text:
Follow the Malawians in the
Lakeland College M.Ed. Program
Not long ago in September, the Malawian graduate students joined an online workshop sponsored by USAID. The title of the webinar was "Incentives and Accountability in Education." Participants were able to connect via the Internet from across the globe and listen to presentations taking place in Washington D.C.
The presenters shared information on using incentives to improve both student and teacher performance with early grade reading. One exercise during the workshop dealt with a hypothetical situation in Malawi, and the students found this to be a very useful learning activity. In fact, the exercise may be expanded as part of a visit to campus by an early grade reading consultant in spring 2015.
In the coming months, the Malawians hope to learn more about technology and the possibilities it affords as far as creating inter-connectivity with knowledgeable experts in early grade reading around the world.
Meanwhile, the students continue to work with Tim Hurson's book Think Better in Professor Elder's class, "Means for Mastery of Reading Pedagogy." I sat in on a recent discussion in which Elder asked the students to list what this text can help them accomplish in addressing literacy issues once they return to Malawi. Their lists boiled down to three main goals, stated in various ways:
- To have a stronger and clearer voice in the planning of new curricula;
- To develop innovative strategies for helping young students learn to read; and
- To introduce problem-solving skills that will help colleagues think better and work better
This week, on October 9 and 10, the college will host a visiting consultant from RTI International in Washington DC. Karon Harden brings considerable experience working with early grade reading initiatives in Africa. I know the graduate students are looking forward to her visit as they continue to seek solutions to the challenges of teaching reading to young learners in Malawi.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
With today's post, we have finally met all of the graduate students from Malawi. It has been more than three months since the group arrived on campus. The students are keeping up with their reading and writing assignments, and also managing to fit in some occasional off-campus activities like attending a poetry event in Sheboygan this past weekend. Let's meet Elymas Tembwe and learn about his plans for forging a productive future back home.
Meet Elymas Tembwe
Elymas is from the capital city of Lilongwe, and he received his bachelor's degree from Domasi College of Education in 2010. Upon graduation, he went to work at the Teacher Training College (
For his master's thesis, Elymas is planning to explore the impact of graphic organizers as a strategy to enhance reading comprehension. He explained to me that a typical graphic organizer would be a Venn diagram, two overlapping circles. Using such a tool, learners can explore a text by organizing the relationships between things in a visual manner, which increases overall comprehension.
This past summer, when Elymas first arrived in Wisconsin, I asked him what had surprised him most about his new home. At the time, he said he was surprised to find that people are extremely helpful and friendly here. He felt very welcomed, and he greatly appreciated all the kindness shown to him and his fellow students.
When I recently asked him again what things have surprised him, he became energized and told me about a book he is reading in Karl Elder's class, Means for Mastery of Reading Pedagogy. The book is called Think Better, and in it author Tim Hurson outlines a step-by-step method that groups of people can use in order to work toward solutions to complex problems. The steps involve what Hurson calls "productive thinking," as opposed to "reproductive thinking," which is what we generally engage in when trying to move past challenges or difficulties.
I recently read this book myself and found it to be helpful and inspiring. "Reproductive thinking just follows old patterns, and old patterns cannot take us anywhere new," Elymas said. "Productive thinking does not ignore the past, but learns from the past in order to manage the present, in order to forge the future."
It would seem to me that productive thinking is going to be put to very good use by Elymas and the others when they return home. He added, "When thinking productively, one must always ask, 'What else? What more can we do?' We should have a lot of questions. Those questions will help us think better [about early grade reading instruction in Malawi, for example.]"
When the graduate students go home, they are going to have many new ideas, new teaching methods and new classroom strategies at their fingertips. There may be many challenges, but as Elymas said, "I need to be a really good role model [for other teachers]." Together, Elymas and the others will lead many discussions with their peers and with teachers-in-training, finding more and more ways to "think better" (and do better) in the furtherance of early grade reading instruction. One key, as Elymas emphasized to me, will be to always ask, "What else can we do?"
From left to right, Benjamin David, Ndamyo Mwanyongo, Elymas Tembwe, Bertha Singini and Margaret Mulaga
attended the global event "100 Thousand Poets for Change" at Glas Coffee House along Sheboygan's riverfront on Saturday, September 27.
Michael Simawo took the photograph. Ndamyo shared a poem written by the writer of this blog, translated into Chichewa.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
I had the opportunity to drive three of the graduate students into Sheboygan last Friday evening to attend a concert of the African Children's Choir at St. Luke's United Methodist Church. The choir was from Uganda and was on a grand tour of the United States. The children, most of them orphans, were wonderful singers and dancers, full of talent, vitality, and smiles. The whole experience was very uplifting, and it was good to do something away from campus with Ndamyo Mwanyongo, Margaret Mulaga, and Bertha Singini, the subject of today's profile. I think the three graduate students had a good time listening to familiar music from Africa, as I occasionally heard quiet singing coming from Bertha, who was sitting next to me in the pew.
Meet Bertha Singini
Bertha was born in Mzuzu, in northern Malawi and lives now in Blantyre, in the south, where she has worked at the Teacher Training College (TTC) there for five years. Before that, she taught for eleven years at the TTC in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. Prior to Lilongwe she was working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Malawi, Chancellor College.
Bertha is married and has two teenage daughters, ages 19 and 14. She misses them enormously and tries to speak to them every day. When she first told her family that she wanted to apply to Lakeland to pursue her master's degree in early grade reading instruction, her husband (who works for a tobacco company) said, "This is your chance, Bertha. Don't miss it!"
