Sunday, February 13, 2011

Cyber bullying and Wi fi

We had presentations on both Cyber Bullying and whether Wi fi is appropriate in schools this past week.  Cyber bullying is an increasing problem in schools and among both teens and preteens as their opportunities  on social network sites blogs and websites to make fun and degrade others continues to broaden.  How does one become an effective teacher in this sense then. Education about bullying and the effects it can have on fellow students as well as educating parents on how they can help stop their students from being bullied or taking part in the bullying.  This is one of the reasons that cell phones have been banned in schools to attempt to stop this going on at school. Unfortunately it doesn't really work as students will still find a way onto those sites.  Blocking them from using certain sites at school is also important. Going along with the parent education having letting them know that having a central computer and not one in their child's bedroom can really help them monitor and stop or head off any bullying.  Secondly the subject of wi fi in schools, the contention is that it is harmful to some students causing headaches and nausea in some.  Since there is no conclusive evidence of this in the current literature and the great expense of wiring every classroom or even wiring a whole computer lab i think this is something that will stay in schools until the proof of its danger is conclusive.  The proponents of taking wi fi out fail to recognize that cell phone use has been tied to brain tumors and lower sperm counts.  The educational opportunities of wi fi for the classroom far outweigh the current evidence of its negative effects.  If evidence arises to support pulling it from schools then i would have to take a second look and see how useful and well used the wi fi actually is in re evaluating my position on wi fi in schools.  I think if teachers are using it for educational purposes such as research in the classroom or showing relevant videos and websites then the positives outweigh the negatives in this issue.

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