Reflections on My Career, by Don Orth

I never thought of a career as a professor. Not until college did I even have any personal experiences with professors. However, after a 43-year career at Virginia Tech, I have learned much and share a few of my favorite memories and lessons. Rather than repeat the misguided “publish or perish,” I rather advise to "publish and flourish" in academia. Done right, a career in academia provides fulfillment in our lives through accomplishing meaningful and worthwhile work, and connecting with others at a deeper level. My favorite short poem, Instructions for Life, by Mary Oliver (Red Bird 2008), is a brief reminder of lessons learned:  

Pay Attention.

Be Astonished.

Talk about it. 

Figure 1. Photo of mullet and Mayan cichlids with quote by Williams James, the father of American Psychology. James made this famous statement to remind us that our small actions can make a big difference in the lives of others. 

Non scholae sed vitae discimus

[translated “We do not learn for school, but for life"]

Being successful in academia meant learning by doing, learning from the dark side, and understanding the dark side of knowledge. I hope students remember lessons that help them in life. In the past weeks, I have received many notes of congratulations from friends, colleagues, and students, which showed that they were paying attention. Many “Orth” sayings came back to me. For example, whenever students would ask “Is the exam comprehensive?” I would respond “Yes, because life is a comprehensive exam.” When asked “Will questions be multiple choice?” I would respond “Nothing in life mimics a multiple choice exam.”  My collection of favorite memories, quips, and ‘fishy’ puns shared at my retirement celebration and may be viewed online.

I began to pay attention as I grew up in a densely populated neighborhood in Chicago. This early urban experience led to dreams and motivation to leave and explore life elsewhere. Critical events in my early life that I paid attention to are chronicled in the digital story “Not Everyone Truly Lives."  In Chicago, I observed riots to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States. Even after the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) black people still faced discrimination in jobs, housing, education and politics. Martin Luther King, Jr., in The Other America Speech wrote that “a riot is the language of the unheard.”   Even to this day, many promises of freedom and justice have not been met. 

As privileged people, we should never wonder why people are protesting. Protests will continue until real reforms are made. As an impressionable young person, I saw strong anti-black sentiment, and disgust for progressive programs of relief, recovery, and reform that generated jobs and hope for the disadvantaged. I believe these early experiences led me to be an advocate for DEIJA (diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility). The world of fisheries has many unresolved issues related to exclusion, privilege, and violation of human rights. 

Dreams drive me.  You must dream before you can achieve anything. My dream as an adolescent was to escape the urban setting. Anytime I was away from the city, I could easily see the polluted air sitting like a dark cloud over the Chicago region. This air could not be good to breathe. Today, Chicago ranks in the top 10% of metro areas for smog and particulate pollution (American Lung Association 2023). On Chicago beaches I saw my first large-scale fish die offs. The historic Alewife dieoff of 1967 heightened my curiosity about all things fish. Until that time, I had no idea what an Alewife was or how they got there. 

Listening to dreams of students is one key to help with motivation. I believe in the power of personal narrative to motivate students. Students are often reluctant to share their dreams and convictions with their instructors. As a professor my dream was to see that each day students judge what is truth, beautiful and good in our world. And when they see something wrong, they learn to speak up and take action. This takes more than knowledge — it takes courage to speak up to power when something is wrong, it takes integrity to tell your story and  to energize and mobilize your community to act. In many ways I saw my students as heroes of their own developing stories. I preached Joseph Campbell’s mantra that “If you follow someone else's way, you are not going to realize your potential.”  Although I did not follow the path of others, I certainly learned from studying the path and wisdom of others. 

In graduate school, I was introduced to the works of William E. Ricker and devoured each page of the newly published green book (Ricker 1975). His career story influenced me greatly as I learned more about the man. Ricker was both an accomplished entomologist and fisheries scientist (Beamish and Noakes 2006; Noakes 2006). In a classic paper, Ricker (1969) calculated that the world fish catch might be sustainable at approximately 2.5 times the 1968 catch, or about 150 to 160 million t and that the maximum world catch would be attained by the year 2000. This was the very first attempt to calculate this quantity. The world catch of fish only reached this level from additional inputs from aquaculture as catch from global fisheries flattened since 2000 (Figure 2). The logic and mathematical approach used by Ricker has been widely applied throughout the world.  

Figure 2. World capture fisheries and aquaculture production. FAO 

I was fortunate to meet Bill Ricker at a meeting of the American Fisheries Society. This was made possible due to a mentor, Larry Larimore. Instead of joining Bill to reminisce on the bus, he asked me if I had ever met Bill Ricker and introduced us. He was 75 years old, I was not yet 30, and we shared a long bus ride to a social event. I learned first-hand that he was a very unassuming, humble man. Yet, he was one of those “giants in science on whose shoulders fuure biologists will stand” (Beamish and Noakes 2006). 

