Information Science Reference Leveraging Technology to Improve School Safety and Student Wellbeing

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. About the Author Dr Stephanie Huffman is a professor in the Department of Leadership Studies. This is currently her 18th year at the University of Central Arkansas. She has published over 30 peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and edited books in the field of library science and instructional technology. A few of her publications include edited books entitled Technology Tools for the Literacy Classroom and Cases for Building Quality Distance Delivery Programs and journal articles entitled The Use of Audiobooks in the School Library, The Lack of Citations and Copyright notices in Multimedia Presentations, Socratic Dialogue and Order in Online Chat Rooms, and Technology Planning: The SIMPLE Model. She has been honored by receiving several awards, in 2009 the Technology Leader of the Year award from the Arkansas Association of Instructional Media, in 2012 the Retta Patrick Leadership award from the Arkansas Library Association, and in 2012 Pat McDonald Outstanding Individual Achievement Award from the Arkansas Association of Instructional Media. Her research interests include distance education, technology planning and leadership, literacy, and teacher leadership. Shelly Albritton is an Associate Professor at the University of Central Arkansas in the Department of Leadership Studies. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Educational Leadership and Research of the College of Psychology and Education from the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was a teacher and a school leader in public schools for many years and now teaches graduate students who aspire to be school leaders. She is dedicated to providing her students with excellent teaching and learning experiences in distance learning environments. Albritton's research interests include school leadership issues, parent involvement, and distance learning. She is a Certified Blackboard Trainer and has served as a Blackboard Exemplary Course Program Reviewer.