NCJ Number
187343
Date Published
2000
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This interactive CD-ROM for youth focuses on school safety and gives adolescent viewers choices of decisions to make as dramas unfold on four topics: bringing weapons to school, drinking alcohol, suicide, and handling conflicts.
Abstract
The viewer clicks on a topic and then makes decisions that determine the outcome of the drama. Each video drama begins with a scene depicting students who are at school and are discussing the general topic. The video next presents a scenario focusing on the topic, asks questions after a scene, and gives the viewer three choices of how they would handle the situation. The section on weapons focuses on how to respond to a friend who has brought a gun to school and plans to shoot another student. The section on alcohol focuses on peer pressure regarding drinking. It opens with a school scene in which students are discussing a weekend party. The section on suicide begins with a discussion among students regarding suicide as the second leading cause of death for youth between ages 10 and 18 years. The drama and accompanying decisions focus on when and how to obtain help for someone who is contemplating suicide. The section on conflict begins with students’ comments that violence in schools usually begins as bullying, teasing, name calling, or another conflict. The drama depicts a scene involving teasing of one student by others. The viewer is asked to decide whether to ignore the situation, confront friends about it, or report the situation to a school staff member. The video for each topic depicts the consequence of the choices the viewer has made.