Coding
Coding is becoming a topic that is discussed around schools
lately because technology has become such a big aspect in our lives. Kids are
learning to use technology at a much younger age than they before so some
people believe that students should learn coding to see what goes into the technology
they use. There is a lot of support to back up bringing coding into the schools
than just teaching students about technology. One article brought up the fact
that it could teach logical reasoning, creativity, problem solving,
interdisciplinary learning, and instantly applicable learning.
This is not a topic I would be normally interested in
because I would not say that I am great with technology and this always seemed
like a really complicated task. Now that I read more about it I think that it
would be beneficial to students because it does incorporate so many lessons and
technology is such a big part of their lives.
I don’t think that I would personally teach it to the level
that I would like to teach, lower elementary. I think that the students might
become frustrated with it and need a lot of help with it. They still need help
problem solving and might not have some of the logical reasoning that is
needed. I think that middle school or
even upper elementary might benefit from the early instruction and teaching
introductions to it. I think that students would benefit from learning coding
and it would be exciting for the students to learn and get them engaged.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a new issue that is
bullying that takes place using electronic devices. Bullying is defined as,
unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real
or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to
be repeated, over time. Some examples of cyberbullying would be sending mean
texts or emails, posting rumors on social media, embarrassing photos, a fake
profile, and many other ways.
This is different from other forms
of bullying because the students cannot escape it, there is always an
opportunity for someone to do something hurtful electronically. These things
that are posted are often anonymous and therefore it may be difficult to track
down. Once it is posted it is really hard for it to be taken down. This can
alter a child’s life because they are more likely to use alcohol and drugs,
skip school, receive low grades, have lower self-esteem, and more.
Stopbullying.gov found these
statistics on cyberbullying:
·
The 2013-2014 School
Crime Supplement (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of
Justice Statistics) indicates that 7% of students in grades 6–12 experienced
cyberbullying.
·
The 2013 Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance Survey finds that 15% of high school students (grades 9-12)
were electronically bullied in the past year.
This site has books and activities that you can use to teach kids about cyberbullying and resources for a teacher on how to help stop or prevent it in your classroom. This is becoming a real problem in schools because of the increase in technology and it is important for teachers to have resources to prevent it.
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ReplyDeleteCyberbullying is a problem that more and more schools are facing, I think as educators we need to remind our students the negative connotations that come with bullying, and more importantly cyberbullying.
ReplyDeleteThis news report is about a Junior high student that was being bullied through social media, more specifically through twitter pulls. This student's parent wanted it to be known that there are so many different ways to cyberbully, and that the schools and the social media should be contacted. This happened right here in Grand Rapids, so it just goes to show that this is happening all around us.
http://woodtv.com/2016/01/12/twitters-poll-feature-becomes-outlet-for-cyberbullies/
I think that cyberbullying is becoming a bigger problem because of the society that these kids are growing up. These kids are growing up around technology, and they are able to access social media from multiple devices and any point in the day, and that is why it is so much easier to bully these students. Not to mention, you can create accounts with fake names, emails, turning it basically anonymous.
Cyberbullying is scary. Its hard to monitor and even harder to control. In my experience people are more confident in their cause when they are typing from a computer. Its almost as if they don't have to take accountability for some of what they say because it was just a comment online. It takes more to audibly speak about something but typing it out is just as hurtful if not worse. its terrible the thinks people share and say on the internet.
ReplyDeleteCyberbullying is a scary issue for anyone, especially children. I feel for the the children who get bullied at school, and then come home and continue to get bullied over the internet. If we as teachers can have an impact on one issue, I would like it to be halting bullying. I'm sure you could do a lesson on coding and cyberbullying, though. This would kill two birds with one stone, and benefit all parties.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ky3.com/content/news/New-law-designed-to-help-prevent-cyber-bullying-youth-suicides-382278891.html
ReplyDeleteThis website speaks of how a new law will be implemented into Missouri by 2018 that deals will suicide and cyberbullying prevention. Teachers are to inform their students of both issues, and speak on how to minimize and/or completely eliminate the issue from existing any longer. This is something that needs to be talked about in schools, and I think Missouri has the right idea to enforce it as a law.
Cyberbullying is difficult to police because unless it's done during school time or on school equipment/networks, it becomes a jurisdiction issue. There is some flexibility with "conduct disruptive to the educational process" clauses in some laws governing school discipline, but it is still very gray.
ReplyDeleteI will mention that just like anything these days, a 24-hour news cycle and social media can oversaturate us with the notion that something is a major problem. I'm not saying it isn't; rather, some research indicates that overall bullying is on the decline, but we're more aware of it.