver, a group of Grade 7 girls were caught in a game where they'd vote via instant messaging who should be their next target for ostracism. "We've had quite a number of these incidents," says Sippel of the Vancouver School Board, who has organized about a dozen parent meetings about

differently. Most adults approach computers as practical tools, while for kids the Internet is a lifeline to their peer ds

t

going nd g

ck, the bullying stopped.

that is

llying survey. And at the end of the month, he will speak at a conference for educational administrators. This is just a start, he says, but "people are beginning to understand the genie is out of the bottle."

cyberbullying. But schools are having trouble addressing the issue because much of the abuse occurs outside the classroom. "Bullying is taken very seriously," says Tamara Grealis-Ellam, head of guidance at Toronto's Woburn Collegiate Institute. "But unfortunately, with cyberbullying, you need the student to come forward and tell you."

Part of the problem in combatting cyberbullying, say experts, is that parents and kids relate to technology very

group. "Cyberbullying is practically subterranean because it lives in the world of young people," says Belsey. "Kiknow there is a gap in the understanding of technology between themselves and their parents, and their fear is noonly that the parents' response may make the bullying worse, but that the adults will take the technology away."

That was Anne Boucher's first impulse. Amy's mother saw her daughter's depression and urged her to stop to the art Web site. But Amy still had friends there, people with whom she had been communicating for years. Aher drawing was getting really good (one work sold for $300 at an on-line auction). "She'd get up the next morninand she would still be feeling down and then she'd go to the place where she felt comfortable and she'd get attacked again," says Anne. "I kept telling her not to go back, but it was her little community." Amy eventually left the site for awhile, and when she went ba

Belsey says that parents, teachers and the police need to meet cyberbullying head-on. And to some degree, happening. Belsey has contacted more than 40 schools across the country, asking them to participate in a cyberbu

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Cyberbullying: School Action Plan Awareness and education are the keys to the prevention of cyberbullying! s as Partners we get parents involved on this issue?

ParentHow can

Students as Partners How can we draw awareness to our students?

Across the Curriculum How can we incorporate issues of cyberbullying into our curriculum?

Classroom Behaviour and Expectations What do we expect from our students in the classroom?

Interventions for Bullies, Victims and Bystanders How can we stop cyberbullies?

In School Supervision How do we m nitor student behaviour outside the classroom?

School Events How do we draw school-wide awareness on this issue? o

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An Ounce of Prevention…

Place / keep computer(s) with Internet access in an open, commonly used space

Never give out personal information or passwords, P.I.N. numbers etc..-Personal information includes your name, the names of friends or family, your address, phone number, school name (or team name if you play sports). Personal info also includes pictures of yourself and your e-mail address. Ask permission before sharing any information with a Web site, a "chat buddy" and even when registering a product purchased for your computer (like a game). Passwords are secrets Never tell anyone your password except your parents or guardian.

d -Just because so you that they are they are telling the truth. E retends to be a

a 15 y

Use Netiquette -Be polite to others online just as you would off-line. If someone treats you rudely or meanly - do not respond. Online bullies are just like off-line. ones - they WANT you to answer (don't give them the satisfaction).

Don't send a message to someone else when you are angry -Wait until you have calmed down and had time to think. Do your best to make sure that your messages are calmly and factually written. You will usually regret sending a "Flame" (angry) to someone else later on. Once you've

e

Don't open a mesage from someone you d your parents, guardian or another adult.

If it doesn't look or feel right, it probably isn't -Trust your instincts and teach your kids to trust theirs. While surfing the Internet, if you find something that you don't like, makes you feel uncomfortable or scares you, turn off the computer and tell an adult.

You don't have to be "Always On" turn off, disconnect, unplug, try actual reality instead of yourself a break Don't stay ed too long. Spend time with

riends off line.

Sign on the dotted line Make and print out an online contract with your parents or guardians. Ask your parents to read the information for them on this Web site, so they will be informed about cyberbullying and Internet safety issues.

If you are the Victim of a Cyberbully: What Can Be Done Now?

Don't reply to messages from cyberbullies -even though you may really want to, this is exactly what cyberbullies want. They want to know that they've got you worried and upset. They are trying to mess with your mind and control you, to put fear into you. Don't give them that pleasure.

Don't believe everything you see or rea15 doesn't mean

meone online tells ven adults can't tell when a male p

female or a 50 year old pretends to be ear old.

sent a message, it is VERY hard to undo th damage that such "flames" can do.

on't know - If in doubt about it, ask

virtual reality! -Give your family and f

online or connect

18

Do not keep this to yourself! You are NOT alone and you did NOT do anything to deserve this! Tell an adult you know and trust!

