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| Software developed to target bullying |
| Monday, 26 January 2009 11:31 | ||||
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British Columbia's Ministry of Education has developed software that targets how kids can and should deal with bullying situations in a games format. Currently, it is being piloted by some Vancouver schools and is intended to be available for public schools in the future. What an interesting idea! I was recently at a professional development workshop where the presenter, Dr. Shelley Hymel, relational aggression expert from the University of British Columbia told us that we need to move more into the world of the kids if we want our lessons on personal and social responsibility to have an impact. The classroom defines a part of the adult's world. The kids own cyber space. This leads me to think of some interesting possibilities! Situational learning. What about that? How much impact are we having teaching kids cafeteria manners in a classroom? How about turn taking in games, or managing themselves on the Sports Court? While we are busy teaching lessons in history, math, English and other core subjects in our classrooms, when it comes to teaching art we either go to a room set up for art teaching, or we transform our classrooms into art-like studios. When we teach PE, we go to the gym or outside, we don't discuss it in the classroom and expect the students to transfer their learning from a seated classroom into an active co-operative games venue, or a dance studio. Band is taught (you guessed it) in a band room! It makes sense, doesn't it? So let's take that concept a little further. Bullying Kids will spend endless hours playing games on line, so maybe its time to provide some bullying scenarios in that context. These lessons need to be composed of realistic bullying scenarios, both in the situation itself and in the outcome. Not all bullying outcomes are good, If they were, we would have this problem solved by now. So, kids need to know what to do when things go wrong. I think this could be a good idea, but it needs to be done KNOWING that kids will soon dismiss anything that is phony. The learning isn't exactly situational, but it is being provided in a medium in which kids are familiar, and it gets our teaching into their world, hopefully. However, I think there is more to the situational learning that we first may have thought, and it has everything to do with getting into the world of the kids and making the learning meaningful for them. Perhaps it is time we taught good cafeteria manners in the cafeteria, good core content lessons in the classroom, turn taking and fair play in the sports court, and cyber manners on line. Cyber bullying needs to be confronted with our kids head on. They need to know that, what they are writing on line, and how they are responding to each other, is not a free-for all where kids can hide behind screens and say horrible things to one another, about one another, and spread cruel gossip with just a click of a button. It certainly raises some interesting possibilities. Cyber games about bullying? Let's wait and see if they have an impact. they well might. Teaching, in a computer lab, what is appropriate and inappropriate in on-line conversations? A shocking and interesting idea. Here is the news story: I welcome your comments.
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stu
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Papers opened up a comments for fresh attack on child. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/n...-24934351/ This is a very sad story of a poor little gal. Now the bullies have found cyber bullying through the comments. Children like this at never free from bullies. It's appauling. |
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