Lab

Agencies gather at University to beat the cyber bullies

Tuesday 29 November 2011 11.30am
A computer
Experts discussed web-based bullying.
Experts from charities, schools, local authorities and academia all gathered at the University of Salford last week to discuss the best approaches to tackling cyber-bullying – a problem suffered by over a third of school children.

The British Computing Society, charity Beatbullying, the Children's Services Directorate from Salford City Council, the UK Safer Internet Centre and the BBC were all involved in the workshop which discussed the social, psychological, technological and educational issues of cyber bulling.    

 

Some of the key issues discussed include the reluctance of children to inform their parents in case they are forbidden to use social media sites, parents' lack of awareness of the issues raised by social media, and the lack of an integrated approach to cyber bullying. 

 

The strategies discussed include use of synthetic characters in virtual environments to promote empathy, use of mentoring, and development of effective resources for Schools.

 

During the workshop, participants tried an interactive BBC video featuring popular kids’ programme Tracey Beaker, in which viewers can choose the next course of action in a cyber-bulling scenario.  Many of the schools present at the workshop expressed an interest in using it as part of their anti-bullying programmes.

 

Meanwhile, the British Computer Society described their new eSafety qualification which is being adopted by many schools nationwide, the programme of support offered by Salford Council's Children Services was presented and BeatBullying presented their cyber-mentors programme which has reduced levels of abuse by up to 40%

 

Professor Sunil Vadera from the School of Computing, Science & Engineering who, together with colleagues from across the University, helped put together the workshop said: “It was really useful to get organisations with different perspectives of cyber-bullying in the same room.

 

“There are many organisations doing some great work out there, but they don’t always have time to combine their efforts like this, so the University was glad to help out.”

 

The next step for Professor Vadera and his team is to work with the British Computing Society to put together a website which provides a comprehensive resource for schools – with links to the resources outlined at the workshop.