Inform your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or cell phone/pager service provider (see the list of Canadian service providers and their contact information that can be found at on the "Related Resources" page on www.cyberbullying.ca).

Inform your local police

Do not erase or delete messages from cyberbullies -You don't have to read it, but keep it, it is your evidence. You may unfortunately get similar messages again, perhaps from other accounThe police and your ISP, and/or your telephone comp

ts. any can use these messages to help you.

You might notice certain words or phrases that are also used by people you know. These on

Protect yourself -Never arrange to meet with someone you met online unless your parents go

support you in making such changes at no cost to you. If your cyberbullying problems persist, I would

der to keep the account(s) active to try and catch the cyber bully

nd his is best left in the hands

of the legal authorities.

messages may reveal certain clues as to who is doing this to you, but don't try and solve this your own, remember, tell an adult you know and trust. GET HELP!

with you. If you are meeting them make sure it is in a public place.

You may need to delete your current e-mail accounts, cell phone/pager accounts and set up new ones. I am working with the Canadian Telecommunications Service Providers to

recommend that you do this as soon as possible, unless you are working with the police and your Telecommunications Provi

If you are more technically inclined, you can do a little cyber-sleuthing of your own to provide the police and your Telecommunications Provider with more information, but NEVER try ameet someone personally who you suspect might be the cyber-bully T

http://www.cyberbullying.ca/

19

Online Acronyms

2L8 -Too late BYTM -Better you than 2U2 -To you too 4GM -Forgive me AAMOF -As a matter of fact AAYF -As always, your friend AFAIK -As far as I know

I'm wrong CU -See you CUL -Catch you later CUS -See you soon CUL8R -See you later CWOT -Complete waste

GG -Good game GI -Good idea GIWISI -Gee, I wish Isaid it GJ -Good job

AFK -Away from

ATM -At the moment

B4N -Bye for now

BBIAB -Be back in a bit BL -Be back later

ck soon you

D -Big deal BFD -Big freakin' deal

F -Boyfriend BFN -Bye for now

C -Be cool /C -Because

you IL -Brother in law

BME -Based on my xperience

RH -Be right here RB -Be right back

BTDT -Been there, done

me CMIIW -Correct me if

of time

EOL -End of lecture

FCOL -For crying out loud FIL -Father in law FITB -Fill in the blanks FNB -Football and beer FOCL -Falling off the chair laughing FOFL -Falling on the floor laughing FWIW -For what it's worth FYA -For your amusement FYI -For your information G -Grin G2G -Gotta go GA -Good afternoon / Go ahead GAL -Get a life GAS -Greetings and salutations GBH -Great Big Hug

GE -Good evening GF -Girlfriend GFN -Gone for now

GL -Good luck GM -Good morning /

GMTA -Great minds

H&K -Hugs and Kisses

HF -Have fun HH -Ha-ha HHSF -Ha-ha, so funny HHVF -Ha-ha, very funny HOAS -Hold on a second IAC -In any case IAG -It's all good IAGW -In a good way IC -I see / In character IDGI -I don't get it IDNDT -I did not do that IIRC -If I remember correctly IK -I know IKWUyou mean IMAO -In my arroganopinion IME -In myIMHO -In my hum

keyboard AKA -Also known as

CYA -See ya DIIK -Darned if I know

Good move/match

ASAP -As soon as possible ASL Age, sex, location? ASLP -Age, sex, location, picture?

DIY -Do it yourself EAK -Eating at keyboard EG -Evil grin EOD -End of discussion

think alike GN -Good night GR8 -Great H -Hug HB -Hug back

ATYS -Anything you say AWA -As well as B4 -Before

EOR -End of rant F -Female F2F -Face to face

HAGD -Have a good day HCIT -How cool is that

BAC -Back at computer

BBBS -Be baBCNU -Be seein'B

B

BBBCNU -Be seein'B

eBOT -Back on topic B

M -I know what

t

experience. ble

B

that BTW -By the way

20

opinion IMNSHO -In my nhumble opinion INRS -It's not rocket sciencIOW -In other words IRL -InIRSTBO -It really suthe big IS -I'm sorry ISWYM -Imean JMHO -Just my humopinion JTLYK -Just to let you know J/K -Just kidding J/P -Just playing K -OK KIR -KIT -Keep in touchKWIM -Knomean? L8R -Later LMK -Let me know LTR -Long term relationship LYK -Let you know LMAO -Laugha•• off LMBO -Laughinbutt off LOL -Laugh oLTNS -Long timLUM -Love you man M -Male ME2 -Me too MIL -MotheMMA -Meet me at ... MMAMP -Meet me amy place MYOB -Mind your own businN -In NBD -No big deal N2M

