So we are still waiting for the official go ahead with BYOD (which is why nothing new has been added recently!), but tommorrow marks the beginning of our first BYOD style unit.
October 2 is New York State Digital Citizenship Day, which was designed to promote safe, responsible and ethical digital behavior among our students. With The Dignity for All Students Act going into effect as of July 1, 2012, there is no better time to address important topics with our students such as Cyber Bullying. This also happens to coincide with the Federal Partners of Bullying Prevention, who have launched a video challenge, which call for submissions of videos between 30 and 60 seconds long that address how to be more than a bystander and help others who are being bullied. The deadline for this challenge is October 14. We have developed a unit which blends Common Core Standards, Digital Citizenship Day, the ISTE NETS Standards, the BYOT initiative, the video challenge and the Dignity Act into a seamless package.
Students will entered the classroom tomorrow armed with cell phones (what else is new!) to be greeted with the following PollEverywhere Poll
(For anonymity, the above poll is a replication of what was used and does not show student responses)
Then, they will see this poll
(For anonymity, the above poll is a replication of what was used and does not show student responses)
Students will then be given articles about Cyber Bullying. Ideally, they would use thier own devices to access the articles, but since the unit was time sensitive and we still do not have the BYOD official nod, we chose to print them out.
What is it?
What is Cyber Bullying?
What is Cyber Bullying Exactly?
How Cyber Bullying Works: Direct Attacks
How Cyber Bullying Works: Attacks By Proxy
Are You a Cyber Bully?
How to Prevent it/Stop It
Be More than a Bystander
Stop Bullying Now: Advice for Youth
Stop Cyber Bullying Before it StartsTop Ten Tips: Teen Prevention
Empowering BystandersRespond to Bullying
Cyber Bullying Overview
Cyber Bullying: Identification, Prevention and Response - Fact Sheet
Cyber Bullying
In the News
Cyber Bullying Threats Go Viral and Can Turn Deadly
LeAnn Rimes' Treatment - Celebrity Cyber BullyingPeace of Mind: Cyber Bullying an EpidemicTweet Monkey:Facebook Battles Suicide, Cyberbullying with Status-Reporting
Inside the Rutgers Cyber Bullying Case
Rutger's Student Dharun Ravi Found Guily in Cyber Bullying CaseRyan's Story
11-Year-Old Hangs HImself After Enduring Daily Anti-Gay BullyingCyber Bullying Led to Teen's Suicide
Some Victims of Cyber Bullying
Cyber Bullying: Case Studies
Please google the names below to find more information about their stories:
Megan Meier
Amanda Cummings
Alexis Pilkington
Ryan Halligan.
Phebe Prince
Seth Walsh
Asher Brown
Billy Lucas
Tyler Clementi
Justin Aaberg
Zach Harrington
Grace McComas
Megan Gillan
Finally, students will be asked to answer this poll
(For anonymity, the above poll is a replication of what was used and does not show student responses)
Day 2 and Beyond:
While immersed in this unit, students are also reading Lord of the Flies (that famous novel where a bunch of boys are stranded in the wilderness and bully poor Piggy).
After reading and discussing the articles about Cyber Bullying, students will be introduced to the Stop Bullying Video Challenge. They will spend the remaining days of this unit planning their entries into the challenge (a 30 to 60 second PSA on how to stop bullying). In the final day, they will use their own devices (cell phones, cameras, video cameras, iPads etc) to shoot their video. We will share the videos with each of the classes, and then, after the winners have been announced, we will post them on our school website.
