Cyberbullying

The aspect of cyberbullying that stands out most to me is that it can follow the victim everywhere. Other types of bullying occur in specific locations: the school bus, the cafeteria, the classroom, the locker room. However, with smartphones and other devices becoming more prevalent among students, bullies can now harass their victims at any time, regardless of the victim's physical location. Cyberbullying can occur through text messaging, social media, gaming, email and other platforms. The public nature of social media platforms can lead victims to feel embarrassed or exposed when they are bullied through these sites. However, bullying through email or messaging can also be damaging as victims will often keep the bullying to themselves, not reporting it or asking for help.

Addressing cyberbullying in a school classroom or library is becoming an increasingly important part of teachers' and school librarians' jobs. However, in order to be effective, these lessons need to move beyond scolding and lists of behaviors to avoid. The Seven Digital Deadly Sins is a thought-provoking resource that can provide students and educators a starting point for conversations about healthy digital behavior. Another engaging way to approach cyberbullying is to ask students to think about times when they have written phrases such as "kill yourself" or "you're ugly" to their friends as a joke. Teens will often type these phrases in comments or messages to their friends, assuming that the other person will get the joke. However, seeing these statements in black and white in the comments of a post or in a text message can be harmful to the recipient, no matter how the sender intended the message to sound. The following TEDx Talk from Trisha Prabhu discusses how receiving negative messages can affect teens. Prabhu also discusses possible reasons why teens send these messages in the first place, as well as possible methods for preventing cyberbullying.

I was surprised to find that when identifying students point to "specific attributes of potential targets such as special needs, very high or very low academic abilities, lack of popularity, physical appearance, physical or mental disabilities, unfashionable clothing, and ethnicity, rather than sexual orientation or gender identity" (Faucher, Cassidy & Jackson, 2015). However, the same article that describes that research has been "slow to document" cyberbullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Ultimately, it appears that cyberbullying is most often a response to some difference (real or perceived) between the bully and the victim. 

Bullying also reaches past high school and college, extending into adult life. In my future school library, I will strive to equip students with knowledge, tools, skills and resources that will help them to end cyberbullying instead of simply surviving it. The Digital Citizenship Project (Orech, 2012) provides a great example of teaching students about digital citizenship. This project asks students to work together to build their knowledge of digital citizenship by working with students of different ages on activities. During this process, both the older and younger students learn more about their own digital behavior. We know that cyberbullying does not end when students graduate, so we need to prepare them to deal with it when it occurs. 

References:

Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal Of Education And Training Studies, 3(6), 111-125.

Orech, J. (2012). How it's done: Incorporating digital citizenship into your everyday curriculum. Tech & Learning, 33(1), 16-18.

Discus: South Carolina's Virtual Library

Anyone who has recently been involved in a school library as a student, teacher or librarian will be familiar with Discus (scdiscus.org). Discus (an acronym for Digital Information for South Carolina Users) is available through all public and school libraries in the state. Links to Discus can be found on most public libraries' database lists as well as through some school library websites. However, one of the simplest ways to access this resource is to simply go to scdiscus.org. As long as you access the website from a computer that is located in and connected to the internet in South Carolina, you will not need login credentials. If you do need login credentials, a public or school librarian should be able to provide them.

The South Carolina State Library manages Discus, and this resource is free to the public. Through its collection of subscription databases, Discus allows students to search for credible sources without worrying about advertisements and untrustworthy sources. It also provides curated lists and groups of resources to help students and teachers navigate the many databases that are available.

Discus allows users to search for databases by grade level. These resources are divided into "Early Childhood & Elementary," "Middle School," and "High School." This division can help teachers and students to immediately find resources that are suited to their grade level and content matter. Discus offers resources that align with the standards for each grade level, helping teachers to plan lessons and guide student learning. This format also ensures that students will not have to sift through an A-Z list of databases every time they conduct research. For example, Discus provides databases containing information on South Carolina history. These databases can be useful in third and eighth-grade curricula. If a third grade teacher assigns a project on famous South Carolinians, students can use Discus to locate biographical information for their projects. The following video from the South Carolina State Library further explains how to use Discus to locate these resources:

Students can also browse Discus databases by subject. This allows students to look outside of their grade's standards and preferred databases when conducting research. Discus Kids further simplifies the search process by highlighting databases designed specifically for the youngest Discus users. The "SmartSearch" option, on the other hand, provides a user experience similar to that of JSTOR. This format is important for high school researchers because it introduces them to the type of scholarly research databases they will use in a university setting. Discus has something to offer for South Carolina students and teachers in every grade level and content area. 

