18 August 2011

Teachers fight back against being 'YouTubed'

In one video a student rails against his teacher, explaining how much he "hates her" due to her "boring lessons."

In another the message is more ominous, with the teenage student venting about his 11th grade science teacher and saying "I don't even care if she sees this."

He added, "I despise this lady. I never knew I could hate anybody this much," before brandishing a knife and making stabbing motions towards the camera.

It's called being "YouTubed" and the Internet is full of hundreds of videos of students either badmouthing their teachers or provoking them to explode in class, then recording the fireworks and posting it to the Web.
And parents have also gotten in on the action, posting videos where they verbally attack their kids' teachers or post allegations against them.

But teachers have begun to fight back. On Tuesday, 800 delegates at the annual meeting of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario voted unanimously to urge boards and schools to establish clear policies around the unauthorized use of digital recordings and photos taken by students.

Teacher Dave Buddell told CTV News on Wednesday night that he occasionally Googles his name.

"I've been online and looked around," he said. "You do see instances where teachers have been filmed obviously without their consent."

Some Ontario school boards have clear policies that deal with the use of school-owned technology, but not the students' personal devices.

Another teacher, Rob Smolennaars, said he wants all students to be taught how to use technology responsibly.

"I think it would be better for everyone involved if we knew what was appropriate," he said. "And there was a consistent and clear message to teachers, students and families."

Parry Aftab, a U.S. digital crime expert who runs cybersafety.org, said the Internet and easy-to-use digital technology have created a new cyber schoolyard for bullying to take place.

"Our kids are using digital technology to create their own media for their 15 megabytes of fame, trying to destroy the reputations of teachers," Aftab told CTV's Canada AM from Charlottetown, P.E.I. where she is setting up a Canadian office for her company.

"They'll say they're gay, they're pedophiles, all kinds of things about them designed to really hurt them, and it's hard to fight ghosts in cyberspace."

The attacks are also becoming more sophisticated. There have been incidences where fake Facebook pages were created in a teacher's name, allowing students to post insults on their wall.

And there are countless videos on YouTube where a teacher appears to be intentionally baited by a student into a reaction, while others are standing by, ready to hit 'record' on their video-equipped phones.

In one, a frustrated teacher confiscates a student's phone, venting that "I can't put up with this anymore. I'm just trying to do a nice class here, and you're always on the phone and I just, really, I just hate it."

The teacher then smashes the phone with his fist, breaking the handset, all while another student records the incident, later posting the video to YouTube.

Aftab agreed that the teachers' federation is on the right track, saying clearly defined policies are a good starting point for schools and boards struggling to react to online harassment.

"All schools should have policies letting students and parents know what's going to happen if they use the technology as a weapon against a teacher or another member of the staff," Aftab said.

"And until we start taking that action, setting the policies and enforcing them, we're going to see a lot more of this before we see less."

She said freedom of expression laws in Canada and free speech laws in the U.S. only go so far to protect those who choose to make statements online about their teachers, or their kids' teachers.

Threats, false statements that affect someone's reputation or allegations that "foment riots" are all illegal and unacceptable forms of expression, she said.

However, Aftab said there is educational value in social media if it is used carefully by teachers and under strict procedural guidelines.

She said teachers can use social media to connect with students and give extra info about assignments.

And in some cases, she said, a troubled teen's teacher may be the only adult they trust to approach with a problem that they wouldn't feel comfortable bringing up in person.

Simply unplugging the technology, she said, is a knee-jerk reaction that doesn't solve the problem.

"Create a policy, tell teachers how to behave properly with their students on Facebook, tell students what to expect if they're friending their teacher, and let everyone know if teachers don't want to friend their students, they don't have to."

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