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True school safety (in W. Va.)

February 15, 2017 By ICanHelpline

It’s Kindness Week, and there’s probably no greater kindness than what’s being demonstrated in Morgan County, W.V., where great need is being met with great cooperation. County residents have created a web of youth-focused programs supporting kids in and out of school. One reporter writing about it called this web a “network of compassion,” and it’s needed in Morgan County, where 70% of the young people now live in poverty. In 2015, that figure was 60% and a decade ago it was 30%.

W.V. classroom photo
“Mr. Gary,” students and principal Dudley Cable of Warm Springs Intermediate School

In the only state in the U.S. that’s losing population, schools are struggling with a dwindling tax base, increasing unemployment, growing heroin abuse and a youth mental healthcare system in crisis. But in Morgan County, which has seen some of the worst of these conditions, all parts of the youth-serving ecosystem – from schools to social services to law enforcement to juvenile justice – are measurably turning the crisis around in a “countywide experiment in compassionate care [that’s] holistic, affordable, and replicable,” reported Pam Kasey in West Virginia Focus magazine. “And it’s gone on long enough that we can just start to see the difference it’s making.”

“At the hub of it all,” says Gary McDaniel, a clinical social worker for Morgan County’s schools who has been working on growing this web for over a decade, “is relationships.” Relationships between people especially, but also roles, skill sets and programs – all about serving children. When he was asked if this comes from some sort of county-wide vision or game plan, he said no, not really. It comes from “a philosophy that’s prevalent in the world of clinical social work.” It’s called ‘Ecosystems Theory.’ I’m not just helping kids one at a time,” McDaniel said. “I’m looking at a community and what it does well and what it can do better and how all of it comes to bear on supporting a kid I’m working with” – nutrition, family, medical care, school, etc. All the parts are equally deserving of attention.”

For examples of the nodes in this network of care – in and out of school – click to this blog post at NetFamilyNews.org.

iCanHelpline subscribers are welcome to email us their stories of school and school-serving programs that really work via info[at]icanhelpline.org.

Filed Under: iCanHelpline Blog Tagged With: Gary McDaniel, Morgan County, school safety

What’s a social media helpline?

February 14, 2017 By ICanHelpline

The U.S. has many fine, well-established hotlines and helplines designed to help with specific social problems (dating abuse, depression, domestic violence, etc.) or support vulnerable populations (such as LGBTQ youth). This helpline is about the online expression of those social problems and types of victimization: usually called “abusive content,” the kind of content that typically violates social media apps’ and services’ Terms of Service. The most common kind young people face is harassment or cyberbullying.

People using devices around a big tableOne way to think of the difference is, traditional helplines help with what’s happening (or being experienced) offline; Internet helplines like ours help with what’s going on online. If people call us about offline issues, we refer them to the specialized help their seeking at traditional helplines (here, in our Resources section, is a list of the U.S.’s top hotlines and helplines for all kinds of offline issues).

What schools report
Having said that, it’s important to add that research shows that there’s a great deal of overlap between what we see in social media and what’s happening in everyday life. True for everybody, it’s especially true for young people. The problems schools report to iCanHelpline are typically relational problems in the school community that are expressed online in the form of texts, tweets, comments, images and videos. Sometimes they’re expressed verbally or physically on campus during school hours; sometimes they’re expressed online on campus; and sometimes they’re expressed online off campus after school hours. (The days of relational issues having clear lines between on campus and off campus or between online and offline are over.)

So there’s the relational issue itself and the visible expression of it online. The latter is what an Internet, or social media, helpline is designed to help with. We can actually be a big support to school administrators dealing with the relational part by helping to remove the hurtful visible expression of it. This content – which can range from being mean to extremely embarrassing to demoralizing or even criminal – can lead to emotional harm, physical fights, threats of violence, lawsuits and worse. A social media helpline can’t resolve the relational issues but it can help get the visible evidence of it deleted so that school staff, students and parents seeking relief from the drama or harm can help restore calm and safety so the relational issues can be resolved.