One irony about success in academia is the importance of both positive and negative happenings. What is highly valued is recognition from grants, promotions, publications, and honors earned.  Professsors are held to high standards and readily criticized. Yet, failure and criticism are how we learn. One annoying fact about our evolution is that we all possess a negativity bias. We tend to dwell on the negative more than the positive because our brain tries to keep us safe from harms. Consequently, many brilliant and talented young academics are subject to burnout and overwork as they focus and remember the insults and criticism far more than the praise.  Therefore, I advise you to maintain some trusted colleagues who will provide honest feedback and praise or criticism when deserved.

Academia continues to push the banal "publish or perish" mantra. However, in the field of conservation, there are many approaches to translating research findings to to guide conservation action, and scholarly publication is necessary, but not sufficient alone. I always maintained that the function of scholarly pursuits is to guide action. I was a pragmatist long before I ever read William James (1907):

“Pragmatism teaches that the function of thought is to guide action. And that truth should be tested by the practical consequences of the beliefs we hold. Though James’ philosophy fell out of favor during much of the 20th century, many modern philosophers are reconsidering James’ ideas, as his work provides inspiration for new theories of perception, meaning, and belief.” 

There are many ways to be a success in academia and the young academic will be indundated with much advice from mentors who disagree on what you should do.  Instead of thinking you will perish, focus on writing papers that will help your career flourish. Write a string of papers in a research area so that you become known as a leader in a particular area of research. What you stand for should reflect your advocacy for science rather than for particular point of view. Seek out other collaborators to expand your access. It is difficult to make a lasting impact with many unrelated papers. Rather, the value of your scholarly writing will depend on (1) how it is used and cited by other researchers; (2) whether it is adopted in principal teaching materials; and (3) its influence on policy and practice. Finally, trust your judgment to create your own path. 

I learned much from my years working on the dark side of University administration. Universities have many examples or failed leadership as successful professors are promoted even when they don’t possess great leadership skills. Too often leaders exhibit destructive traits of narcissism, hubris, or Machiavellianism (Figure 3; Paulhus and Williams 2002). From stories from many colleagues, I adopted the “No Assholes Rule” because assholes can destroy morale (Sutton 2007). Getting the best out of people means we should “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” (Mark Twain, cited in MacLaren 1938, p. 66).  As you encounter the assholes, consider them as “trials” sent to make you stronger and wiser.   

Figure 3. The personality traits for destructive leaders (Paulhus and Williams 2002).  https://www.ckju.net/en/system/files/the_dark_side_of_leadership.jpg. 

The dark side of knowledge is another troubling aspects that advocates standardized testing, keeping students at a distance, and discouraging questioning. All learning begins with a dream and students at college arrive with a dream, either ill-formed or fantastical. Learning starts with a question, a problem to be solved, a dilemma to be resolved, and a challenge to be met. Questions should be never considered annoyances. Questions force deep thinking and reflection and invite  conversation. Yet many college students are fearful about asking questions in class — they fear the arrogant professor.  This unfortunate reality must be remedied. One approach for those of us arrogant professors to be more relatable, is to present important lessons in stories. People love stories.  

Learning is challenging, but we encourage and support student with learning activities known as desirable difficulties (Brown et al. 2004).  Design the desirable difficulty activity to be sufficiently challenging that it must be introduced as a sequence of learning tasks and feedback.  The secret to providing meaningful feedback is to deliver it to students as a complement sandwich (Figure 4). 

Figure 4. A graphic representation of the compliment sandwich, a mix of positive and constructive feedback. Source. 

Most successful academics have been trained and continue to teach Western ways of knowing. Science is promoted as objective, quantifiable, and the foundation for “real” knowledge creation. Traditional ways of knowing may be seen as anecdotal. However, Indigenous communities knew much about fish and nature long before their regions were colonized by Europeans.  Western scientists never asked indigenous peoples about the natural systems they studied. Their arrogance meant they were not integrating all available knowledge in their studies.  Today, we are increasingly promoting "two-eyed seeing" that encourage efforts to weave indigenous ways of knowing in a more inclusive approach to science. In an inclusive approach we seek to evaluate and discuss importance of values and actions and knowledges.

