Cyberbullying and staying SAFE

Cyberbullying is when someone is mean, hurtful or threatening to another person online.  This makes the person feel unsafe and upset.  Here are some guidelines to help you avoid cyberbullying.

Be S.A.F.E.!

STOP and don’t click!

If someone is cyberbullying you, do not respond!  The purpose is to make you upset, so acting upset only gives them what they want.  Once you respond, you cannot take it back.  Instead, just pause, take a deep breath and think it through.

Tell a trusted ADULT!

Don’t keep it to yourself.  Cyberbullying is not usually just one instance of hurt, so it’s important to tell someone right away.  It is not your fault and you will not be punished for speaking up.  In addition to speaking up for yourself, you can speak up for others too!  You can tell a parent, a relative that you are close to, a teacher, or a guidance counselor.   

FILTER out personal information!

Keep your address, phone number, passwords, birthday, etc. private.   Do not even exchange passwords with your friend.  Never meet someone that you met online in person.  People can pretend to be anyone they want online and that may not be who they really are.  It’s ok to share your account information and passwords with your parents or guardians.  They have your safety as their main concern.

Save EVIDENCE!

If someone is cyberbullying you, you may want to make it go away by deleting it or turning off the computer.  But don’t delete it!  Save the evidence so you can share it with the trusted adult and stop it from happening again.  Print off the evidence or ask your trusted adult to help you with it.   Once the problem has been taken care of, you can tear the paper to shreds to make you feel better!

Adapted from an acronym by Michele Borba, character.org, June 2012.

Social Network Safety

Social networks are very popular around the world.  Some examples of popular social networks include Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.  When used wisely, these can be a fun and safe way to keep in touch with family and friends.  In order to use them safely, please consider these safety tips:

1. Keep your account (and personal details) private.

Make sure you pay close attention to what others can see about you online, even without being your “friend” or “follower”.  Use privacy settings and only give brief details about yourself online.  Chances are that if the person knows you in real life, they already know where you go to school and they don’t need it posted in your profile.

2. Don’t overshare.

Nobody needs to know what you ate for dinner at a restaurant on Saturday, how you feel about Adele’s newest song, or whether or not you did your homework.  Consider what you are sharing and only share the highlights of your life, like winning the championship game or opening night performances in the school musical.

3. Think about how you represent yourself online.

What is your profile picture?  What does it say about you?  Does your profile seem positive or negative?  Would you want to be your friend?

4. Don’t bully and don’t respond to bullies.

If you feel bullied online, save it but don’t respond.  Responding will not help and it could make it worse.  You have a right to be treated with respect, and so do others.

5. Contact a trusted adult if you feel unsafe online.

If you feel bullied or you are being contacted by someone you don’t know, tell an adult you trust.  This could be a parent, a grandparent, a school counselor or your favorite teacher.  All of these people will know how to respond and will make sure that it is taken care of immediately so you can get back to enjoying the internet safely.

6. Don’t start or feed into arguments online.

Sometimes you may see people arguing online.  It’s difficult to understand what people mean when talking on the internet and sometimes a misunderstanding can happen and feelings get hurt.  Avoid starting arguments and stay out of any arguments you may notice online.

7. Think twice before posting.  WWGS?

Along with number 6, keep in mind that other people may be offended by what you post.  Try to remain positive, share only what is very special and will be of interest to your family and friends.  It’s not a competition for the most likes and your number of friends online does not prove your worth as a person.  Before you post, ask yourself, “What would Grandma say?”

8. Don’t let it take over your life.

Take time to connect with people without technology.  Face-to-face friendships are more important than online friendships.

In your opinion, which one of these is the most important rule and why?  Use at least two sentences.

Copyright for kids

Read the article below.  Then comment on it and tell me in your own words - what is copyright?  Also tell us what ONE of the scenarios could do differently to follow copyright rules.

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Copyright is defined as the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, musical recording, etc., for a certain period of time.

As a student you should care about copyright because everyday when you use information that you find on the internet, such as pictures or music, you could be breaking copyright law.  If you are using it in school, it qualifies as "fair use" or "educational purposes", but if you are using it for yourself, such as to make a post to start a snow shoveling business in your neighborhood, you are not covered by this exception.

Basically - using it in school is ok! (fair use)

Using it outside of school is not ok! (not fair use)

The following works are covered by copyright:

• literary works (which includes computer software); - aka books
• musical works, including any accompanying words; - aka songs and lyrics
• dramatic works, including any accompanying music ; - aka plays and musicals
• pantomimes and choreographic works; - aka dances
• pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; - aka pictures
• motion pictures and other audiovisual works; - aka movies and TV shows
• sound recordings; and - aka voice recordings
• architectural works. - aka building structures

Copyright infringement or plagiarism is when you take credit for something that is created by someone else, especially when you do not give credit to them.  While you generally are fine while in school by using information, you will be required in most instances to tell where you found the information.  This is called citing and link to the information is called a citation.  

If you want to use something on the internet, you can do a few things:

1. Look for pictures or videos that are “Labeled for reuse”
2. Use a citation to show where you found your information (website address, author name, etc.)
3. Contact the person who created the picture or video and ask them for permission to use it

All of these will protect you.  Consider these scenarios:

• Kylee is a student in 7th grade creating a video about her favorite book.  She uses pictures that she found from Google images and puts them in her video.  She publishes this video for everyone to watch on Facebook.
• John is a student in 5th grade making a presentation for his language arts teacher.  He uses pictures from Google images and he shares the presentation with his teacher and his partner, Mike.  His teacher posts it on her website and many people from outside his school can see it.
• Tyler is a student in 5th grade who wants to get a boy scouts badge.  He makes posters to advertise his service project and he uses pictures he found from Google images.  He hangs these pictures around his neighborhood so that people can contact him.

What did these people do wrong?  What could they do differently?

Let's Practice!

Hi Digital Citizenship students,

Please comment on this post so I can see if it is working for everyone.  Thanks!