‘The real-time, real-life reality TV show’
As one educator put it, “Once the content is down, there’s nothing to copy, paste and share, fight over or gossip about. The real-time, real-life reality TV show’s over.” Defusing and disarming gets everybody closer to restorative solutions. Which means people can focus more on teaching, learning and constructive interaction. This can have tremendous positive impact on school climate and culture.

iCanHelpline is one of only a few Internet-native help services in the U.S. and the only one specifically serving youth (through their schools). It’s one of many youth-serving Internet helplines in Europe, Australia and New Zealand (more on that here). Ours is modeled after the UK’s Professionals Online Safety Helpline because we serve school personnel. Along with all Internet helplines around the world, iCanHelpline is part of the new middle layer of help demanded by today’s very social, user-driven media environment – middle in the sense that we help in two directions. We provide help and perspective to users and much-needed context to social media user support teams, making abuse reports actionable. Because, as parents, teachers and school administrators know, it’s very hard to understand young people’s online interactions (even offline ones) without any context, and it’s even harder for people far away who neither know the young people nor their school context. So we help both sides help students better.

Filed Under: iCanHelpline Blog Tagged With: icanhelpline, Internet helpline

iCanHelpline honored by National School Boards Assoc.

March 17, 2016 By ICanHelpline

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


March 17, 2016                 

Media Contact: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@icanhelpline.org

ICANHELPLINE.ORG CHOSEN BY THE NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION FOR ITS 2016 TECH INNOVATION SHOWCASE
The U.S.’s First Internet Helpline for Schools Is Recognized for Using Technology to Support Positive Use of Tech and Media in School

SAN JOSE, CA—iCanHelpline.org, the U.S.’s first Internet helpline dedicated to schools, is being honored by the National School Boards Association as one of the six startups in its 2016 Tech Innovation Showcase. The winners will be showcased at the NSBA’s annual convention in Boston, April 9-11.

The social media helpline, which is now being piloted in four states by national nonprofit organizations Net Family News Inc. and #iCANHELP, helps school administrators and educators address school-related problems that show up in social media – problems such as harassment, cyberbullying and inappropriate content. If an issue violates a service’s Terms of Service, the helpline, through its founder’s longstanding relationships with social media companies, can help the content get removed.

“We’re thrilled to receive this confirmation of our valuable service to schools and look forward to expanding the service nationwide next school year,” said Anne Collier, executive director of The Net Safety Collaborative, a collaboration of Net Family News and #iCANHELP.

“We thank the NSBA for helping us help schools address social media problems with the confidence that comes from understanding social media and having tools like the helpline,” said #iCANHELP co-founder and helpline co-creator Matt Soeth.

For this phase of the helpline pilot – the rest of this school year – school personnel in California, Georgia, Washington State and West Virginia can call TNSC’s iCanhelpline toll-free on school days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Pacific Time at (855) 997-0409 or email anytime at help@icanhelpline.org. The helpline expects to provide help to schools nationwide next school year. Meanwhile, links to emergency and specialized help services and school social media resources are available 24/7 to everyone visiting icanhelpline.org.

iCanHelpline.org has received support from ASKfm, Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Yahoo and the Digital Trust Foundation.

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Filed Under: Our News

iCanHelpline launches

August 17, 2015 By ICanHelpline

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2015
Media Contacts: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@netfamilynews.org
Sarah Elliott 650.477.6585, sarah@sqcomms.com

#iCANHELP AND NET FAMILY NEWS LAUNCH SOCIAL MEDIA HELPLINE FOR CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

Open for emails anytime and toll-free calls 9am-4pm on school days throughout the 2015-’16 school year

SAN JOSE, CA—Net Family News Inc. and #iCANHELP today announced the launch of iCanHelpline, a phone and email helpline for schools they’re piloting in California this 2015-’16 school year. The Helpline, which is the first of its kind in the U.S., aims to help resolve problems in social media involving students, staff and others in the school community – problems such as cyberbullying, sexting and reputation issues. Where abusive content violates social media services’ terms of service, the helpline can help get it taken down. California school or district personnel can call toll-free on school days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at (855) 997-0409 or email anytime at help[at]icanhelpline.org. They’ll find all this information and much more – including links to emergency and specialized help services and school social media resources – at the helpline’s Web site, iCanHelpline.org.

“The Helpline builds on our organizations’ longstanding relationships with social media companies and more than a decade and a half of experience in Internet safety, education and student leadership,” said Anne Collier, the Helpline’s founder and president of Net Family News. “We also work in close cooperation with Internet helplines around the world.”

