Journal 6

Richardson, K. W. (2008).Don't Feed the Trolls Using Blogs to Teach Civil Discourse. Learning & Leading with Technology , 35(7)

The article Don’t Feed the Trolls discusses a form of online bullying that is conveyed online over blogs. Technology has come very far over recent years and blogs and public networking sites in general are really great inventions that have been extremely useful. Blogs in particular are a great tool to use in the context of a classroom in which makes it easier for students to communicate with each other and receive input on work that they have completed. The article is very useful in discussing how to prevent students from bullying each other online and it also brings light to the fact that students need to be taught the rules of how to behave appropriately online.

What are other ways to teach children how to behave online?
Online etiquette standards and goals should be taught early on to the youngest students. In Kindergarten students are taught about citizenship and how to interact with their peers, it would be helpful if good citizenship on the web was also taught at this age. It is important to reach students early about how to behave over the internet, especially because children are beginning to utilize the internet at much younger ages.

Should online bullying be taken as seriously as school yard bullying?
I absolutely think that each type of bullying should be treated as equally serious and hurtful offenses. Most schools have zero tolerance policies concerning bullying and that should be extended to commuter use involving education. Parents should also be involved and educated about online civility so they can also monitor and model appropriate web based practices.