N/C -Not cool NE1 -AnyonNM -Nevermind, Not much NMH -Not much hereNMJC -Nothing much, just chillin' NNITO -in that order NO1 -No one NOTTOMH -Not off top of my head NOYB -Nobusiness NP -No problem NRN -No reply necessary NW -No waOIC -Oh, I see OMG -Oh my gosh OOC -OT -Off topic / Othetopic PLZ -Please PPL People POS -Parent oveshoulder QT -Cutie RESQ -Rescue RFC -Rcomment RHIP -Rank privileges ROF -Rollingfloor ROTFL -Rollingfloor laughing RTFM -Remanual S2R -Send to receive SCNR -Sorrresist SIL -Sister in law SLY -Still love ySWALK -Sweet, withall love, kisses

SWAK -Sealed kiss SYSOPOperator TCO -Taken careTOH -The other half THX -Thanks TNX -Thanks TIA -ThanksTMA -Take my adTMI -Too muinformatiTTFN -Ta ta forTTYL -Talk to you later TY -Thank you TYVMmuch U2 -You too UR -Your UR -You are ... VBG -Very big grin W2F -WW8 -Wait W8AM -WB -Welcome bacWrite back WE -Whatever WNDITWB -We never did it this way beforeWRT -With Regard TWTF WTG -Way to go! XOXOXOkisses Y -Why? YMMV -Yomay vary YRG -YoYW -You're welcome >U! -Screw you! ? -Huh? ?4U -Question for you

ot so

e

real life cks

one

see what you

ble

Keepin' it real

w what I

ing my

g my

ut loud e no see

r in law t

ess

-Not too much

e

Not necessarily

the

ne of your

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Out of character r

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equest for

hath its

on the

on the

ad the flippin'

y, could not

ou

with a

-System

of

in advance vice

ch on

now

-Thank you very

ay too funny

Wait a minute k OR

o

-What the freak?

-Hugs and

ur mileage

u are good!

Joshua Crozier Christopher Ewing Kristina Franjic

Resources An Educator’s Guide to Cyb ing and Cyberthreats erbullyhttp://www.cyberbully.org/docs/cbcteducator.pdf Bullying Awareness and Prevention http://www.tcdsb.org/bull /Bullying%20Awar 20Prevention.pdfyproofing eness%20and% CBC Ne g ws: In-depth Cyberbullyin

ws/backgroun ying.htmlhttp://www.cbc.ca/ne d/bullying/cyber_bull Challenging Cyber Bullying

.ca/englishhttp://www.bewebaware /CyberBullying.aspx Challenging Cyber Bullying

ness.ca/http://www.media-aware

ing Thre ys On” Generation Cyberbullying: An Emerg at to the “Alwahttp://www.cyberbullying.ca/pdf/feature_dec2005.pdf Cyberbullies Target Girl

hi/england/ ire/2933894.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ nottinghamsh

s of Cyberbullying ourses/lib t2/www/D_Jackson/e

Examplehttp://www.slais.ubc.ca/c r500/04-05-w xamples.htm Mobilizing educators, parents, students, and others to com cial cruelty bat online sohttp://www.cyberbully.org/ Net Alert http://www.wiseuptoit.com.au/lauren_ordeal.html Online Safety at School

rticle2/0,1759,1619636,00.asphttp://www.pcmag.com/a

es on Bullying IC000023

Put the Brakhttp://www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/page.cfm?id=I Stalked by a Cyberbully

tent=20040524_81183_81183http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/technology/article.jsp?con www.cyberbullying.ca. . Always Aware Always onwww.cyberbullying.ca.

th Focus Groups in Toronto and Montreal ategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf05380e.html

Young Canadians in a Wired World - Parents and Youhttp://str

Joshua Crozier Christopher Ewing Kristina Franjic

orkshop B: Digital Projection

in the Classroom

W

PowerPoint http://www.actden.com/pp2003/

Corel Presentations 10 ions/http://product.corel.com/en/wpo2002_box/coreltutor/Presentat

html_docs/pstart.htm