Cyber Rights Violation Prevention Education in Schools
As part of the Dangjin Happy Education District project, Dangjin City is conducting 'Cyber Rights Violation Prevention Education' for 45 classes of 4th to 6th graders from November 5 to December 15.
This tailored program is developed collaboratively by local teachers.
I visited Dangsan Elementary School to observe the Cyber Rights Violation Prevention Education in a 6th-grade classroom, led by teacher Lee Jong-mi.
The learning objectives include understanding the concept and types of cyber violence, its characteristics, coping strategies, and healthy communication in cyberspace.
Cyber violence refers to the act of sending unwanted language or images in virtual spaces, causing psychological pressure or leading to real-world harm.
Students explored different types of cyber violence, including cyber defamation, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and more, using tablets for research and presentations.
They also reviewed what they learned through an OX quiz with the local teacher.
Cyber violence spreads quickly worldwide and is difficult to erase. Interestingly, penalties for defamation and insults online are often more severe than those offline.
A record of punishment for cyber violence can last a lifetime, making it challenging for individuals to pursue careers in public service, teaching, military, and studying abroad.
Convictions can lead to fines, protective measures, or imprisonment.
After discussing coping strategies for cyber violence, students practiced healthy communication in media spaces.
They sent supportive messages to a friend struggling with gaming skills, reached out to a lonely friend on social media, and wrote comforting messages for peers facing appearance-related attacks.
Through this education, students learned to effectively respond to various issues that may arise in digital environments and the rules and rights that must be observed in cyberspace.
Following the cyber rights violation prevention education, students played a board game called 'Cyber Guardian Hero,' created by local teachers, to learn how to handle cyber violence situations while completing missions.
Through the board game, students considered how to respond to various scenarios they might encounter online, reinforcing a healthy sense of cyber ethics.
Teacher Lee Jong-mi remarked, "With the development of the internet and the proliferation of smartphones, children and adolescents can access cyberspace without spatial and temporal constraints. This leads to issues such as personal information leaks, stalking, and sexual crimes, and the realm of school violence has expanded into cyberspace."
She added, "Recently, cybercrime has become increasingly sophisticated and organized, with cases involving deepfake sexual crimes, the production and distribution of exploitative materials, and youth gambling disguised as games. We must strengthen education to prevent cyber rights violations to establish a healthy sense of cyber ethics and promote the healthy growth of our youth, who are the future leaders of society."
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