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This WebQuest was designed for 5th - 8th grade students. It could be used as part of a technology class, home room, or social studies class. Cyberbullying is a growing issue in schools. By helping students research the issues around cyberbullying, the process alone it will raise awareness levels. Student recommendation from this WebQuest should be taken to the School Board. Students need to know that voice will be heard. Policy or handbook changes they recommend can actually be done.

Cyber Bullying: A Prevention Curriculum for Grades 6-12 is a curriculum that deals with attitudes and behaviors associated with cyber bullying. This eight-session curriculum is designed to:
1. Raise student and parent awareness of what cyberbullying is and why it is so harmful
2. Equip students with the skills and resources to treat eachother respectfully when using cybertechnologies
3. Give students information about how to get help if they, or others they know, are being cyber bullied
4. Teach students how to use cyber technologies in positive ways.

School counselors are not the only people in the school who are responsible for the safety of students, but they may be the primary contact person for parents and students seeking information or help. Providing leadership for students, faculty, administrators, and parents in addressing the topic of cyberbullying may be an important step in ensuring students' safety.

While reports and stories in the media focusing on Internet predators have become all too frequent, the closer-to-home threat to our children may really be cyberbullying, also known as electronic or online bullying. A recent survey of 395 students (11 to 19 years old) found that 28% of students have been cyberbullied, and more than 1 in 7 admitted to acting as the bully."Cyberbullying could be the biggest online threat facing teens today," says James Leasure, co-founder of Pandora Corp. "Of course Internet predators do still exist, but statistically, kids have a much greater chance of being involved in some way with electronic bullying." Most cases of cyberbullying go undocumented because, fortunately, many kids are able to shrug off the 'unkind words' and look the other way. But there are some cases that make national headlines when they turn into tragedies, such as the Megan Meier case in 2006. Larger cases like this have prompted several states to adopt legislation that makes online bullying illegal.

[April 8, 2008] Jolita Berry remembers all too well what happened last Friday. She had just finished having words with a female student, when things turned violent. Video taken by another student on a cell phone and posted on MySpace, clearly shows what happened next. In the video you can see a teenage student beating Jolita on the floor of her art class at Reginald F. Lewis High School

The Six Principles of e-Teaching: Integrate, Lead with "Hands-On," Build Hard Skills, Involve Students, Connect Students with Real World, Showcase student work. A database of lesson plans is included on this site. LearniT-TeachiT is a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting business, industry, governmental agencies and other organizations to use the power of technology to prepare teachers, students, and learners of all ages to develop 21st century skills that will provide a basis for their ongoing engagement in learning and personal achievement.

"n 2006, I had the opportunity to conduct focus group interviews with students on the topic of cyberbullying. I partnered with Dr. Robin Kowalski and Dr. Susan Limber, psychologists at Clemson University who had already conducted a national survey on cyberbullying with students in grades 6 through 8. To build on that knowledge, we interviewed 148 middle and high school students in public schools. We selected schools in part for their diverse socioeconomic status.tudents in public schools.

Students, tell us what you think about the Phoebe Prince case and about your experiences with bullying. Why do you think students bully others? How can bullying be lessened or stopped? What, if anything, can teachers do? Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied other kids? What is the climate like at your school - are students harassed and taunted? What can you do when you see another student being bullied?

Whether we like it or not, Google or Wikipedia are our student's first ports of call when it comes to researching or undertaking independent study, not the school library. Diigo offers a fantastic way to tap into the way our students operate by allowing the annotation of web pages which can then be shared with your students and, by doing so, you facilitate the process of research for your students and you set them on the right track for further independent study.

Some educators have expressed an appreciation for the irony of experienced instructors who have had to learn about social media later in their careers teaching it to younger students who have grown up in an Internet environment. Despite what may seem to be somewhat of a disadvantage, the experienced teacher brings life lessons and the ability to guide students in a positive direction no matter the topic being taught. The tips, tools, and resources listed here can assist any teacher with the basics about social media and ways to share that information with students.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and the National Cyber Security Alliance is looking to raise awareness among college students to help them stay safe and secure online. According to the 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report, college students lost five times more money than any other age group as a result of identity fraud or other online fraud situations.

Ty Nordic understands the need to inform kids about the dangers of sexual predators on the Internet. But when his 16-year-old daughter was targeted during an assembly at Windsor High School on the first day of school Tuesday afternoon, Nordic was left with plenty of unanswered questions for the presenter whom he said used inappropriate language during the assembly and singled out specific students.

Do school officials have the authority to impose discipline in response to harmful off-campus online speech? Should they? This is a major challenge facing school administrators today. Many state legislatures are now adding statutory provisions requiring schools to incorporate cyberbullying into bullying prevention policies. But this has presented some concerns. For example, in Oregon and Washington, language incorporated into cyberbullying legislation appears to restrict administrators from responding to any off-campus bullying regardless of the harmful impact on campus. Administrators from these two states are advised to check with their legal council. Administrators in other states should understand that the American Civil Liberties Union is trying to use language in the cyberbullying statutes to override federal case law and restrict administrators from doing anything in response to off-campus harmful speech.

Schools are starting to embrace iPods, portable digital media players, as teaching tools. While some teachers have dabbled in podcasting -- like posting snippets of news broadcasts on school websites for students to download -- K-12 on iTunes U is billed as a way to bring content to a place where it can be searched and shared.

A 14-year old boy was accused of making threats on MySpace, where his page showed a tombstone, satanic references and admiration for the shooters in the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, authorities said. Through instant messages on MySpace to another student, he also threatened to lock the cafeteria doors during one of the lunch periods and shoot everyone inside, authorities said. In lieu of imprisonment, the student has been transferred to an alternative facility and is prohibited from logging onto MySpace or Facebook or making contact with students from his former school. The boy's attorney said the boy used his MySpace page to react against intense bullying at the middle school, which left him in fear. The boy has said that one of the bullies threatened to slit his throat.

Wauwatosa East High School resource officer who made the arrest says the student refused to stop texting during class Feb. 11 after a teacher told her to stop and the student told the resource officer she didn't have a phone. She continued denying she had a phone, forcing the resource officer to walk back and forth to the classroom twice and find other students who saw her using it, according to the report

Take a look at the seven YouTube videos below, all taken by student cell phone cameras in classrooms. Do we want students bringing to public attention these types of classroom incidents? Should students be punished or applauded for filming and posting these?

Students are increasingly facing lawsuits and expulsions for targeting their teachers online.Tech-savvy teenagers are increasingly paying a heavy price - including criminal arrest - for parodying their teachers on the Internet.\n\nTired of fat jokes and false accusations of teacher-lounge partying or worse, teachers and principals are fighting back against digital ridicule and slander by their students - often with civil lawsuits and long-term suspensions or permanent expulsions.\n\nA National School Boards Association (NSBA) study says that as many as one-third of American teens regularly post inappropriate language or manipulated images on the Web. Most online pranks deride other students. But a NSBA November 2006 survey reported 26 percent of teachers and principals being targeted.\n\n

Legal Implications for Searching Student Cell Phones. Although this article is written against Michigan law, it does help clarify some of the concepts for what is permissable. Note that searching a student's cell phone or wireless device without parent permission may violate state wiretapping laws.

Confiscating and looking at information on cell phones by school officials is still not clear. This is a very interesting case study for those working with digital citizenship issues at their school.

Fascinating article explaining Michigan take on searching and confiscating cell phones.