“Everything that is or was started with a dream.” – Lavagirl (2005)      

References 

American Lung Association. 2023. State of the Air. Available at: https://www.lung.org/research/sota/for-the-media

Beamish, R.J. and Noakes, D.J., 2006. Bill Ricker: A man of gifted intellect, insatiable curiosity and generous spirit. Environmental Biology of Fishes 75:119-129.

Brown, P.C., H.L. Roediger, III, and M.A. McDaniel. 2014.  Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Belknap Press, Harvard University Press.  Cambridge, MA  313 pp.

James, W. 1907. Pragmatism: A new name for some old ways of thinking. Longmans, Green and Co. https://doi.org/10.1037/10851-000

MacLaren, G., 1938. Morally we roll along. Little, Brown. 

Noakes, D.L.G. 2006. Bill Ricker: A Tribute. Environmental Biology of Fishes 5:1–5. 

Paulhus, D.L. and Williams, K.M., 2002. The dark triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality 36(6):556-563.

Ricker, W.E. 1969. Food from the sea. pp. 87 – 108. In: P. Cloud (chair.) Resources and man, a study and recommendations, Report of the Committee on Resources and Man, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco.

Ricker, W.E. 1975. Computation and interpretation of biological statistics of fish populations. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada No. 191: 382 pp.

Sutton, R.I. 2007. The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't. Business Plus. 224 pp. 

 

A Message to Students: Is Your Future in Fish, Fisheries, or Conservation? by Don Orth

“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” – Joseph Campbell

I have five simple messages for those still seeking a career path. First, start developing and nurturing your network of friends and associates and learn what you can from them. Second, everyone’s path in life is unique so seek your own way in college and beyond. Third, you belong and you can succeed. Fourth, diverse career opportunities exist in the fisheries profession. Finally, your future options may be informed by current trends in fish conservation. If you google future career opportunities you will get over 780,000 hits and none will mention fish or fisheries. One news story mentions the 10 best careers for the future: 10 Best Careers for the Future: Highest Paying & in Demand (College Foundation of North Carolina 2021)

1.     Registered Nurses and Medical Professionals. 

2.     Data Analysts. 

3.     Plumbers and Electricians.

4.     Dentists and Dental Hygienists.

5.     Software Developers.

6.     Cybersecurity Experts. 

7.     Alternative Energy Installers and Technicians. 

8.     Mental Health Professionals.

9.     Veterinarians

10.  Artificial Intelligence

However, these are not necessarily the best careers for you. If you are uncertain about your path, you are not alone. Use trusted sources and mentors to help guide your pathway. In the past weeks of the Hutton program you have met several fisheries and aquatic professionals. They are your mentors. Please, add me to your professional network of contacts. Learn from our past mistakes. You can learn more about me from a short article (Orth 2017) or two short videos. You may find the digital story of critical events in my early life that illuminated the values of an 18-year-old Don; see “Not Everyone Truly Lives." To learn more about my approach to science, see “Why My Science is Awesome.”

Fisheries management and fish conservation are difficult and complex arenas. Actions needed take persistence and patience and an open mind. Everyone’s path to a career that involves fish is unique, but all find that what they do makes a difference. A college degree is needed, so you must navigate your college choices wisely. That means use your network to discuss questions and how to overcome obstacles encountered. 

For example, are the following statements about college truth or fiction? • The best way to find out about a major is to take courses in it.

• I should get my Gen Eds out of the way first. Truth. Fiction. 

• College is unaffordable. Truth. Fiction. 

• Picking a major and a career are the same thing. Truth. Fiction. 

• Choosing one major means giving up all the others. Truth. Fiction. 

• My major will determine what I do for the rest of my life. Truth. Fiction. 

• You need a major. Truth. Fiction.

 • College is only for the smartest students. Truth. Fiction. 

• First generation college students have no disadvantages for college success. Truth. Fiction

These and many other common myths about college persist (Dehne ND). Guidance counselors will confirm that each statement is false. As you begin to discuss your pathway options with your growing network you will learn that everyone’s path is unique, but two pieces of advice will emerge: 1. Rely on a network of professional contacts whenever a question arises. They can inform you of new perspectives and influencers. 2. Seek opportunities outside your field to develop additional skills. Gerald Ford, our 38th President worked as a seasonal park ranger at Yellowstone National Park, which he maintained was “One of the greatest summers of my life.” Your major is just the starting point for designing a meaningful future. Consider the many possible wanderings as you explore the possibilities. Your life purpose is the point at which your skills, interests and the market intersect.

Venn diagram indicating that your life purpose is the point at which your 

skills, interests and the market intersect.

