I have been quite lax with my edublogging recently.  I got very caught up with work right in the middle of the comment challenge, and unfortunately I had to let it slide.  As I am attending a conference today, I thought I’d jump start my blogging with some live blogs from the forum today.

Setting the Scene

Film ‘Let’s Fight It Together’- available from digizen.org (UK Organisation). Free streaming on webpage – can be purchased with teacher resources etc also.

The video is quite powerful – its interesting that the police are called in – we will receive some info about police involvement in Australia.  Instances of cyber bullying that ended in student suicide in the US, where no legal action was able to be taken springs to mind.  Laws very much still inadequate to deal with this situation – changes in legislation will not be a short term solution. Simplistic for the film to suggest police is a solution that will solve everything.

We need to ‘vaccinate’ against the problem and develop ‘herd immunity’ – educated individuals working on the issue are the vaccination. School acceptable use policy is a legal document and can be used in these instances. Schools must update police and make them age specific. Best opportunity to fight the problem and to add a student voice in the updating of the policies.

How do we teach students to realise accountability for what occurs in the digital arena, just as much as face to face confrontations?

Film highlights that parents may not have skills or understanding to deal with the issue. The bully doesn’t see seriousness of cyberbullying.  Friends who joined in need to realise they are at fault also. School couldn’t help until they were made aware of it.  Seems like a good resources to work with students.

Opening session is responding to comments that participants provided on their registration forms, about what they hoped to gain from the day.  So content is quite targeted to what participants expressed as their needs.

Dr Sophie Reid  (Keynote)

Brain Development – (Brain 101 )

Most complex organ, sensitive periods in development, self organising. Brain development can be encourage by providing ‘nourishment’ – hence importance of education.

2-5 years -basic senses almost adult like. 5-7 – basic sensory functions developed. 7-10 years – perception of complex visual scenes is increasing, but still immature.   Implications – because students at this age cant process quantities of information in difficult situations, so we limit the adults around them, rather than limiting the kids.  Analogy used of our 40 speed areas around schools – kids have tunnel vision and will chase the ball into the road, so limit the adults, not the kids.

Adolescent brain development – we are less comfortable with this area. 2 main stages – growth spurts (large growth of cells and connections before puberty) and ‘pruning’ – killing connections not being used. Very sensitive period of development during puberty. Frontal lobe cells last to mature. Frontal lobe controls planning, expression, personality, suppressing impulses, weighing consequences etc (CEO of the brain). Implications of this area not being developed yet? Their ability to manage their maturing emotions etc is still very immature.  Susceptible to addiction, take risks, tend to impulse if unable to rationalise, require external guidance. Young people get more of a buzz out of taking risks – bigger rush or endorphins etc.

What is the Internet to them?  Internet can be likened to the wild west – no law presence, so everyone can do what they like, break the rules as their are no consequences.  Our legal presence is mainly restricted to fighting child pornography.  Teens are susceptible to addiction, and many are addicted to the net, especially through gaming. 50% of players could seen to be ‘addicted’. Ages range from 11-68, but average is high teens/low twenties, which implies most are younger.

Rock climbing metaphor – If student asked to go climbing, we know its dangerous, but we don’t say no, we say Ill take you to a reputable climbing centre, we will use safety harness, qualified instructors and Ill stand at  holding the belaying rope.  Once skill improves and they are doing difficult maneuvers, we don’t decide to remove safety harness at that stage.  Just because our students have great deal of skill with technology, does not mean they don’t need safety restrictions and supervision.

Connection Pruning in the brain -

• too many connections for speed
• connections used repeatedly strengthened
•  comnnections not used are pruned – skills lost

Young people may be spending 20 hours on the net. They are improving skills in visual processing, but may be desensitising them to violence.  This may not make them more violent, but more tolerant of it. This effects the bystander affect in bullying situations. Further negatives due to lack of exercise etc.

 Film showing research done within MRI to teens and adults.  Shown pictures of people – adults saw fear, teens saw shock and anger. They see anger or sadness when there isn’t any, which suggests issues with interpreting what adults are thinking and how they should react to that. Teens rely on ‘gut’ reactions as frontal cortex not fully developed so can’t rationalise.

Compare this to our own sometimes inaccurate reactions to text messages via email, sms etc.  How much greater could teens misunderstandings be in this format?  Need to be encouraged to think before they send.

Stress in adoescence…

• experience stress in different ways to childhood
• vicarious stressing of peers – share friends stress
• girls prone to rumination
• boys prone to physical distraction

Coping mechanisms…

• learn coping from role models
• turn to friends for support, next family, next adults they trust, next Internet/magazines etc. teachers quite low on list – this is becaus they dont see you coping with stress, dont see you in family environment with walls down.

‘Reach Out’- great Aussie resource online for mental health. Games, forums, chat etc.  Young people go to Internet for mental health information, but unfortunately there are a lot of dangerous sites like pro-anorexia sites, information about self-harm etc, so we need to educate them to make sensible choices in what they follow. Teacher site available – registration page.

 Social networking sites can be likened to the collages we used to get kids to make – what images reflect how you feel, who you are etc.  Many kids update their MySpace etc every day, so they are re-evaluating their self image constantly.  Social connectedness critical to teens. Doesn’t matter what group tye are part of, as long as they are part of one. 

Summary

Brain development continues till 23.  Young people will make youthful mistakes, take youthful risks – the horse has bolted, we cant keep them off the net, we need to model, lead, supervise and educate.

Activity - Connect/Extend/Challenge

Connect – How are the ideas presented related to what you already new?

I was unaware of a lot of the specific research about brain development etc. I found some of it helped me related to other issues of dealing with teens, not just the cyber stuff.  I found statistics of gaming interesting, as all of thepeople I know who I would consider have a problem with addiction to gaming are adults, not teens. Maybe the ‘addiction’ is more obvious when it’s an adult? Teens may just be seen as normal behaviour. I dont think teachers see the evidence of cyber bullying often – I wonder how rife it is at my own school?

Extend – What new ideas did you get that extended your thinking?

Most of the suggestions for action, the idea that we cant ‘beat ‘em’ so we need to lead them, match opinions I also have about these issues. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend that we are dealing with the situation.  Blocking sites we perceive as dangerous doesnt stop kids accessing them, and more often than not blocks valuable resources.

Challenge – What is still challenging or confusing to get your mind around? What questions do you have?

I think I perceive the greatest problem as getting students to tell us when these problems occur, so we can act.  There may not be any easy answers to how we stop cyberbullying, but we cant do anything if we dont know about it. Educating students in a way that actually convinces them, doesn’t just become water of a ducks back, is also a huge challenge.  I am here because i am currently writing a training program to be used for all staff, and then all students, about cybersafety and being a good digizen. Hoping to pick up good resources on how we make them understand the very real concerns and dangers, without losing access to valuable resources through our fear.

Questions Session 1

How do we reinforce positive skills?

 Repetition!

Would it be useful to teach students about the ‘brain stuff’?

No one likes to be told they can’t do something.  Worth explaining so they may come to an understanding of their own behaviour, but not as ‘you have no frontal lobe development therefore I’m in charge’. Not as a power play – that’s what they rebel against, but good to impress the message that they can train their brains to develop.