Leveraging Technology to Improve School Safety and Student Wellbeing

Book excerpt: From implementation in the classroom to building security, technology has permeated all aspects of education throughout the United States. Though hardware has been developed to identify and prevent weaponry from entering a school, including video cameras, entry control devices, and weapon detectors, school safety remains a fundamental concern with the recent increase of school violence and emergence of cyberbullying. Professionals need answers on how to use this technology to protect the physical, emotional, and social wellbeing of all children. Leveraging Technology to Improve School Safety and Student Wellbeing is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of technology in P-12 school safety and its use to foster an environment where students can feel safe and be academically successful. The book will comprise empirical, conceptual, and practical applications that craft an overall understanding of the issues in creating a “safe” learning environment and the role technology can and should play; where a student’s wellbeing is valued and protected from external and internal entities, equitable access is treasured as a means for facilitating the growth of the whole student, and policy, practices, and procedures are implemented to build a foundation to transform the culture and climate of the school into an inclusive nurturing environment. While highlighting topics such as professional development, digital citizenship, and community infrastructure, this publication is ideally designed for educators, scholars, leadership practitioners, coordinators, policymakers, government officials, law enforcement, security professionals, IT consultants, parents, academicians, researchers, and students.