Answer these questions to help you decide “what should I do with my life?” (West 2020):

1. What, and who, is worth suffering for?

2. Close your eyes and imagine the best version of yourself. What is that person like?

3. If social media didn’t exist, what would you do with your life?

4. What comes most naturally to you?

5. What would your ideal daily routine look like?

6. What do you want your legacy to be?

Many uninformed observers believe that fisheries workers do the work of fishing and think we all work on a boat or in a hatchery. There are numerous types of fishing and even more human activities that may compromise the ability of ecosystems to support a diverse fish fauna.  Consequently, fish and fisheries experts are called upon to consult on the permitting, planning, and siting of many new mining, industrial, and manufacturing sites as well as long-term land and water use plans.  

Globally, fish are the primary protein source for ~ 40% of the world’s population. Overfishing is therefore common, which threatens the food security in countries dependent of fish for protein. Working on rebuilding on of the many overfished stocks can produce higher yields as well as substantial social, economic and ecological benefits. 

Artisanal and subsistence fisheries generate about one-third to one-half of the global catch that is used for direct human consumption and employ more than 99% of the worlds 60 million fishers. Scuba diving is a fast-growing form of special interest tourism that attracts individuals interested in underwater recreation and fish watching.  Scuba diving is now a multibillion-dollar industry and one of the world’s fastest growing recreational sports. Therefore, there is no single or one dominant type of fishing.

 

For many, the idea of managing for fishing seems silly or unnecessary. However, there are many obstacles to change to overcome in order to sustain good fishing.  In many cases, fishing requires basic access to fishing locations.  The goal of Fishing Has No Boundaries (FHNB) is to open up the great outdoors for people with disabilities through the world of fishing. FHNB, created in 1988, has grown into a National Organization with 27 chapters in 13 states, enabling thousands of individuals with disabilities to participate fully in this spirit-lifting, morale-boosting, trouble-free recreational activity. FHNB believes that through education, training, and the use of adaptive angling equipment, everyone is able to share in a dream come true.

 

What our graduates do is difficult to summarize because of the numerous pathways taken.  A four-year degree that includes aspects of fish conservation will be a strong foundation for many career pathways.  Although a MS degree is a pre-requisite for employment as a professional fisheries biologist in state and federal agencies, those who earn a BS find numerous opportunities working in environmental consulting, hatcheries, public aquariums, and related fishing and boating industries. 

In an impressive increase from years past, 38.3 percent of women in the United States had completed four years or more of college in 2020. This figure is up from 3.8 percent of women in 1940. A significant increase can also be seen in males, with 36.7 percent of the U.S. male population having completed four years or more of college in 2020, up from 5.5 percent in 1940. With this increase there is a saturation of certain majors, such as Criminal Justice, Psychology, Drama, English, and Computer Science. For example, a degree in business management and administration is pursued by 31.2% of all business majors, by far the most popular business-related concentration. Therefore, these majors expect steep competition in job searches. Recently, new college majors are emerging in fields as diverse as packaging, fermentation science, and cannabis cultivation to supply growing industries. According to Brewhound, the beer industry created more than 2 million new jobs (Kendall 2017).  The important take-home message is continuous changes in all fields.   

Percentage of the U.S. population who have completed four years of 

college or more from 1940 to 2020, by gender

Also, as the proportion of the US population in college increases, more of the students will be first-generation or historically underrepresented students.  Such students encounter additional challenges in navigating nuances of college choices.  That is why a network is so important. It is easier for people to take on the goals, motivations, emotions, and even physical reactions of people whom they feel even minimally connected to (Walton et al. 2012).  A sense of belonging does not depend on participation with, or proximity to, others or groups. Rather, belonging comes from a perception of quality, meaning and satisfaction with social connections. Belonging may also relate to a sense of belonging to a place or even an event. It is therefore a complex and dynamic process unique to each person. Thanks to the internet and smart phones, we are in many ways more connected than ever, and yet we are also reporting increased loneliness (Turkle 2017).

 

You can rely on your fellow students and seek out an on-campus group to facilitate dealing with changes during college. And change should be your expectation for education and career planning. The question “What do I do with this degree?” paralyzes most students who believe there in only one linear path. The linear progression of college internship  career job is unrealistic.  During your college years, be prepared for unplanned opportunities that arise and provide for possibilities for learning.  These may be undergraduate research, study abroad, or volunteer programs, such as Americorps (Americorps.com), Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org) or Peace Corps (peacecorps.gov).  

A rare linear path from college to a career. 

