| Cyber Forum at Springfield Middle School |
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Posted: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 11:21 pm
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On Tuesday October 25th, Springfield Township Middle School held a
student-parent forum entitled “Shhh...Don’t Tell Mom... But...” The
forum explored the truth about middle school students online. The
evening began with several stations for parents and students
including current research, anti-cyberbullying games, surveys, a
google station, police perspective with Springfield Township Police
Officer Gwen Phillips, and information on monitoring software.
A presentation by Mrs. Lauren Davis, Assistant Principal, followed
discussing the issues most often discussed in the middle school. A
focus was placed on the limitations schools can have as it relates to
online behavior. The school encouraged parents to keep computers in
well-traveled locations for monitoring and maintain a central docking
station for charging cell phones at night. Parents were also
encouraged to “take back their rights” to the devices they pay for
each month and allow their children to use.
Dr. Swanson then shared the school district’s commitment to increase
appropriate student use of technology. The school district currently
has a relatively liberal website blocking policy when compared to
other districts across the nation. This is structured so that
students can learn appropriate behaviors online under the guidance of
their teachers. The district also has social media presences on
Twitter, Vimeo, and Google in an effort to model appropriate behaviors.
Students were then positioned behind an anonymity board and given
signs to raise when asked questions such as: do you get woken in the
middle of the night by text messages and phone calls? Have you
received a “sext” or inappropriate photo? do you have a facebook
account your parents/guardians don’t know about? Do you store your
phone in a central docking station in your home? Is your computer in
an area of your home where your parents/guardians can monitor it? Do
you think your parent/guardian can help you in navigating online
issues? Have you been bullied online? Do you fear being bullied
online? Audience members also asked questions of the students. In
between the gasps, parents and staff members acknowledged their
surprise at the number of students who are having negative
experiences online. The evening ended with another chance to review
the stations with follow up questions.
There is a clear sense of collaboration between middle school
administration, teachers, students, and the district technology
department. Each part of the system is working together to ensure
that SDST students and parents have support while maturing in today’s
online environment. The school district has several follow up
activities planned to address the online issues presented to students.
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