Prevent Cyber Bullying in Higher Education

While social media and digital tools have huge potential for teaching and learning the particular qualities of online interactions can also lead to the pervasive and serious issue of cyberbullying. This reality prompted the project team to apply action research to study inventive student-centred approaches in higher education to raise awareness for students and staff in preventing cyber bullying and promote a culture of wellbeing and respect online.

Project description

Twenty-first century digital communication technologies allow for wider and faster Internet access. These technologies have enabled more people to share and be connected to an extensive range of online material for a variety of purposes. Aligned with this is the introduction of blended learning (that is, combinations of online and face2face delivery) in higher education institutions, resulting in increasing online collective-learning communities. While social media and digital tools have huge potential for teaching and learning the particular qualities of online interactions can also lead to the pervasive and serious issue of cyberbullying. This reality prompted the project team to apply action research to study inventive student-centred approaches in higher education to raise awareness for students and staff in preventing cyber bullying and promote a culture of wellbeing and respect online.

The effectiveness of educating students and staff in higher education on the elements and impacts of cyberbullying has received limited attention in the literature and in university policies.  It is this scarcity of literature and policy direction that has driven this innovative study, the development of an interactive educational website to inform students and staff in higher education about the very real consequences of cyber bullying for people’s lives while building greater awareness in the institution of cyber safety, positive digital reputations and help-seeking behaviours in the event of cyberbullying.

Project team

• Margaret Anne Carter
• Marie M’Balla-Ndi
• Sanjay Sureskumar
• Minerva Jonson

Project website

http://www.preventcyberbullyingjcu.com.au

Key contact: Principal Investigator, Dr Margaret Anne Carter at margaret.carter@jcu.edu.au