Pupils film teacher meltdowns

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School students are deliberately goading their teachers to breaking point, then posting film of the resulting meltdowns online.

More than one in 10 New Zealand teachers have been or know a victim of "cyberbaiting", says the Online Family Report published by internet security company Norton.

Secondary Principals' Association president Patrick Walsh said it was extremely worrying and frustrating for teachers who became victims.

"It's not a major problem ... but when it does happen, it's particularly nasty and insidious and particularly damaging to the teacher's reputation and well-being."

Students involved sometimes complained to their parents or to the school principal or board of trustees about the teacher.

Mr Walsh said little weight was attached to such film because it was out of context and could have been showing the result of months of goading.

"Unless it's something that is particularly evidential, like an assault. And I have heard examples of that happening," he said.

Netsafe's chief technology officer, former teacher Sean Lyon, said the organisation had been aware of cyberbaiting for some time.

"I don't think I was ever on the receiving end of it, but I probably would have been a good target."

Mr Lyon said that when he was a student, similar baiting was documented on tape-recorders, but the cyber element meant it had a more serious edge now.

"There's a new dimension to it now in the fact that certainly it's much easier to share that stuff around now ... It becomes viral."

The survey also found 25 per cent of New Zealand teachers were friends with students on social networks.

But 85 per cent of all teachers believed such friendships exposed them to risks.

Mr Walsh said he was about to put out a president's comment to principals next week on the issue.

The disciplinary tribunal of the Teachers' Council, of which Mr Walsh is a member, had noticed that inappropriate teacher-student relationships often started through text messages or Facebook contact.

"It leads to a breakdown in the professional relationship between students and teachers. So unless it's for professional reasons, we would caution against that."

Mr Lyon said many teachers used social media to bolster students' learning, but it could be safest to create a distinct profile to do so.

The Norton report was compiled after more than 19,000 adults, children aged between 8 and 17 and teachers in 24 countries filled out online surveys in February and March.