The future career opportunities for fish and fisheries professionals will increasingly address the top issues of our times. Some of these activities include:

·      Unprecedented Global Change 

·      Conservation aquaculture

·      Finfish aquaculture

·      Eco-labeling fishery products 

·      Reduce illegal fishing 

·      Certification of sustainable fisheries

·      Empowering women in fisheries

·      Climate change adaptations

·      Aquatic ecotourism

·      Drones and surveillance 

·      Small-scale fisheries governance

·      Marine sanctuaries

·      Biodiversity loss and discovery

 

As you continue your educational pursuits, never forget to thank those mentors who helped you along your educational pathways. Your success matters. Therefore, stay in contact and let your previous mentors know what and how you are doing. When you are struggling, reach out and ask for help. 

"One of the biggest defects in life is the inability to ask for help. " Robert Kiyosaki  

Humility is knowing what you don’t know. Often, the students I see who fail or will fail would rather argue against advice instead of taking advice. To succeed at anything, there’s a feedback loop that must be in place: try something --> get feedback and results --> learn from feedback and results --> try something new.

 

Good luck with your future educational choices.  Remember that “Chance Favors the Prepared Mind” (Louis Pasteur). 

 

References

 

Brooks, K. 2010. You Majored in What? Designing Your Path from College to Career. Plume Publishers. 352 pp. 

College Foundation of North Carolina. 2019.10 Best Careers for the Future: Highest Paying & In Demand. Accessed from https://www.cfnc.org/news/10-best-careers-for-the-future-highest-paying-in-demand/

Dehne, G. ND. 25 Common Myths about College Accessed from http://tb1cdn.schoolwebmasters.com/site_0054/yumakofa_25mythsaboutcollege_120814.pdf

Kendall, J. 2017. Study: U.S. Beer Industry Creates More than 2 million jobs. Brewbound website. May 24, 2017. Accessed at  https://www.brewbound.com/news/study-u-s-beer-industry-creates-2-million-jobs

Orth, D. 2017. How I Got Where I Am. American Currents 42(4):21-24.  http://nanfa.org/ac/don-orth.pdf

Turkle, S. 2017. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Basic Books. 400 pp. 

Walton, G. M., G. Cohen, D. Cwir, and S. Spencer. 2012. Mere belonging: The power of social connections. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102 (3): 513-532.

West, B. 2020. What should I do with my life? This is exactly how to know what you’re meant to do. Thought Catalog January 21, 2020. Accessed at https://thoughtcatalog.com/brianna-wiest/2018/05/what-should-i-do-with-my-life-this-is-how-to-find-your-purpose/

Will Social Media Empower Fisheries Students Via Learning Networks? By Don Orth

I raised this question in a recent article in Fisheries. I contend that social media can be used effectively to encourage student development and facilitate the utility of personal learning networks.  Students and others must join in and create the new networks to meet their needs.  I suggested that five pedagogies will benefit students greatly if they and their instructors choose to use them.  These are public writing, Twitter and infographics, digital storytelling, online communities, and electronic portfolios.   Educators must assist students in this quest for change.    Refer to the article for a complete discourse with scholarly references. {email me at Don_Orth@vt.edu, if you have access issues.}  

The key element for this to work is development of digital learning networks (aka communities of practice).  Online networks facilitate a “just-in-time” connection with experts. One recent example on Facebook (TM) comes from the All Fish Species Identification group.  With over 2,000 members who are respected fish experts or specialists with identification of many fish families, this is the “go to” group when you have a difficult fish to identify.  Photographer Irvin Calicut recently posted a photo of a heron with a fish and asked "What fish is this?"   Within two days the fish was identified by member, Grégoire Germeau -- the Grunting Toadfish Allenbatrachus grunniens.    This is only one of many online communities that are being formed every day.  

Heron with unidentified fish. Photo by Irvin Calicut

Students in Ichthyology class are archiving photos and drawings from their notebooks to the Ichthyology Class at VT site on Flickr.   As we transition into new fish groups, students follow others on Flickr and invite them to add photos to our photo pool.  Witness the addition of a Yellowtail Snapper Ocyurus chrysurus by a professional photographer.   The work of experts and novices come together on one network. 

Student work gets better over time and there is a record of their early efforts as well as improved sketches, annotations, and photos as the term progress.  Social media does not have to make students stupid. Social media is a venue for sharing results of deeper learning activities or exposing shallow learning.  As John Dewey wrote many years ago, “Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself.”  

Photos posted in Ichthyology Class atVT Flickr site.  A. closeup of Northern Hogsucker Hypentelium nigricans; B. Breeding tubercles of Bluehead Chub Nocomis leptocephalus; C. Cartilaginous ridge of Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum. Photos by D.J. Orth.

