Cyberbullying and other cyber issues have seen a significant rise in recent times especially in young adults. Therefore, as a Cyber Congress member, I was called upon to help educate other students regarding the same.

We had to make a presentation on two days of our Homeroom classes in front of our classmates and seniors. There were six people in our grade and the work was divided. Guided by our teachers and members of the IT team from school, we had undertaken the task. I was assigned with one other member and we collectively carried out the presentation.

LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

The challenge for me here was delivering the content. I am not the best when it comes to speaking in public. I don’t necessarily have a strong case of stage fear but having an audience does make me nervous and fumble while talking. Here, in school, we have to constantly make presentations and talk to an audience. This definitely helped but I am not immune to it yet.

To overcome this challenge, I decided to be very well prepared for the presentation in advance. I had my script ready and content memorized and had practiced the speech in front of a mirror to boost my confidence.

LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

I am more on the messy side but I do organise from time to time to ensure productivity and accuracy. But since, here it was a big group and I could not work the way I wanted to, I was rather organised in planning and conducting the sessions.  Initiating was not a difficulty but planning was. There was too much information and we had to draw the line between what to give and what not to. Moreover, the work was divided among everybody which ensured smooth planning. A skill I did not know I possess is organization. I am rather good at it, I just never use it. I think planning and initiating will be easier because I do have some experience now. It is important to initiate because it shows your courage and demands perseverance. Planning is important to make sure you do not waste your and other people’s time in a world where nobody has time.

LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Commitment and perseverance was required in many ways. First of all, we were asked to come early to school to make the presentation. It required a lot of commitment because I am not a morning person and it is difficult to wake up early on cold winter mornings. Moreover, our school blocks social media websites in schools so we had to do a lot of things from home on top of studying for my upcoming Standardized tests. This made it difficult to commit and persevere for the activity but I managed to pull it off.

LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

Working with others is generally a rather difficult task for me  and just isn’t my cup of tea. Interacting, during this activity, definitely wasn’t a cakewalk but it was easier compared to before. I am developing these skills, all thanks to CAS. Everybody was friendly and the event went quite smooth. I think it is important to work collaboratively with others so that we can share the creativity and ideas and come up with something which is beyond the capabilities of an individual.

LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance 

Cyberbullying is an issue which is seen around the globe. With an increase in access to internet and social media, more and more people are starting to be virtually social. This has increased the probability of being bullied online because whatever is online can not ever be forgotten. Therefore it is important to help spread awareness regarding it.

Knowing about this ensured that I do not publish personal things online which can be used against me. Also, I know what steps to take if someone does bully me online. It basically ensured my safety. And because I was able to educate others, I made sure my peers will not have to face this issue as well and this makes me feel good. I feel cyberbullying is an issue that can be easily avoided with a little more cautiousness.

LO7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

As a member of the Cyber Congress, I knew things which everybody did not which included tricks to harass someone online as well as personal stories of people who had asked us for help. It would be unethical to use this knowledge to tease somebody. Therefore, I made the ethical choice to not use it to exploit anybody. I felt responsible and trusted individual who has a strong morale and ethics.

Being a member of cyber congress has taught me a lot about the issue itself and has helped me to be a more responsible person.

Presentation link  – https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eGGBL99ZqUb4KD3R4J0N2DGeP2Yl-hvp3n23npDUnPA/edit?usp=sharing