Lucy and Archie from Project Rockit gave an engaging and energetic interactive cyberbullying workshop.  This workshop addressed “cyberbullying and digital citizenship with a real understanding of current social networking sites and online youth culture”.

Unlike the majority of cyber safety and cyber bullying presentations that we have experienced where some much older person talks about how evil the internet and social media is, the team from Project Rockit acknowledged that young people today are digital natives that love social media (and so do they).

 So rather than the usual “stay off the internet” talk, the girls were actually presented with great practical strategies for remaining safe online and what to do if they or someone they know is experiencing difficulties online.

The “hot tips” Lucy and Archie shared with the girls were very helpful and they demonstrated what happens when you report concerning content, like bullying, so that students were aware of the consequences, for example accounts being deactivated without the reporter ever being identified to the person causing harm online. This would remove a lot of the fears associated with stopping trolls (online bullies). They also showed evidence of the power bystanders have in stopping cyber bullying with a simple “dislike” statement.

Some really powerful messages about online safety, delivered in a fun and practical presentation.  In the words of one of the students “Project Rockit showed us positive ways to include social media in our lives and covered all aspects, good and bad, leaving us feeling more confident, respectful and safe in the online world".

Karen Wright - Assistant Principal Students