As more people get into coding, more people are gaining a better understanding of the way things work. Most everyone uses some sort of computer or mobile device daily. Understanding coding is allowing them to go beyond the basic functions and really utilize more of the potential technology holds. Personally, I have very little interest in this topic. Of course, I watch things on TV or in movies where people learn how to hack systems and rewrite programs to solve crimes or break into places. But when it comes to the real world, coding is not something I would see myself doing or being good at. I use technology in a pretty basic way. I use my phone to text, make calls, connect on social media, check emails, etc. and my computer is used for much of the same. I use the same applications everyday and have no desire to further my knowledge of how they work. I see how this could potentially be something useful as a science major, but being at the elementary level is a different matter. Unless a student is highly advanced, the chances of a student in elementary school being able to work with coding successfully and fully utilize the potential of their devices is unlikely. Upper middle and high school students would be a great age group to introduce some sort of coding class to. Given that I would like to work with lower elementary students, I will more than likely never follow the trend of coding.
Issue: Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is harassment through the use of a computer,
phone, or other electronic device with the intention of causing harm or
embarrassment. Cyberbullying most commonly appears on social media, in this day
and age. People can create all sorts of anonymous or public profiles or pages
meant to bully another person or group online. Statistics from cyberbully.org
compare 9 different studies of middle and high school students from 2007-2015.
The studies showed that, on average, about 26.3% of students from 2007-2015
reported that they had been victimized somehow by cyberbullying. In 2007, about
18.8% of students reported being victimized by cyberbullying. Compare that to
34% of students in 2015, the number nearly doubled. The increased importance of
staying relevant on social media that came with the changing times increased
with it the number of students being affected by being bullied or harassed
online.
The Cyberbullying Research Center offers samples of assemblies
in schools to inform students how to be responsible and safe in the
world online. This particular assembly applies to upper elementary 3-5
graders. Upper Elementary Cyberbullying Assembly Having
someone come in and talk to students directly about potential dangers and
introduce how to avoid bullying online could help to stop future cyberbullying
that could potentially occur. Informing them at a young age, as they
start to explore technology and social media, puts the information
in their heads and can help keep kids safe.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and providing some great insight on coding and cyber bullying. It is interesting to see and be informed with the rise of coding. This was something that I feel I didn’t not experience in my k-12 years of schooling, thus I am curious to see how teachers present coding at all levels. Being a mathematics major, I find coding very interesting and part of math where students can answer “when are we ever going to use this?” as many of them might make connections to movies and TV productions in our media, or with the uprising of computer technology. A great resource to use when teaching coding is https://code.org/learn . Students get to code things that connect with Star Wars or Mine Craft and so on.
Cyber bullying is extremely harmful. It is saddens me to think about the amount of hatred that can come from cyber bullying. I found it very interesting that about 26.3% of students said they have been victimized by cyber bullying. I thought that percentage would be a lot higher. Something that educators (and really everyone else) have to keep in mind is that cyber bullying does not just happen with students. I have experience many situations where adults fall into the peer pressure of bullying over the internet. It’s a shame, but it is important for educators to be aware of, and stand up to end it.
Kelsie-
ReplyDeleteI think all the statistics that you found about cyberbullying is very interesting and I agree that we all need to be aware of it, not just in schools but everywhere.
http://kidswishnetwork.org/2015/01/taking-a-stand-against-bullying/?gclid=CP7F-pCQrc0CFZQbgQodDKUGaw
This link I found leads to a story about a boy that was a junior in high school and was diagnosed with an auto immune disease called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Before he was diagnosed he never had a problem socially, but after he found he had this disease, he started certain treatments that lead him to become overweight and get acne. He became self conscious and it seems as if his friends and teammates turn on him for the worse. They began bullying him online and at school.
There are many children and adults that go through cyberbullying whether its leaving rude comments on social media, posting private information, etc. This is a growing issue now, more than ever since technology and media is way more popular than it ever was. If cyberbullying issues take place between classmates or are involved within a school setting, I believe that the school should take some responsibility for it rather than leaving it to the parents (of course they need to be involved too). This issue is sad, but its important that educators/teachers are aware of it and need to be ready to take action.
Coding is such an interesting area of study, and would be a fascinating subject to educate students. For how technologically demanding most assignments, communication, and work are today, learning how to code to further comprehend the power of Internet technology would be a great skill set for students to develop.
ReplyDeleteRegarding cyberbullying, it's a scary issue that not enough people--especially young people--seem to take seriously; hiding behind the comfort of a screen and saying horrible things to another person with no face-to-face confrontation can be devastating to an innocent person.
This particular page was last updated in December, but this website (NoBullying.com) contains the history and information from six of the worst cyberbullying attacks of all time: https://nobullying.com/six-unforgettable-cyber-bullying-cases/
It's awful to think that school students can be the catalyst(s) of another student's suicide from constant cyberbullying, and it's awful to think that this goes on when we least expect.
Like Ashley says, I too think that schools should be held to at least some degree of accountability with their students that provoke these types of horrible messages between students' classmates. Personally, I think that every teacher needs to always tell their students about the power of technology they have (with most schools being 1:1 Chromebook schools) at their disposal, whether it be used for good or for bad.
After all, we can only do so much as educators to teach younger generations about issues like cyberbullying; however, it's up to the students to make these decisions.
Great information on your findings!
The primary issue with schools and cyberbullying is that unless it is done on school time and/or with school equipment/networks, it's difficult to say that the school has the power to discipline. Yes, there are "conduct that disrupts the educational process" clauses in school discipline laws, but if a student bullies another with his/her phone in the evening, it's pretty gray what a school can do. Imagine getting your school parking pass revoked because you got a ticket on the weekend in another city?
ReplyDelete