To be completely honest I do not remember much on being educated about “cyber safety” within my life. I like to think that most of it comes with common sense and respect for yourself and others; but it is obvious many people do need this education and true understanding of impacts.
The one time I do remember being educated on cyberbullying would have been when I was around grade 6/7 and some of the Saskatchewan Roughriders Players came into our school for a presentation. I was able to find an short article on this anti-bullying program here! This being a long time ago I do not remember much, the two things I do remember were the quotes “the internet is forever” and “If you wouldn’t want your grandma to see it, don’t post it!”. Obviously two smaller messages but ones that have still stuck with me to this day. This example was definitely more focused on education to proper use over scare tactics. I believe both can be beneficial when done right. For example when using scare tactics it definitely makes a bigger impact when it is close to home, whether that being a local story or even just a story like Amanda Todds being within Canada definitely made it taken more seriously for me.
When I think of my university experience with this it is definitely something that has been Brough up often. Especially being in education, a common conversation is regarding our digital footprint. Understanding that our future employers, students parents, and more will be seeing what we post and everything we have posted. One good way it has been put is that we always hav out “teaching hat” on so it is important to always understand the greater impacts of our actions.
Hi Noah,
Your post highlights an important issue. Many people do not receive enough cyber safety education. Understanding the significance of our digital footprint and the impact of our actions is crucial, especially for young students and future educators.
Hi Noah
Your title got me! Isn’t that the truth!
I agree with your take on the Amanda Todd case; the absolute disgusting treatment of her, despite being just a child navigating the new world of the internet on her own without a framework, in our Canadian school system really drove the point home. We have to educate students and teachers on the reality of internet and not treat it as if it is a separate world. It is, for many students, their “real” world with real world implications as we saw with Todd. It freaks me out that we need to tell people that “hey don’t treat people like garbage in person or online,” but obviously there is something missing at home or at school. Especially when we consider the rate at which students report online bullying. What might your future approach for teaching students that what we post matters probably longer than we want it to look like?
Hello Noah,
I have to agree with Kate, your title definitely caught my attention. The truth in that line says it all. I also remember having a presentation done by some of the Saskatchewan Roughrider players on cyberbullying but this is all I really remember being taught within my elementary years on this topic. I believe it is super important to have these types of presentations and learnings within the classroom so that all students are aware of it. Thanks for sharing your ideas in your blog, I enjoyed reading it!
Love the title of this blog post Noah haha! I have a quick question for you regarding this post… Can you share a personal story or an incident where you or someone you know was affected by cyberbullying or online risks? Looking forward to your response.