Cyber Bullying Educational Law

Introduction

Technology is becoming a lot more common these days, and making life easier. Cell phones are prominent as well, and the various programs that they are now using in cell phones make cell phones an interesting thing to study. Cell phones have calculators, date books, games, text messaging, mp3 players, the internet, and even a GPS tracking device. These are not the only things on cell phones, but are the ones mostly used. Cell phones are also used to educate. Most of the applications on cell phones have a purpose in education. Cell phones have become very prominent in the coming years, and there are positive and negative aspects. There are advantages to using the cell phone in education. Cell phones were not always accepted as a good thing though. Cellular phones have become a growing problem for teachers and administrators because many students are using them for all the wrong reasons. Almost every high school and university student has and uses a cell phone on a regular basis, even during the academic schedule. The problem with cell phones is that they are so difficult to monitor, at any given time a student can send a silent message to a classmate without anyone seeing or hearing it. One can see how that during a test this could easily cause an out brake in cheating. More than a decade after many school systems and states prohibited students from carrying and using pagers and cellular phones in schools, state lawmakers and administrators were rethinking their positions. The widespread use of the devices and parents' concerns about their children's safety were prompting new policies that allowed student use under strict guidelines.

With evolving technology, methods of psychological abuse evolve as well. Over the last decade, the cell phone has technologically evolved rapidly to where its uses and capabilities are endless. Most cell phones today have internet access, providing the owner a pocket computer. Some students have used this technology to bully others via the internet or cell phone text messaging. Bullying that was once a face to face matter now can happen over the internet. Cyber-bullying consists of covert, psychological bullying, conveyed through the electronic mediums such as cell phones, web sites, online chat rooms, and social networking sites (Brown, Jackson & Cassidy, 2006). In the 2008-09 school year, around 7,066,000 U.S. students ages 12 through 18 reported that they were bullied at school and about 1,521,000 reported they were cyber-bullied ("Student reports of," 2011). Many teen suicides are the result of cyber-bullying. Schools and administration will need to adopt and revise policies regarding cyber-bullying and the consequences of students who cyber-bully.

Points that Support the Position

Cell Phones

Cell phones are now an accepted part of the school culture for teachers and students. Many parents want their children to have cell phones at school due to their involvement in after school activities or for safety concerns (Obringer & Coffey, 2006). Also, parents want their children to be able to contact them by cell phone if an unsafe situation arises on the way to to from school. One survey showed that 71% of parents say that their children need their cell phone at school because school administrators won't allow them to use the office phone except in cases of illness or emergency (Johnson & Kritsonis, 2007). Cell phones can also be important for school personnel to have available in cases of emergency. They can rapidly contact school and public safety officials in the event of an accident or emergency. Teachers can use cell phones to contact parents during their free time or planning periods (Obringer & Coffey, 2006).

Cell phones have a large number of uses that are immediate to teens and pre-teens. Many of these uses are built into the phones software. Some of these include phone and address book, calendar, planner, timer, alarm clock, calculator, and note pads. Other features that can be utilized are the ability to take video and pictures, record voice and audio, engage in cats, and send and receive e-mail. These powerful features can be used in a non-distracting way to benefit both students and teachers. For example, when studying ecosystems students could explore and experience them with their cell phones in hand, documenting with pictures, written or voice memos about key features they observed. Exploratory activities such as these are perfect venues for bringing the cell phone into the learning process. Student motivation could be increased because their enthusiasm toward cell phones could be focused toward learning and improvement (Roberson & Hagevik, 2008). For schools with limited number of digital cameras or internet access, cell phones help fill in the gaps serving as mobile cameras and computers (Johnson & Kritsonis, 2007). In New Hampshire, many schools encourage students to use Web-based cell phones to access homework and class assignments (Schimmel, Stellman & Fischer, 2011).

Mark Geary worked with at-risk students and figured out a way for them to become more knowledgeable individuals and succeed in school. A portion of his story is: "While working with highly at risk students in a literacy program, I discovered Google SMS. For me, it was an "Aha" moment. By using Google SMS, students who would never use a dictionary had access to Google through their favorite medium, the cell phone. At-risk students who were previously "dummies" in their old school were the information experts again. The spread of the news that their cell phone could access information through Google was viral and everyone started using it to gain more knowledge about school subjects." Geary says that everywhere in the world, except in schools, cell phones are being used to achieve what are considered essential 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, innovation, and higher order reflective thinking skills (Geary, 2008). Students who have a smartphone can use various applications that are designed to assist in learning and designed just for students. Many of these smartphones have programs that are similar to what is found in a laptop or desktop computer. Being able to quickly look up facts on the internet is possible on many phones. If a student needs assistance with classwork and does not have access to a computer, a smartphone can be used in a snap.

A few pros of allowing students to use cellular devices at school are mentioned in this paragraph. Most cell phones have a camera these days, so children can use these to take pictures of things in class. This is great for science class, for example, where they may be exposed to certain creatures, plants and other things that they probably won't encounter