I have just completed the cybersmart module 4. Wow. Doing the simulations was very intense. I became very involved in the process and found that I was actually beginning to have a physical reaction to the process. I started to feel very nervous and that feeling increased as the simulation continued. I became worried for the boy who was being bullied and wanted defend him but also didn’t want to be picked on myself. How bizarre that I became so involved. It was difficult for me as an adult to respond appropriately. I can imagine that it would be difficult to do so as a child without all the reasoning capabilities of an adult.
If a child was in this situation they would not have the ability to rationalize as an adult does and could inflame the situation. Children like Billy can be bullied for the smallest things and other children may have a sink or swim attitude. Jump on the band wagon mentality. Internally grateful that it is not them being bullied.
I think students are using the internet frequently. The devices that the children have now (ipod, ipad, mobile phone) are all very small and able to be hidden from prying parental eyes. These devices are the child’s doorway to cyberbullying. It is very hard for parents to monitor these small devices. Even if the child does not have WiFi access on these devices, they can use any credit that they may have to jump online.
I think the connect.ed modules are up to date and relevant. It will need to be updated as the technology changes but they do address a lot of information of possible areas of risk.
justsim76 