Bully Stoppers Case Study Tallangatta Secondary College

Tallangatta Secondary School, Rutherglen High School & Wodonga Middle Years College

The Your Digital Footprint project aims to promote positive digital citizenship practices.

Tell us about your schools

All secondary schools, age ranges from 11-18 male and female students. Catchment for TSC: Towong Shire catchment area including: Tallangatta, Mitta Mitta, Eskdale, Dartmouth, Bethanga, Bandiana, Talgarno and some of Wodonga. Catchments for Rutherglen High School: Chiltern, Rutherglen, Springhurst and Wahgunyah. Catchment of Wodonga Middle Years College: Wodonga, Chiltern, Yackandandah.

What is the ‘Your Digital Footprint’ project?

The program Your Digital Footprint is aimed at cyber-bullying prevention, empowerment and creation of positive digital citizenship and cyber-safety practices for students. The focal point of the Your Digital Footprint prevention program is the impact that online bullying behaviour has on the student’s offline life.

What are the aims of ‘Your Digital Footprint’ project?

The project was started as a response to the:

• Increasing impact that technology has on young people’s lives

• Possible repercussions that online information can have in real and future lives

• Effects and issues relating to the improper use of technology and bullying.

How was project been implemented?

The project was planned and implemented by Adolescent Health Nurses. Both Linda Elkington and I met and discussed ways in which we could best deliver the program to a cluster of schools utilising a whole school and community approach. We also met with local law enforcement who had been working with ACMA to discuss latest trends with technology and cybersafety amongst youth.

The project was implemented in Tallangatta Secondary College by myself, with help from the e-smart co-coordinators, teachers and students.

Linda implemented the program in Rutherglen High School and Wodonga Middle Years College with help from teaching staff and students. The project ran over Term 3 and 4 and consisted of extended home-group activities, newsletter articles, a short film production with year 9 students, poster competitions, presentations from guest speakers (including school nurses, ACMA, Mental Health, Law Enforcement, and Brett Murray), in-class sessions, a Cyberia play performance, and a dedicated week of bullying prevention at Wodonga Middle Years.

Has the project been a success?

The programme addressed issues of cybersafety and was successfully implemented and delivered to over 2000 students in total. Home-group education sessions were extended and completed by the whole school.

The impact within the schools has been evident in the following ways:

• Recognition of bullying behavior

• Increased use of the school nurse to report incidences of bullying

• Increased use of parental support to talk about bullying (and parental calls to the school)

• Increased use of screen shots and other means to save evidence of bullying online

• Increase in student’s knowledge of knowing where and how to seek assistance within the school for bullying incidences

• Increase in the amount of students seeking support and mediation for bullying with the school nurse

• Increase in identification of students’ knowledge of identification of different types of bullying

The impact that the program had on the community was evident in the 7 newsletter articles published in the schools newsletters which addressed:

• Bullying and mental health

• Tips on how to protect your digital footprint

• How to be polite on the internet

• Cyber-safety

• Cyber-security

• Latest apps and social media outlets for increased incidences of cyber-bullying

• Tips for parents to engage in, and help their children to protect themselves online.

The program was also reported by the local Tallangatta Herald newspaper, as well as the Border Mail which reaches Albury/Wodonga and surrounding communities and schools; with positive feedback coming back to the schools from the community.

What is the future of project?

The project will continue with the student preview of the short film at the Cube Entertainment Centre. The film will also be aired at presentation night for their year 9 program to staff, students and parents.

The students will write a policy document written in their own language relating to cybersafety and responsible technology use.

The project will be continued with education sessions for new year 7’s which will commence at the start of term 1 2014 with their notebook policy signing.

Parts of the project will be duplicated in 2014 with extended home-group activities and in class sessions mid-year. The program will be an ongoing initiative that will be addressed on an annual basis with the cluster schools involved.

A change that I would like to implement is having a bullying prevention week in each school, as well as year specific seminars for each year level.

The DVD’s will be shown to the school community, as well as other School Nurses to use as screening in their elected schools.

Contact

Kate Haynes, School Nurse or