Cyber Bullying

I can understand that many discussions surrounding a Bring Your Device Policy involve a concern about cyber-bullying.  I am teaching during a time where the term "bully" has reached a new level.  What used to be considered "mean behavior" is not called "bullying" and is of big concern to administrators and educators alike.  I won't use this forum to express my opinion on "bullying" and how schools are handling it today, but I do think it is important to address the fear that students will use an online source to threaten other students.

First and foremost I believe it is important for any school to have a clear definition of "bullying" and a well defined protocol to handle students who use the cyber world at school to "bully" another student.  Secondly, I believe it is important for any educator who wishes to embrace the BYOD concept in their classroom to spend a good amount of time reviewing proper online etiquette and the repercussions for using technology in an improper way. In 7 Myths About BYOD Debunked, Lisa Nielson explains "By banning devices, we close the door to authentic dialogue of how to use technology appropriately and prevent students from developing strategies for internet safety."  As educators, we need to prepare our students for their future.  As I stated before - technology is the inevitable future - and if we do not prepare our students we are holding them back.  Internet safety needs to be stressed in every classroom.

The Fact Sheet: Bring Your Own Device Policy suggests that acceptable use and BYOD policies need to be signed by both parents and students.  Students need to understand that they will lose all BYOD privileges if they are cyber-bullying.  While the loss of BYOD privileges is necessary, it is also necessary to be addressed and monitored by the administrators and educators.

Administrators and educators will need to be cognizant of bullying and mean-behavior alike, no matter what the classroom looks like.  Bullying is a problem that needs to be addressed whether it is in the hallway, the classroom, or online.  The question I think that needs to be answered is should schools only deal with this "mean behavior" when it happens at school?  Or if a school adopts a BYOD policy, are they responsible for any online bullying between students?