“The Helpline is unique in approaching students as part of the solution and bringing traditional student leadership education and peer-mentoring practices to digital spaces,” said Matt Soeth, co-creator of iCanHelpline.org and co-founder of #iCANHELP. “We are blending prevention and intervention in a service that – through the work of #iCANHELP – can also offer students and staff on-site training in digital leadership.”

The iCanHelpline pilot is the first step in developing a national call center for helping schools resolve problems in social media. It has already received support from Ask.fm, ClassDojo, Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter and Yahoo. To support this free service to schools, click here.

About us: Net Family News is a San Jose, Calif.-based national nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to educate the public and advise the Internet industry about research and developments in technology related to youth. #iCANHELP is a Bay Area-based national nonprofit organization that creates and promotes positive, school-based solutions & interventions to online harassment and bullying. To learn more, visit iCanHelpline.org.

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Filed Under: Our News

Major grant from the Digital Trust Foundation

July 27, 2015 By ICanHelpline

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 28, 2015
Media Contacts: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@netfamilynews.org
Sarah Elliott 650.477.6585, sarah@sqcomms.com

GRANT FROM DIGITAL TRUST FOUNDATION TO LAUNCH
SOCIAL MEDIA HELPLINE FOR CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

iCanHelpline.org, a joint-project of nonprofits #iCANHELP and Net Family News, is set to launch August 17

SAN JOSE, CA—Net Family News Inc. and #iCANHELP today announced that their California pilot iCanHelpline.org, a toll-free and email helpline for schools, is being awarded a grant of $175,000 by the Digital Trust Foundation. It was one of nine grants “to emerging and established leaders in the field” awarded this month for “research, education and support focused on understanding, preventing and responding to digital abuse,” the Foundation announced. Also this month, iCanHelpline successfully completed its crowd-funding campaign at Indigogo.com.

The helpline will launch August 17, to help school and district personnel with social media-related problems such as cyberbullying, sexting and reputation issues. It will be available from 9 am to 4 pm on school days throughout the 2015-’16 school year.

“Think of it as 411 plus 911 for social media help for the school community,” said Anne Collier, the helpline’s founder and president of Net Family News. “We aim to provide the social media part – expertise, perspective and help with getting content taken down that violates services’ rules – of schools’ response to incidents of anti-social behavior in digital media.”

“This adds on-call intervention to all the prevention education available to schools from the Internet safety field,” said Matt Soeth, co-creator of iCanHelpline and co-founder of #iCANHELP.

Beginning on August 17, the helpline will be available toll-free at (855) 997-0409 or via email at help[at]icanhelpline.org.

About us: Net Family News is a San Jose, Calif.-based national nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to educate the public and advise the Internet industry about research and developments in technology related to youth. #iCANHELP is a Bay Area-based national nonprofit organization that creates and promotes positive, school-based solutions & interventions to online harassment and bullying. To learn more, visit iCanHelpline.org.

To support this free service to schools, click here.

indigogologo

Filed Under: Our News

Indiegogo media campaign to help launch helpline pilot

May 27, 2015 By ICanHelpline

For Immediate Release May 28, 2015

Media Contacts: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@netfamilynews.org; Sarah Elliott 650.477.6585, sarah@sqcomms.com

#iCANHELP AND NET FAMILY NEWS INC. TEAM UP TO PILOT A SOCIAL MEDIA HELPLINE FOR SCHOOLS DURING 2015-’16 SCHOOL YEAR

iCanHelpline’s California Pilot Debuts Its Crowdsourcing Campaign on Indiegogo.com

SAN JOSE, CA–With 92% of middle and high school students online daily, 24% of them “almost constantly,”* it’s time schools had some help with social media. The helpline pilot will be the first step in the development of a national call center aimed at helping schools resolve problems in social media faced by students, staff and other members of school communities. When a cyberbullying, sexting or reputation-related incident occurs, schools or districts will be able to reach helpline staff by phone, email or through a form in the Helpline Web site, iCanHelpline.org.

“The helpline will be the hub of a whole help ecosystem,” said Matt Soeth, co-founder of #iCANHELP, “with real-time, research-based advice, help in reporting and escalating abuse in social media services, a directory of school policy and investigation resources and a growing, searchable database of school social media case studies.”

