The motto at our school is Leopards Love First. Honestly, I feel like the teachers do a really good job of teaching character and teaching our students how to treat each other with respect. I have indicated before in this blog that when it comes to technology and teaching digital skills such as digital citizenship, I am third with that responsibility behind the Technology Learning Coach and the Technology Related Arts teacher. The principal has been clear that my role is more literacy and standards-driven as opposed to media-centric or tech-centric, but that is far from being told not to enter that arena. She is very interested in me leading the charge with research as the two technology staff members really don't do that. Truthfully, I have not done a lot specifically to address cyberbullying. That said, I do use books to teach an anti-bullying message, but I clearly could do more to extend the conversation to digital bullying. Here is a link to books that can be used to teach cyberbullying.
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| Cartoonish frog holding a heart with hashtag #NoHate Photo from Pixabay |
After experiencing this week's materials, I am most taken with the Seven Digital Deadly Sins. Wow. This was a powerful demonstration of the ways that being online can lead you astray (Seven Digital Deadly Sins, n.d.). I am fascinated by the ideas presented, but also by considering the many other ways the sins presented could take different avenues. For example, the video essay on greed presented a woman who covets more followers or likes, or fans (Seven Digital Deadly Sins, n.d.). But greed could easily present itself in the cyber world through cyber theft or other crimes like hacking. I think that is what is so interesting about the video's identified deadly sins - they are all so multi-faceted when considered through the lens of the multi-faceted online world.
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| A map of the world with overlayed coding and a padlock Photo from Pixabay |
What really surprised me is how a seemingly small and meaningless moment can inspire one cruel child to start the ball rolling toward the crowd-sourcing of bullying in person and in the cyber world (Let’s Fight It Together, 2008). I wanted to jump into the video and tell the boy what to do. I wanted to be a classmate who told the bullies to stop. I guess the best I can do is to make sure I am using the resources available to me to encourage the real-life children I work with to be better, to love first. Here is a great seasonal book that I have used to address bullying. Just a conversation after a read-aloud favorite can make a difference and allow me to take the conversation to cyberbullying.
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| Book Cover of The Legend of Spookly, the Square Pumpkin |
The Legend of Spookly the Square Pumpkin is by Joe Troiano. Another great resource in most schools is Epic Books which has curated an antibullying series found here. Blackout by John Rocco is a book that I would like to use this year to talk about unplugging and spending time away from technology.
Let’s fight it together. (2008, May 3). [Video]. Cyberbullying.org. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://cyberbullying.org/videos
Seven digital deadly sins. (n.d.). National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from http://sins.nfb.ca/
I loved reading about your perspective on teaching anti-bullying messages to your students. I got caught up in thinking just about technology tools this week that I overlooked books and stories as part of my strategy for addressing cyberbullying! Thanks for sharing that link to books on the subject. It’s good to see so many great options on this subject. I’ll be sure to include books as a great way to incorporate this important topic throughout the school year as opposed to just one lesson. I was also fascinated by the Seven Digital Deadly Sins. It reminded me of how important it is to make sure that my students are informed digital citizens. I think it offers a needed perspective so I can make sure my instruction is truly beneficial to my students as they learn to navigate the internet. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete— Callie Graham
Thanks so much for sharing the link to books to help teach cyberbullying. I also was fascinated by exploring the Seven Digital Sins information. The story of the woman who coveted likes reminds me of a really powerful episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror titled Nosedive. In the episode a person's social media ranking determines their worth in society. It is really interesting and a good example of the Digital Sins interpretation of greed!
ReplyDeleteI also love how you have captioned your photographs. It reminds me of a polaroid! I am going to try this on my blog. :)
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