Learning can be fun.  I know students find it hilarious to watch me struggle to sketch a fish on the whiteboard.  Even funnier to listen to me translate some lessons as musical parodies, such as Learn Your Fishes Well  and others. Writer Anne Lamott wrote “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. ... and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft.”  Students realize that the first “shitty” draft is expected.  However, if final essays are posted online on the Virginia Tech Ichthyology blog, then the students have a broader public audience for their writings and incentives to revise.  Students also reflect on their struggles during Ichthyology class and create digital stories.  These digital stories evolved out of practical processes for resolving issues, educating ourselves, and pursuing our goals, while combining traditional and emerging literacies.  A quick search of “On Becoming An Ichthyologist” on YouTube returns some online stories; here’s one.  Many traditional class assignments can be readily updated to use online tools, such as meme generators, infographics, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.  Memes are internal representations of knowledge that are culturally inherited through sharing and “fish memes” are a favorite assignment.
 

Example fish meme assists the student in remember new family name

We have a key role to play in training fisheries students in the communications of fisheries issues for multiple, diverse audiences in open-access media.  Our youngest college students are entirely different than 20th century students.  In fact a 10-year old, Henry Foster, wrote to Arkansas leaders with suggestions for the state fish of Arkansas, which led to #GARkansas on Twitter, and an online petition to make the Alligator Gar the official state fish of Arkansas.  

In summary, the answer to the question is "YES" -- Social media will empower students.  However, we all have be engaged to create authentic online learning networks.  To join the network, visit us at Virginia Tech Ichthyology.  

Reference

Orth, D.J.  2018.  Social media may empower fisheries students via learning networks.  Fisheries  DOI: 10.1002/fsh.10034

Damned If You Do: Adopting Social Media in Teaching. by Don Orth

Social media is changing the way we interact with friends, families, and many others (Couldrey 2012).  Should it change the way we teach?  We have learning management systems (LMS) so why would we need anything else?  Will it be another time waster?  Adopting social media in teaching does seem to be another damned if you do, damned if you don't choice.   

from Jorge Cham, Piled Higher and Deeper. 

With the prodigious rise in online content we need fewer distractions and better pedagogy.  Yet, our frustrations are not a new.   McLuhan (1964, p 23) wrote "for the message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs." The instructor’s choice of media is a critical pedagogical decision in instructional design as it shapes the environment and thought.   Television as a medium taught us that life is packaged in 8-minute segments (Postman 2005). If texts, worksheets, and tests are the dominant media, the the “cram, pass, and forget” model will be adopted by students. I imagine a pedagogy where student 2.0 should help narrate, create, critique, curate, and share the content, although I seldom realize those ideals. Social media plays a role in these ideals.

Binders were my dominant mode of content curation in 1980s and 1990s. 

Social media offers instructors and students to communicate and collaborate in ways that may be efficient, effective, and yes, even transformative.   In my teaching I have transitioned from curating the course content in large binders (1980 s -1990s)  to five different LMSs.  Each time we are promised a better system. But each semester as I curate an improved content, students watch as the content is washed away after exam week, as if what we created together is not worth maintaining for the future.  College administrators advocate for online teaching to alleviate shortage of classroom space. However,  taking bad teaching online is like giving a bad guitar player a bigger amplifier (Ohler 2013, p. 6).   Rather, I advocate more connected and open pedagogy that gives students more control of learning and sharing. 

The internet has also spread the use of memes. Memes are internal representations of knowledge that are culturally inherited.  As educators we can use lessons from memes to help students master and retain key concepts.  Memes can be developed by students with readily available smartphone apps (e.g., QuickMeme, and MemeGenerator) and shared via many networks.  We can use lessons from memes via online communities to help students master and retain key concepts and new terminology (Brodie 2009). 

Students can develop and share fish memes to facilitate retrieval and recall of new taxonomy.

Community of practice is a social learning theory that fits my teaching philosophy.  Learning  is fundamentally experiential and learning is fundamentally social (Wenger 1998).  Therefore, the learning must be open and connected because the knowledge resides in numerous communities.  Yet the structures of our learning management systems make it difficult for students to be connected and for all learning artifacts to be archived and shared. 

Imagine the visual depiction of students at the periphery of the  community of practice.  The vision of student (novices) moving through collaboration toward the core is empowering. I  tell students that accepting the notion that "I am a novice" or "I am becoming" will make  it easier for them to ask questions (for more background, see On Becoming an Ichthyologist). Every action is a chance for to move from periphery to involved. Not all learning takes place in the classroom and the social media trials I describe can assist with motivating students to be active participants in open and connected networks.

