Preventing online violence

How can we protect children from cyberbullying? In this course we look for practical solutions to this increasing social problem. We learn about sensible usage of online content – how to share information, how to consume information in a critical way, and how to handle offensive content. We also acquire skills of social entrepreneurship with a focus on online violence. After gaining some background, our students implement the skills they learned, engaging in awareness raising projects, on which they work together with junior high school students from Holon.

Watch Dr. Avshalom Aderet who teaches this course talk about the idea behind it, in “Private Class”, a daily segment on Channel 12’s morning show.

I’m still excited of the final ceremony and the entire course, which wouldn’t have happened without the commitment of our lecturer to the promoting of this subject. I wish to thank Dr. Avshalom Aderet for a course that will remain a milestone for me and guide me in my life. Thanks for being an attentive, beloved, responsible and entrepreneurial lecturer, who taught me how to plan my aspirations and dreams, and taught me about the good things worth fighting for! Thank you for opening your heart to us and guiding us in that course. I hope that you carry on with this course in other schools because the subject matter is so important. Thank you for an unforgettable course!

~ Bar Weinstein, a student from the faculty of design ~

This course raised the awareness to how serious a problem online violence is. It gave me tools to identify and deal with cyberbullying. We implemented the tools we learned in our work with junior high students who prepared videoclips, games and posters about the subject, and then presented these products in a special event. They showed their understanding of the subject and willingness to pass on the project to younger ones at school. I think this course is highly important and much needed in school curriculum because we keep hearing about children being ostracized or commit suicide due to cyberbullying.

~ Ofek Politi, a student from the faculty of industrial engineering ~

A few examples from the previous class

"Screen Saver": How can we handle cyberbullying

HIT students simulated with the school children instances of cyberbullying, finding out ways to respond to those. They created a social activity called “I am network” in which they personified social media networks, learning together sensible ways to use them. They also created a wall poster with tips and ideas about sensible use of social media, how to support a friend who experiences cyberbullying and how to report it.

"I don’t find it funny": Using games to raise awareness to cyberbullying

To make the subject accessible, students and kids created games that encourage awareness to online violence in an implicit way. At the final event of the project, all 6th graders played a cyberbullying-themed ‘scavenger hunt’ at the schoolyard with clues that required an understanding of the subject.

"Let’s talk about it": An educational website for the prevention of cyberbullying

The website was created based on three principles:

1. Easy access through a barcode or keywords “let’s talk about it” (Hebrew).

2. Clear and up-to-date information on the subject.

3. Authenticity of stories shared in the website, in which anyone can share their personal experience.