Cyberbullying and the Technology To Stop, Prevent and Combat It in Schools

Cyberbullying in Schools Is Evolving

As student access to the internet expands and more online learning tools come into use, there are increased opportunities for cyberbullying. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, take this to a new level.

Typically, cyberbullying includes “social media harassment, spreading rumors or sending some hurtful messages,” says Jennifer Duer, director of safety and wellness products at Lightspeed Systems.

With new tech tools, “cyberbullying is taking some different forms,” she says. “I just saw an example of a student using AI to create a hurtful song about another student. And studies say 1 in 10 students know someone who has used AI to create inappropriate photos of a classmate.”

Teachers, counselors and school leadership need to be proactive in this environment.

How Schools Can Stop Cyberbullying

A multilayered approach is needed to address the problem effectively and stop cyberbullying.

“You need ways to identify concerns. Then you need to have a system in place for how you assess the level of concern and what to do based on that assessment,” says Clements, who served as director of counseling services for Neosho School District in Missouri before her current role.

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Many schools only have partial systems in place. They may have plans for responding to concerns, “but they don’t have a robust system to identify those concerns,” she adds.

Bullies are sneaky. They may type a mean message into a search bar, show it to a victim, then delete it. Or they may exploit digital learning tools, posting negative words in Google Docs and then deleting them.

“You can only address the concerns that you’re aware of,” Clements says.

That’s where technology can play a significant supporting role.

How Technology Can Defend Against Cyberbullying

There are educational technology tools available that help schools monitor for these behaviors.

In the Neosho School District, Clements used GoGuardian Beacon. “It gave us eyes into those situations that we wouldn’t normally see,” she says. Beacon lives in the background of a student’s school-owned device, “and it monitors everything at the browser level. Whatever they’re doing in their browser, Beacon is going to be able to see.”

A machine learning model then identifies indications of suicide, self-harm or threats of violence toward others, “which is where cyberbullying fits in,” she explains. Customizable alerts can then call the attention of counselors, teachers, school safety individuals and other stakeholders.

Lightspeed Systems products work along similar lines. “There are tools that do proactive scanning on the device to look at what’s happening across the ecosystem, whether it’s on their Google Drive accounts, a web search or a YouTube video,” Duer says.

“The monitoring tools are able to scan and identify these potential concerning behaviors,” she says. AI then looks at the context to understand the level of concern. Are these jokes, or is this intended to hurt someone?

At Lightspeed Systems, “we actually have a team of safety specialists that works 24/7/365 to review that,” she says. “They’ll contact the school directly and let them know: There’s an issue going on that you should investigate.”

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Technology Detects Cyberbullying Problems Early and Helps Schools De-Escalate

Digital monitoring tools help empower the quick response required to prevent cyberbullying from escalating. Timeliness matters because counselors and other stakeholders need to know what’s happening to take effective action.

“First, the tech will let schools know there’s something going on that they need to intervene on. They can see exactly who the student is and what was said so they can take action,” Duer says.

“They can also see trends over time. Maybe as we go toward the end of the school year, bullying picks up. So that’s a good time to have an anti-bullying campaign,” she explains. “When they have an overall awareness of how their school or their district is trending, they we can get ahead of it.”

Modern monitoring tools can also speed up a school’s response by opening lines of communication.

“Before we had Beacon, we operated in silos of information. I might know something, and then the principal might know something, and a teacher might know something, and we may or may not communicate that with one another,” Clements says.

With the monitoring tools, “anyone who’s a user in there can see the alerts generated and the actions taken,” she says. This, in turn, sends help where it’s needed faster and more effectively.