Open AccessVIRTUAL ANTI-BULLYING VILLAGE PROJECT FOR COPING WITH BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING WITHIN A 3D VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: EVALUATION RESEARCH
Author(s) -
Dorit Olenik Shemesh,
Tali Heiman,
Eyal Rabin
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of cyber society and education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2410-857X
pISSN - 1995-6649
DOI - 10.7903/ijcse.1147
Subject(s) - coping (psychology) , psychology , applied psychology , social emotional learning , medical education , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , medicine
The current study aims to evaluate the implementation of a unique educational project- The Virtual Anti-Bullying Village for Kids and Teens (ABV4KIDS) that was designed and operated by the European Commission. A 3D virtual environment as an innovative, international project for adolescents, focused on knowledge acquisition and new ways of coping with bullying and cyberbullying. Sixty seventh graders-Israeli adolescents-completed five questionnaires before and after the project to assess its impacts regarding cyberbullying and socio-emotional variables. They evaluated the project as important, enjoyable, and increasing their knowledge about cyberbullying, but expressed a need for more practical tools for coping. At the end of the project, the control group reported more cyberbullying experiences, as well as a decrease in social support, whereas the research group reported no changes in cyberbullying experiences and in socio-emotional aspects.\u