This year our school
has encountered a number of problems stemming from a disregard for appropriate
usage policies and online netiquette. It is possible that this upward trend in
inappropriate use is associated with the normalisation of frequent internet and
social media use.
Image sourced from https://www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg/digital-in-2017-australia-new-zealand-the-pacific
The scenario in
question involved a small group of students using What’s App to group message
one another outside of school hours. The problem arose when the students
initiated a new group chat, but chose to exclude one of their friends. The
group went on to say mean things about the excluded student, who was blissfully
unaware of what had happened until the next day at school when one of the group
decided to tell her what they had said behind her back.
Concerns
This
incident raised a number of concerns:
1.
Why were these students engaging in underage use of
messenger apps?
2.
Why were their parents not supervising the use of these
apps?
3.
Were their parents even aware that they were using the
app?
4.
Were the students and their parents aware of the newly
introduced cyberbullying
law and the consequences for using digital communications to intentionally cause
harm to others?
5.
Where does the school stand in relation to
inappropriate online conduct outside of school hours?
6.
Even if the school had no responsibility for student
conduct outside of hours, would a failure to address this issue constitute a
breach of the Education Council’s Code of Ethics?
Stakeholder
Prioritisation
After careful consideration of the concerns relating to
this incident, I chose to give priority to the students involved in the
incident. My gut feeling was that the students’ actions were not intentionally
malicious – they had simply failed to consider the feelings of their friend or
the consequences of their actions. Furthermore, their parents were unaware of
their children’s online activity and were perhaps a little too trusting of how
their children were using social media.
How
the Incident Was Resolved
Short Term:
- I was in immediate contact with the parents of the children involved. They were informed of the incident and we discussed netiquette and strategies for ensuring the safety of their children online.
- All of the parents involved were pleased to have been informed and responded well to the information provided.
- I identified this as an important learning need for the students in my class. A series of lessons and learning experiences were planned and delivered over the course of a 2 week period immediately following the incident.
- The incident was discussed at a staff meeting. During our meeting we worked through an ethical decision making process similar to that proposed by Hall.
- As a staff, we reviewed our digital technology appropriate usage policy (AUP). Previously, the agreement was signed once by students and parents upon enrolment at our school. The decision was made to review and resign the AUP biennially. My personal feeling is that this should be done yearly so that parents and students are aware of their rights and responsibilities in relation to the use of digital technologies.
- We decided to make digital citizenship the focus of the parent information session that coincides with our Life Education program and health consultation evening
- I decided to choose digital citizenship as the focus for our Term 2 Life Education program to reinforce our learning from Term 1.
Outcome:
The
incident highlighted the need for explicit teaching around digital citizenship.
The most positive aspect of these incidents has been the change in attitude
among our staff. The explicit teaching of digital citizenship skills is no
longer seen as the exclusive domain of the senior teacher!
References:
NZ Herald Share via email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Show more Bookmark this article Share on Facebook facebook Share on Twitter twitter Share via email email Share on LinkedIn linkedin Share on Google Plus google-plus Share on Whatsapp whatsapp Share on Pinterest pinterest Share on Reddit reddit ×. (n.d.). Controversial cyberbullying law passes. Retrieved July 01, 2017, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11473545
Reporter, D. M. (2014, November 19). More than half of children use social media by the age of 10: Facebook is most popular site that youngsters join. Retrieved July 01, 2017, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2552658/More-half-children-use-social-media-age-10-Facebook-popular-site-youngsters-join.html
Education Council. (n.d.). Retrieved July 01, 2017, from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards
Underage Facebook users prove vulnerable. (n.d.). Retrieved July 01, 2017, from http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/6786407/Underage-Facebook-users-prove-vulnerable
We Are Social Singapore Follow. (2017, January 26). Digital in 2017: Australia, New Zealand & The Pacific. Retrieved July 01, 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg/digital-in-2017-australia-new-zealand-the-pacific
Hi Vicky, I agree with your coarse of action by teaching a digital citizenship unit the following term. This in retrospect should happen at every school across New Zealand at the start of every year. This might just cut down on some of the niggly problems we encounter, freeing us up to get to the harder, more intricate discussions.
ReplyDeleteHi Mrs C - thanks for your feedback. I think that it is certainly something I would like to introduce as part of my Term 1 plan in future. Interestingly, the new technology curriculum draft doesn't include anything about digital citizenship. I wonder if it something that should be made more explicit in the health curriculum?
DeleteIt is scary isn't it how damaging a simple group set up can be, There seems to be so many new things around for our students to access and it is scary how they don't often think about the consequences of their actions. I really like the way you handled it.
ReplyDeleteAnnual review of the usage contract sounds like a really sensible idea, I'll suggest it immediately for our school too. Contracts are often signed by parents when they enrol their children at five and then never thought of again. this issue needs constant vigilance.
ReplyDeleteWe have a yearly Digital Citizenship plan, making sure we address things like this...an attempt to be pro-active, but I suspect that a lot happens without us knowing! A very difficult situation when out of school turns into in school issues, especially involving apps/tech where 13+ is the age minumum. I do think parent education is important, but again...not the whole answer. You handled the situation well...hopefully no more of it!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see active participants (teachers) from the school who have taken the initiative to teach a Digital Citizenship unit. This is such a hard thing to monitor because as Gareth has stated so many of these types of things occur without us even knowing. I can also relate to Peter's statement around there not being constant vigilance around these issues, my school has also run into similar issues but through changes have lacked the drive behind teaching these types of protocols and have been subject to that once signed digital agreement contract.
ReplyDelete