OXFORD, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the escalation in school violence, administrators across the country are looking for ways to prevent tragic events in their own schools. One of the best ways to reduce such violence is to encourage students to report threats of intimidation or harassment, but students are often reluctant to file reports for fear of retaliation.
A new online reporting tool, Talk About It, is designed to bridge this communication gap by allowing students to anonymously report issues and engage in safe dialogue with school personnel. Using any computer with Internet access, students can use Talk About It to report threats of violence or personal problems to school personnel, who help to create positive connections with the students and safely resolve threats before tragedy strikes.
“We know that students are the best source of information for what is happening in schools – the key is to create a forum where they feel safe to share that information,” said Carter Myers, president of AnComm, which developed Talk About It. “Today’s students prefer to communicate through familiar mediums – e-mail, instant messaging. Talk About It allows them to reach out through a comfortable, safe environment where they don’t have to be afraid that someone might see them making a report or seeking help for a problem.”
“The product, which is currently being used in school districts across the country, has already helped officials in schools to confiscate guns and other weapons, heading off the potential for violent attacks,” Myers said. Talk About It, available for review by school administrators at http://talkaboutit.ancomm.com, has also helped to prevent teen suicides, as troubled students reach out to faculty through the technology.
“The product allows faculty members to respond in real-time to new messages, so they can provide immediate help to the student,” Myers added. “Unlike one-way messages sent through telephone tip lines, Talk About It allows students to open up a dialogue with a school official.”
All communication through the system is confidential unless the student chooses to give his or her name. Similar to using e-mail, Talk About It provides each student with a personal and confidential access code. The online reporting service acts as an anonymous channel of communication between the student and school personnel.
“The Talk About It product helps to break the code of silence that exists among students and peers, many who believe that telling an adult that they or another student are in pain violates an unwritten, but powerful principle. Students have reported a variety of issues through the system, including cyber-bullying, cheating, drug and alcohol abuse, pregnancy, abuse at home and sexual harassment,” Myers said.
“In particular, cyber-bullying is being reported at an increasing rate at many schools using Talk About It,” Myers added. “Students may harass each other on a cell phone or the Internet after school one day, leading to a fight in school the next day. Using Talk About It gives school officials an early warning system.”
About AnComm
AnComm is a leading provider of anonymous messaging and communications solutions to the education market. Easy to implement and affordable, ‘‘Talk About It®’’ opens two-way lines of communication between students and school administrators. For students, ‘‘Talk About It’’ gives students a web-based tool to communicate their troubles, breaking the code of silence through anonymous communication. For schools, administrators and counselors are newly empowered with information so that they may take proactive steps to communicate, intervene and resolve school violence before it occurs.
AnComm was founded in 2005 and has offices in Houston, Texas and Oxford, Mississippi. To learn how your school or educational institution can benefit from AnComm’s ‘‘Talk About It’’ anonymous online and text based reporting service, visit our web sites at http://talkaboutit.ancomm.com or http://www.ancomm.com or call (866) 926-2666. |
