Internet+Safety


 * Internet Safety: “Cyberbullying” **
 * __ Description: __** With the advancements in technology is it extremely important that we teach our children and students about the importance of internet safety. For this activity I decided to focus on cyberbullying. There is so much information out there and available on internet safety. I decided to use brainpop.com as a resource for this activity. Brainpop.com has short video clips along with activities, question and answer information, research information, and etc. The lesson that I put together was informing students what cyberbullying is, what effects cyberbullying has on people, and what a person should do if they are a victim of cyberbullying. The lesson begins by having the students take an online quiz about cyberbullying. After taking the quiz, the students will then watch a short video clip about cyberbullying. They will then work together to complete a couple worksheets where they will have to identify situations of cyberbullying, and then chose the best way to respond to different situations.


 * __ Link to Internet Safety Lesson: __**


 * __ Process for Determining: __** I chose the topic cyberbullying, because I currently teach middle school and I think that this is something that is probably occurring more often among middle school aged students. I know that the idea of bullying in general is an issue at the middle grades and with the technology that is available for children now, unfortunately cyberbullying is occurring. I decided to use brainpop.com for this lesson because it is something that I actually have access to and I often use it in my classroom already for all different lessons. Brainpop.com has so much to offer from the video clips to real life stories. Brainpop seems to have a great way to communicate with students by really involving them in the lesson through the online quizzes to the interactive activities.


 * __ Reflection: __** I have to say that although I already knew what cyberbullying was prior to completing this assignment, I never really realized how much of a problem it is in todays society. It is extremely common for children who seem to believe that the only ways to communicate are digitally. After doing a lot of research on cyberbullying I learned so much more. There are children who are committing suicide because of situations where they have experienced cyberbullying. After reading about these situations it was very clear to me that this was an area that I really needed to focus on. Internet safety is something that needs more emphasis in schools, but unfortunately is often forgotten. Our students need to be aware of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate for communicating digitally. Not only is it important to make them aware of this, but it is also very important to make them aware of how to protect themselves when communicating digitally and how to handle situations if they become a victim of cyberbullying.