Source: Pinterest

Be afraid, very afraid, because Google is making us stupider Carr (2008).   Be afraid of the curse of irrelevance if you stay within the safety of your University's LMS.   Teaching that is closed and disconnected encourages superficial learning. Instead, take one of these bags of gold and change your teaching.  Gardner Campbell and Jim Groom,  in their talk No Digital Facelifts: Thinking the Unthinkable About Open Educational Experience, describe these new possibilities.  Bik and Goldstein (2013) emphasize that we fail to adopt social media because we are afraid of being wrong, being yelled at, or violating some social media norms.  Fears can be reduced by working with a trusted mentor.    I offer these five ways to try out social media in your teaching.

1. Public Writing 
 

Public writing is open and connected learning. Kumpulainan and Sefton-Green (2014, p. 10) wrote "design principles for such connected learning environments include breaking boundaries between formal and informal; valuing learner agency, authority, and accountability; and stressing the importance of learners pursuing meaningful and authentic activities with relevant resources and tools.”  I encourage public posting of essays (i.e., blogs, or op-ed) because the student has an audience.  In some cases I have added students as blog authors and in most other cases, student writing and revision (and revision and revision) is done offline.  Only some final essays are posted on the Virginia Tech Ichthyology blog.  Graduate students are more frequently creating and curating their own blogs (e.g,  Chesapeake Catfish,  Clinch Chronicle, and The Troutlook).  I won't comment on the many blog platform options; just pick a free one (GitHub, Medium, Tumblr, Wix, Weebly, Wordpress) and get started.

2. Twitter and Infographics

Twitter is widely used by instructors.  Don't think of Twitter as a passive website.  Rather consider Twitter as a place to start and continue a discussion.   You will find followers who have similar interests.  Start or follow a discussion with a unique hashtag.  Right now #PenceScience and #NationalBookLoverDay are trending.  Stories of scientists working in the field were shared in the #fieldworkfail discussion on Twitter.    Students can use Twitter in many ways.  Twitter allows students to initiate discussions and invite authors of their readings to weigh in on discussions. A list is a curated group of Twitter users, which allows you and your students to make more connections. 

Sample Infographic or Information Graphic, developed by the USEPA. 

Images and videos added to tweets get more attention. If you want your message to be re-tweeted, make a simple graphic.  In the new media, these are called Information Graphics (i.e., infographics) and a simple assignment to create an infographic on a topic will engage more parts of the brain than "write a summary of the passage from page 368-390."     Another app, called Storify, allows the student to locate and write a summary with tweets posted on a particular topic.   For example, after the death of Michael Brown in  Ferguson, Missouri, educators used the many tweets posted on this story and developed a storify syllabus on the Ferguson issue.  Other Storify stories tell of fieldwork of scientists to support world water day and #scicomm.   

3. Online communities

Many instructors are creating Facebook groups for their classes; there are many Facebook ideas you can adopt.   I have used these since I joined Facebook to easily facilitate student introductions at the beginning of class.  Because of privacy concerns of students (the law known as FERPA) and Facebook evils, I never make membership a requirement.   My Ichthyology Facebook group is a public group and is dominated by past students and other fish enthusiasts.   However, you can create a closed Facebook group.  I use Facebook to join and learn for a variety of groups.   I also maintain a Flickr Ichthyology class site and require students to post their better fish photos (with annotations) to this shared site.   On Flickr I follow my favorite photographers and joined a number of Flickr groups.   Similarly, I follow some individuals on You Tube.  Here I am able to encounter rare and interesting videos that are useful for my teaching.  For example, Brandon Brown  posted a beautiful underwater video of Longear Sunfish breeding behaviors and Cardinal Shiners in breeding colors.   One problem with many learning management systems is they are designed for instructors to post, curate, and deliver content.  If you wish to create an online open learning community you may have to find alternative platforms in which students can create discussion, post materials, and be more engaged in the learning process.   Consider experimenting with PBWorks or  Slack; here are notes from one such experiment.  

4. Digital Storytelling and Video Essays

We need to train people to be inspiring communicators if they are to be effective in their work or public lives (Dahlstrom 2014).  One easy teaching trial is to assign a video Essay instead of a written essay.  One example, is the This I Believe Essay which many college classes have adopted.  In this video version present "I Believe in Resilience."   However, students in the STEM courses seldom write in a narrative form.   I spent many decades teaching before asking students to tell me their stories.   My teaching has personally transformed when I began facilitating student storytelling and sharing my own stories.  When it is safe to tell stories, then learning communities become storytelling  communities.

