- 1). Internet access and hand-held devices connect students with each other and with parents and teachers. As a lifeline, text messaging and portable email enable students to relay important messages to school administrators and counselors during potentially threatening situations. Linking hand-held devices to school websites makes it possible for schools to communicate with students in real time.
- 2). Virtual technology is already being used to combat school violence through interactive simulations. Maryland-based software developer WILL Interactive has produced learning software in the form of a CD-ROM simulation program. The program lets students learn about the consequences of their actions by role-playing scenarios that may escalate to violence. Giving students the opportunity to virtually experience how potentially dangerous situations develop increases safety in schools over time.
- 3). Although virtual and hand-held technologies have a great potential to curb school violence, manipulating the physical design of a space also makes a profound difference in how students interact. Putting emphasis on the immediate environment downplays factors such as poverty and racism.
By giving perpetrators less opportunity to act on their impulses, built environments can greatly decrease the incidence of school violence. These built environments can be even more effective when paired with surveillance technology, clear delineation of space and signage and landscape design.
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