Bearing Witness to Bullying

One of the biggest changes in our understanding of bullying has been an increased awareness of the important role witnesses play in any bullying situation. This has been partially because of cyberbullying, which makes it possible for witnesses to be invisible, to join in anonymously, to revictimize a target by forwarding bullying material – or to intervene, to offer support to the target and to bear witness to what they have seen. Just as we're coming to realize how important witnesses to bullying are, though, we need to be careful to recognize how complex their role is.

What Students Need to Know about Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (Grade 5) - Lesson

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has created three guides for teachers that help increase the understanding of open government and personal privacy. What Students Need to Know About Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy has been created to provide an opportunity for teachers and their students to discuss why access to government-held information and personal privacy are important public values and how these values are reflected in our relationships with governments.

Cyberbullying and Civic Participation

This lesson allows students to explore the concepts of rules, values and ethics and learn how they influence our decision-making. Students are then invited to consider how they can contribute to create positive online cultures.

Promoting Ethical Behaviour Online: My Virtual Life - Lesson

In this lesson, students learn about ways to manage their privacy and reputation online by exploring their digital presence and to make good choices about sharing other people’s content online. Students explore how they are portrayed online through their own content and content posted or shared by others, and research tools for controlling access to their online content. Finally, students explore moral dilemmas relating to posting and sharing personal material.

Cyberbullying and the Law (Grades 7-8)

In this lesson, students learn about and discuss the legal aspects of cyberbullying. They review a variety of hypothetical scenarios and a case study, and they consider the seriousness of the situations, who is legally responsible, what action (if any) should be taken and by whom. 

Understanding Cyberbullying : Virtual vs. Physical Worlds - Lesson

In this lesson, students explore the verbal and visual cues that we rely on to understand how other people are feeling. They then consider the differences between online and offline communication and discuss how these differences may make it difficult to understand the effect our words and actions have on others online. Students then identify strategies for mitigating these aspects of online communication and apply those strategies to create a media product in which they are used successfully.

Introduction to Cyberbullying: Avatars and Identity - Lesson

Because of the ways that digital media leave out many of the cues that prompt us to feel empathy, it is easy for young people to sometimes forget that real people – with real feelings – are at the heart of online conversations. In this lesson, students are provided with opportunities to explore this concept and discuss the importance of using empathy and common sense when talking to others online. 

Online Marketing to Kids: Protecting Your Privacy

This lesson introduces students to the ways in which commercial apps and websites collect personal information from kids and to the issues surrounding children and privacy on the Internet. Students begin by considering how comfortable they would be with people knowing various things about them, and then watch and discuss a video which explains how targeted advertising works. They then explore the idea of targeted advertising through a class exercise in which Prince Charming tries to target Cinderella with an ad for glass slippers, and then analyze how their own personal information might be used to target them with ads. In the second part of the lesson, students are introduced to privacy policies and how they are rated by the website Terms of Service, Didn’t Read. They read and analyze the site’s rating for a popular app and then learn ways to limit data collection. In an extension activity, students are introduced to the idea of “dark patterns” and imagine how the Wicked Queen might use them to convince Snow White to accept “poison” cookies.

Playing With Privacy

In this lesson, students are introduced to the idea that their gaming experiences may compromise their personal information.

Classroom Resources to Counter Cyberbullying - Portal Page

Lessons on Cyberbullying for Grades 5-12

The Internet has created a whole new world of social communications for young people who are using e-mail, social networking Web sites, instant messaging, chat rooms and text messaging to stay in touch with friends and make new ones.