In my Ichthyology class, I first tell students some key ideas behind learning to study Ichthyology (video) or Stream Habitat Management (video).  This provides students with some background on research on learning that informs practices that I suggest they adopt.  Click for more on How to Learn Ichthyology.   I have found that digital stories have many uses for my teaching.  I can post a short fish mystery that forces students to think about it, or even read the assigned text.   In this post I provide a brief answer the mystery of Bloody Neutrality of the Smallmouth Bass.  

To prompt students to examine defining events in their own young lives,  I share my story Not Everyone Truly Lives and assign students to create a wondering map (Brooks 2010, p. 19-47).    Students are always struggling with new and challenging materials.  I use a digital story assignment in order to get them reflecting on their struggles and sharing the story.  This digital storytelling assignment was described in the post, Inside the head of a fish head.  If you need more background before adopting digital storytelling, start by reading Ohler (2013).  Ohler (2013) presents a number of important revelations about storytelling as pedagogy.  For me, the most important was that the story provides a set of practical processes for resolving issues, educating ourselves, and pursuing our goals, while combining traditional and emerging literacies (Ohler 2013).

The Hero's Journey from Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces.  "Students need to become heroes of their own learning stories as well as of the stories they tell with their own lives" Ohler (2013, p.  9)

 5. Eportfolios and a Web of One's Own

Gardner Campbell called for giving each student a personal cyberinfrastructure in 2009 podcast or read the text. In 2013 University of Mary Washington initiated Domain of ones own where first-year students are assigned a web domain name.  Dozens of other universities have adopted similar initiatives.  The University provides free, personal domain names and web hosting and students take control of their work.   Creating a domain of one's own may be the most important wickedly subversive education innovation of our times (Waters 2014).  Listen to Ted talk by Jim Groom and find out why Jim Groom rocks.
 
Bass 2014 wrote "E-portfolios are at heart a set of pedagogies and practices that link learners to learning, curriculum to the cocurriculum, and courses and programs to institutional outcomes."  Here is a place for the student to reflect and narrate about their learning experience, show the artifacts of their learning, organize and curate their scholarly works, and share with others.  Most importantly, ePortfolios are leaner-centric and may demonstrate a student's creativity and sense of wonder better than any exam.   I use ePortfolio as a course-level demonstration of student learning; it's been ten years since I gave students the option of creating a hard-copy portolio.  Students can choose to make their final ePortfolio private or public.   For one example, click here.   The easiest way to initiate this trial is to develop your own teaching portfolio and use your struggles and successes to help model the ePortfolio development process.   See My Teaching Portfolio.

Try one of these ideas!  Social media have vastly changed how we communicate online. Our students are no longer just consumers of online media.  Fisheries educators have a key role to play in training fisheries students in the  communications of fisheries issues for multiple diverse audiences. Students 2.0 are content creators, curators, distributors, editors, opinion makers, and much more. Consequently, it is our responsibility as educators to help student 2.0 to navigate through the social media.  It is also our responsibility to remind students and instructors that not all learning is digital and, further, outreach to some publics must be face to face (see The Grapevine).  While the media landscape has changed dramatically, the criteria for evaluating the credibility of media (arguments, evidence, conclusions, implications) have not.  If you choose not to adopt social media, you might be damned with the curse of irrelevance.

References

Bass, R. 2014. The next whole thing in higher education. Peer Review. Winter 2014, 16(1):35.   

Bik, H.M. and M.C. Goldstein. 2013. An introduction to social media for scientists. PLoS Biology 11(4): e1001535. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001535 
Brooks, K. 2010. You majored in what? Mapping your path from chaos to career. Plume. Penguin Group. New York. 322 pp. 

Carr, N. 2008. Is Google making us stupid? The Atlantic. July/August.

Couldry, N. 2012.  Media, society, world: social theory and digital media practics. Polity. 242 pp.

Dahlstrom, M.F. 2014. Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (Supplement 4):13583-13584.  
Grossman, G. D., D. J. Orth, and J. Neuswanger. 2016. Innovative teaching methods in Fisheries Education.  Fisheries 41(8):451-457.

Kumpulainan, K., and J. Sefton-Green 2014. What is connected learning and how to research it? International Journal of Learning and Media 4:7-18. doi:10.1162/IJLM_a_00091
McLuhan, M. 1964. Understanding media: the extensions of man. Signet, New York. 318 pp.

Ohler, J. 2013. Digital storytelling in the classroom: new media pathways to literacy, learning, and creativity, 2nd Edition.  Corwin. 304 pp. 
Waters, A. 2014.  Beneath the cobblestones...a domain of one's own.  Hack Education.  April 25, 2014.  

Wenger, E. 1998. Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press, New York.