YouTube Closed Captioning as Assistive Technology

Many teachers use YouTube to play videos or as a platform for students to publish their video projects. However, many do not realize that YouTube automatically generates subtitles and that you can edit these subtitles. These subtitles can make a huge difference for students who have trouble hearing. This tool can also help students who do not have hearing impairments. These students can benefit from captions by sharpening their reading and listening skills. This can particularly help students who struggle with reading to see words associated with relevant images and video content. Captions can also help students with cognitive delays by helping the students to process the information presented in the video. Some special education teachers have argued that using closed captioning in the classroom is more than just useful assistive technology. According to these professionals, it is also the law according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The following video from Michigan Virtual's The Accessible Classroom series explains how to edit closed captions in order to benefit students with hearing impairments. In order to edit closed captions, the teacher using this resource must have a Google/YouTube account. It is important to review and edit the automatically generated closed captions because the speech recognition technology and learning algorithms that create the captions automatically are not perfect. The automatic captions are available in ten languages, including English, Spanish, French and Japanese.

The YouTube Help Center also provides instructions for using and editing closed captions on videos. However, these instructions are more brief and do not include visual aids. Users can even invite others to contribute to the transcriptions or translations of a video. This could be a great way for an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) team to decide together how to present the material to a student with a disability. 

iPads and the R.A.T. Model

The iPad, which is the iOS tablet, has many potential pedagogical uses in a classroom. iPads can take photos, record videos, support word processing, play videos and connect users to online resources. iPads are thin, lightweight and compatible with a variety of durable cases that protect them from becoming damaged easily. Although iPads can be expensive, they offer many different tools and options for students and educators.

Some schools assign each student an iPad, while others provide each teacher with a tablet. Some schools have sets of iPads that classes can check out from the library or that the school librarian can use to teach lessons. Whether students have an assigned iPad or use their teacher's or a classroom set, iPads can personalize and enhance students' learning experiences through the R.A.T. model. This model describes technology as replacing, amplifying and transforming student learning.

This image from techedges.org shows the three components of the R.A.T. model. 

Replacement: iPads can replace writing with a pencil and paper in many ways. Students can attach a mouse and keyboard in order to type on the iPad. They can also write with their fingers or with a stylus. They can even dictate to the iPad. All of these options replace writing with a pencil and paper without changing the instructional process or the learning goals.

Amplification: iPads support many different apps that teachers can use to assess student learning. These apps will instantly grade spelling tests, geography quizzes and other assessments with short, definite answers. This increases productivity in the classroom, as teachers are able to instantly see which ideas students have mastered and which ideas they are still struggling to understand. Students can also immediately see feedback on their own assessment outcomes. Additionally, iPads allow teachers to create modules for students to work through individually using Google Slides or similar platforms. This instructional practice allows students to work at their own pace and to delve more deeply into topics that interest or challenge them.

Transformation: iPads allow students to create content. Instead of creating a poster about a topic, students can create a video presentation about it using just their iPad. Instead of studying topics such as coding in a textbook, they can practice on their iPad using apps. These opportunities to create content or to practice skills can transform both instruction and learning. Students can create when they previously would have been required to simply report. They can participate when they previously would have been relegated to observing. 

For more information about using iPads in classrooms, please visit the links below.

Apple Education provides various examples of creative uses for iPads in instructional settings.
https://www.apple.com/education/teachers/

BookWidgets lists 20 apps for classrooms with one iPad.
https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2017/04/20-incredible-apps-teachers-can-use-in-a-single-ipad-classroom

This article from iPad Bootcamp for Teachers provides tips and resources for teaching with iPads in a 1:1 setting.
http://www.ipadbootcampforteachers.com/11-teaching.html