Although my colleague Chris Fox may have positive thoughts and sounds of swishes when he thinks of nets, for me, my first thought of nets, are of the destruction that many nets have caused our world oceans. For me I think of the number of nets I have seen while diving, the nets that suffocate the coral reef and the nets that indiscriminately kill many species of fish. I don’t like them, and have spent plenty of time underwater pulling, cutting and tearing them off our reefs around Taiwan.
But if there is one good that has come from the nets, it is the determined commitment that many marine enthusiasts have acted on in making a difference for our oceans. In addition to cutting nets from reefs and doing underwater and land based beach clean-ups, the marine-loving community also continues to increase its knowledge of what is happening to our oceans by conducting reef-checks, coral monitoring and fish surveys of our underwater environments. Taking the time to count the fish, to observe what populations exist in particular areas and to compare how those population counts change, help us to prioritize where we put our energies into making change and understanding which species need our most immediate attention. Taking time to tick boxes and take stock of our marine resources is an incredibly important method of investing in the future of our oceans.
Schools of fish aren’t the only species to benefit from ticking boxes and completing a stock-take. Schools of students also need us to invest in their future by taking time to understand more clearly which aspects of their educational experiences demand greater and immediate attention. There are so many areas of the ocean that need our attention, but instead of choosing to do a tiny little bit in every area, ocean conservationists choose particular areas and areas of expertise where they concentrate their time and resources. But what if conservationists all chose the same area or the same species to help? Unfortunately for the oceans, there is no central body checking that we have all the endangered species and all the oceans’ resources covered, and consequently some species have a lot of financial backing and protections, while others have very little.
Fortunately for our students, schools do have a lot more control. Just like the ocean conservationists, educators need to pool our resources, our talents and our expertise, but just as importantly we also need to understand where certain subjects are concentrating their energies in terms of the NETS and determine if we are all putting our energies into the same or different core areas of the NETS. We need to find out if the students are getting a balanced diet of technology experiences, knowledge and skills that provide tangible results in:
- Creativity and Innovation
- Communication and Collaboration
- Research and Information Fluency
- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
- Digital Citizenship
- Technology Operations and Concepts
The trouble in the ocean is that although many individual stock-taking and other data collections are being taken, there are plenty of stock-takes that are not being completed. Schools do a lot of stock taking and data collecting also, but perhaps there is a need for a few more. Although many schools have mission statements and student learner outcomes that are quite similar to the experiences that the NETS would deliver, educators need to take the time to study the true nature of the learning experiences students complete in their schools. If we don’t determine early on, the deficient areas, just like our oceans, we will end up in desperate times. Education has had too many desperate “quickly try to make up for our past mistakes – quick fixes.”
Although I will admit that completing a stock take or survey for the NETS, is not nearly as enjoyable as doing a fish survey on a coral reef, I do believe it is an important part of making informed decisions about how I teach my students. I do believe taking the time is an investment in their future and I know my students are a resource we can’t afford to take shortcuts on.
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