Teach Middle East Magazine Sep - Dec 2020 Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 23

Sharing Good Practice
HOW SCHOOLS CAN USE TECHNOLOGY
TO TACKLE BULLYING
BY AL KINGSLEY
by the school). This then controls the
outcome on matching the triggered
keyword to an action: from a simple
logging of the event, through to
capturing a screenshot or a screen
video recording when triggered- so
schools know the full background to
the event. Being able to view the data
and filter it, is just as important as
initially collecting it.
Contextual analysis
S
chool bullying is becoming
more prevalent across schools
worldwide, including in the
United Arab Emirates. In many
schools’ students have access to
technology and the internet, constantly
throughout the school day, whether this
is for learning or personal use. However
not all schools have the correct tools in
place to ensure students are using the
time they have online positively.
The
OECD
Programme
for
International Student Assessment
(PISA) 2015 (published in 2017) found
that 27% percent of UAE students
reported being bullied in some way
‘at least a few times a month’. This
is well above the OECD average of
18.7%. The results also found that
the UAE is 10th out of 53 countries
on the index of frequent exposure to
bullying, meaning that UAE students
are experiencing bullying much more
than students in other countries.
Traditionally schools have held
assemblies or taught lessons about
bullying which can help to educate
children, but it doesn’t solve the
problem or monitor what is happening
within the school. Creating an
environment
which
encourages
student voice or allows for student
digital leaders can be a great starting
point to gaining student involvement
and opening up a dialogue between
students and the school. Many schools
are also turning to technology to
help them monitor behaviour within
the school in both supervised and
unsupervised environments.
There are now a number of tools
available that include safeguarding
and monitoring features to help school
staff combat the problem of bullying
within their schools.
Internet Metering
Internet Metering tools can provide
a detailed summary of all internet
activity by a student, including start
and finish times for each URL visited
and the active time spent on a page.
Naturally, the key to supporting an
effective e-safety policy is providing
effective controls to help monitor and
educate students on positive digital
behaviour - and not just to blanket
ban everything. In some tools internet
usage can be fully managed; lists of
approved and restricted URLs and/or
sub-URLs can be applied centrally, and
to specific age groups/departments.
Keyword and Phrase
Monitoring
Such tools use a database of pre-
supplied safeguarding keywords and
phrases covering a range of topics
including bullying, enabling the school
network to be constantly monitored.
Some providers go a step further
and use advanced neurolinguistics
to ensure accurate detection and to
avoid unnecessary 'false alarms' - and
allow keywords and phrases to have
individual severity levels (determined
A new concept to safeguarding is
the use of contextual analysis. It uses
variables such as the devices used,
time of day, and websites visited
(including previous alerts triggered)
to create a numerical risk index,
based on the context and history of
a child’s activities. This helps school
staff to identify genuine concerns and
prioritise accordingly.
Report a concern
Ensuring children can report a concern
they might have is key to an effective
safeguarding policy. Certain tools
include a way for students to report
their concerns in confidence to a
trusted member of staff. This feature
is especially useful for students who
feel uncomfortable speaking directly
to a staff member. It allows them to
share their problems and get help
from staff without having to approach
them in person. It also allows staff to
track any reports and have a record of
concerns that have been raised and
any evidence provided by the student.
Technology can be a helping
hand
Staff can’t be everywhere at once
and technology can never be a
replacement for eyes and ears, yet
with the appropriate safeguarding
tools in place, together, nothing gets
missed and instead concerning activity
is flagged, helping staff to identify
students who are being bullied and
are looking for help online. Once
these students have been identified
the school can then take action to help
stop the bullying from occurring.
Al Kingsley is group managing director of NetSupport. Additional roles include
being chair of a multi academy trust in the UK and chair of a city’s Governor
Leadership Group
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