“This kind of service is unprecedented in the US,” said Anne Collier, president of Net Family News, and we’re bringing it to schools because school is the one institution that reaches virtually all young people, including those at risk, and because school life is the context of young people’s social experiences, online as well as offline. Getting schools help with that helps students and parents as well.”

Features of the pilot program include:

  • A call center–plus: Schools can call during school hours for real-time help and the Web site – which will include links to sources of specialized help and a directory of resources for prevention, incident response and policymaking – is 24/7/365. To be added as cases come in will be an ever-growing searchable database of anonymized school case studies making the Helpline a source of metrics & trends in school online safety issues.
  • Working with social media: Building on our organizations’ longstanding relationships with numerous social media companies, including Facebook/Instagram, Google/YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter and Ask.fm, we’ll help schools navigate sites and apps, report abuse and get content taken down that violates Terms of Service, providing the industry with much-needed local context as a trusted intermediary.
  • Part of a global network: We’ll also work in close cooperation with Internet helplines around the world and, with a growing collective knowledge base, help users resolve problems in global social media.
  • Unique among helplines in approaching students as part of the solution and building on established student leadership education and peer-mentoring practices.
  • Deep Internet safety experience: Builds on more than 15 years in the Internet safety space, working with practitioners and researchers and advising Internet companies.

Funding for the pilot is being raised through Indiegogo.com. “Contributions big or small are huge to the helpline,” said Anne Collier of Net Family News. “This is about growing the digital literacy and citizenship of all members of school communities, and we believe these are such important issues in the public’s consciousness that people will want to contribute.”

The Helpline’s developers – #iCANHELP and Net Family News Inc. – invite you to contribute to a fundraising campaign at Indiegogo.com: http://igg.me/at/icanhelpline. The goal of the campaign is $25,000 to cover “construction costs” for piloting in California next school year – Web site construction, communications tools and staff training.

About us: Net Family News is a San Jose, Calif.-based national nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to educate the public and advise the Internet industry about research and developments in technology related to youth. #iCANHELP is a Bay Area-based national nonprofit organization that creates and promotes positive, school-based solutions & interventions to online harassment and bullying.

Please make a donation to the iCanHelpline campaign at http://igg.me/at/icanhelpline

*Pew Research Center’s 2015 “Teens, Social Media & Technology” study

indigogologo

Filed Under: Our News

Youth-serving Internet helplines worldwide

February 12, 2015 By ICanHelpline

INSAFE Helplines reportAmericans may be interested to know that there are Internet-related helplines in 31 European countries, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. Europe’s helplines are run by Safer Internet Centres (in 27 of the EU member states, plus Iceland, Norway, Russia and Serbia), which make up the Brussels-based INSAFE network established by the European Commission early in this decade. ICanHelpline.org is modeled after the UK’s Professionals Online Safety Helpline because POSH’s work is, for the most part, designed to serve Britain’s schools and law enforcement.

Last year, European Schoolnet, the Brussels-based network of European ministries of education that coordinates the work of INSAFE, published the first report on Europe’s Internet helplines, “INSAFE Helplines: Operations, effectiveness and emerging issues for internet safety helplines.” The study was done by Europe’s well-known research network EU Kids Online, based at the London School of Economics.

The report found that there are four main kinds of Internet helplines in Europe: general helplines that were established well before Internet use took off and provide help and care on a wide variety of issues including mental healthcare, later adding support for online problems; Internet safety helplines set up within countries’ Safety Internet Centres where staff do “Internet safety awareness-raising” work as well as provide help; Internet safety-only helplines that focus solely on online issues and work with the Centres but are usually operated by separate organizations; and Internet helplines for specific constituencies such as the UK’s POSH and the Netherlands’s helpline focused purely on online child sexual exploitation (the role played in this country by NCMEC, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which which iCanHelpline.org is a registered online service provider for when schools are dealing with sexting cases.

The report’s authors found that, just as here in the United States, cyberbullying remains the most common reason for contacting a helpline (INSAFE publishes helpline data quarterly, the latest report here).

 

 

 

Filed Under: iCanHelpline Blog Tagged With: Europe, INSAFE Helplines, Internet helplines

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Top photo by Pavan Trikutam. Lower photo by Marvin Meyer.