Digital Media tools against LGBTIQ+ violence
What are the characteristics of digital media tools that are successful in combating LGBTIQ+ violence? Here are 3 examples from our research:
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ConRed
Literature on cyberbullying has shown that there are several factors that influence cyberbullying intervention such as perceived control over information shared accessed on the internet, awareness of time spent using ICT and distinction of different roles in cyberbullying incidents (Ortega et al., 2012). The ConRed intervention, an intervention focused on issues arising from the use of internet, has been proven successful in enhancing children's awareness on the risks involved with the use of internet. Although the approach was "holistic," taking into consideration all three social groups in the school community - students, teachers and families-the most important element was the work carried out with the students, who received eight training sessions conducted by external experts (the researchers). The experts worked in collaboration with each school's school climate planning team for three months. ConRed contributed to reducing cyberbullying and cyber-dependence, to adjusting the perception of information control, and to increasing the perception of safety at school. -
Cyberprogram 2.0 Program and Cooperative Cybereduca 2.0 Videogame
This intervention was a combination of a learning program (Cyberprogram 2.0) and a videogame (Cooperative Cybereduca 2.0) which aimed at preventing and reducing cyberbullying during adolescence. The classroom program included 25 activities aimed at helping young people become aware of the phenomenon of bullying and cyberbullying and understand its harmful consequences. It also provided adolescents with the opportunity to think how they would react in a situation of bullying, either as victims or bystanders. The online video is the last activity, which represents the end of the intervention program. The videogame (www.cybereduca.com) is a trivial pursuit game with questions and answers related to bullying/cyberbullying. This cybernetic trivial pursuit is organized around a fantasy story that guides the game. The videogame is played online and is free of charge. It is intended to play on computers, with an adult who guides the development of the game and who fosters reflection, although it can also be played independently. The characters/guilds represent the five roles involved in a bullying/cyberbullying situation: aggressors, victims, defending observers, observers who support the aggressors and passive observers. Results showed that victims learned to defend themselves and those who had a bystander role learned how to intervene. -
Conectado
Players of this game (children) are placed to be a victim of cyberbullying by their classmates. In Conectado (https://www.e-ucm.es/es/portfolio-item/conectado/), the player plays the role of victim, while in many other games the player is an observer of the bullying or cyberbullying situation. It is focused on conveying feelings and increasing empathy with the victims, while many other resources focus on imparting knowledge through definitions and in-game lessons, which are less attractive to learners. Then the players, can experience a storyline and choose in several points the trajectory that the story will take by answering questions on their screen. While playing the game, students gain a first-hand immersive experience of the problem and the associated emotions, fostering awareness and empathy with victims. This paper describes Conectado and presents it validation with actual students using game analytics. The game was more effective at the ages between 12 to 16 and it was successful in raising awareness around cyberbullying and increasing children's empathy towards victims.