Bertha has traveled some in her life already and besides the three students who attended Lakeland as undergraduates, she is the only other person in the cohort who previously visited the United States. In 2011, she was an attendee at a "Women Aglow" Christian conference held in Houston,Texas. Before that, she traveled to Freiburg, Germany (along with fellow graduate student Ndamyo Mwanyongo and many other teachers representing all the public Teacher Training Colleges in Malawi) to attend a conference on "Learner Centered Education" sponsored by GIZ, or Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (Society for International Cooperation.)
Bertha, along with several of her fellow M.Ed. students, would like to see discussions opened up with the Ministry of Education back home to create an office strictly dedicated to issues related to teaching reading. She also has a vision that more books could be made available for children to take home with them to read during their free time. Her graduate thesis will examine how literacy skills can be used in other content areas in the primary school curriculum, for example, in social studies.
Bertha still thinks about her visit to Bookworm Gardens that took place during the first two weeks that the Malawians were here, and it remains one of her favorite experiences in Wisconsin to date. Although she knows that resources would be an issue in building a similar activity center in Malawi, and that a Bookworm Gardens there would be very different from the one here in Sheboygan, she can imagine something like it back home. "We just need to identify a place," she said.
One of the most striking things to me about Bertha is that she is full of laughter. While she can be quite serious when talking about the important things that matter to her, her words are often prefaced by laughter, which seems to burst out at times in a cascade of joy. Being able to laugh easily no doubt serves her well, when days become stressful and there is so much important work to be done.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
I continue to think about what it means to be an effective teacher. Last week, I wrote about the need for passion. As I continue getting to know the graduate students, I think that every effective teacher is also a determined, life-long learner. A teacher must continue to expand his or her own knowledge in order to be effective at expanding the minds of others. There is constantly new information and skills to learn and new ways to learn those things. Even when teaching the basic skills--such as reading and writing--a teacher must be prepared to try new methods and bring in new examples in order to reach his or her students. Overton Simbeye is determined to use these sorts of strategies in order to engage young learners in Malawi, and he emphasized this fact when we spoke recently.
Meet Overton C.D.R. Simbeye
Overton Simbeye works at the Teaching Training College in Karonga. His wife is a primary school teacher, and they are raising seven children, three from a first marriage. Overton tried to come to Lakeland in 2003. This was during the eleven-year period when the college was admitting Malawians in cohorts of five students each year to obtain bachelor's degrees in education. He was not selected that first time, but he was determined to get a college education. So instead of Lakeland, he pursued his bachelor's degree at Domasi College of Education in Malawi. When the opportunity arose to participate in an M.Ed. degree program in early grade reading instruction at Lakeland, he was extra determined to be accepted into the program. This time he was accepted, and he says he is very glad to be here.
Overton told me that his thesis project for the degree will examine the effects of scaffolding techniques on young learners. I was not familiar with the concept of "scaffolding," so he explained it: "Scaffolding activities make teachers and learners focus on reading by placing it into a context." For example, before students read a new text in class, the teacher might first set the stage by walking the students through some guided imagery to help them visualize what they already know and think about the subject described in the text. By preparing them to read in this way, the teacher shows the students how the reading itself becomes more meaningful. Consequently, there is better comprehension and more retention of the text. Overton further explained that another good strategy is to read in "chunks," and to stop periodically and talk about or reflect on what has been read along the way. He is looking forward to trying out various techniques like these in Malawi and observing what works best for young learners there.
One thing that has impressed Overton since he came to study at Lakeland is how generous people are in Wisconsin. "We have had a lot of invitations from churches and the Rotary Club to visit them," he said. Like Phillip Nachonie, Overton remembered fondly a recent afternoon at the home of Pastor Brian De Jong, when all the graduate students got to ride the horse. Overton has been touched by the openness and generosity he has seen here. He has also noticed that people here are good with time management, and he is eager to impart that concept to his student teachers back home.
Overton also shared with me the meaning of his full name, Overton Chitukula Daniel Reuben Simbeye. "Overton" was a name that his father heard a British man in Zambia use, and he was told the name meant "chief." "Chitukula" is a clan name. The next two names are Biblical, "Daniel" (God is my judge) and "Reuben" (Behold my son). Overton's grandfather's name was Daniel, and his father's, Reuben. Finally, the surname Simbeye is a tribal name. Overton said, "When I see all my names, I feel I must try and try and try."
Overton looks forward to returning to Malawi and getting to work on making adjustments to the TTC curriculum and improving teacher training. He is determined to see this happen. When I asked him if he thinks the system will change, he said, "I have no doubt. The content we are learning here will help us make a change. We are starting to learn good early grade reading strategies. There are ten of us. We will have the weight [to make improvements in the system]. The people back home are eager for change."
Riding the horse at the home of Pastor Brian De Jong, Sheboygan Falls
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
Like all skills, teaching is one we can learn. But, it helps if we have a lot of energy, because teaching also requires considerable patience and a large dose of ingenuity. Sometimes, students are not focused on learning. Sometimes, the conditions in which the learning is supposed to happen are not ideal. Either way, a teacher needs a lot of resourcefulness to do the job at all. But to do a great job, there must be energy combined with imagination. This is passion. Without passion, teachers will not be role models for their students. I'm sure this is what most of us remember about our favorite teachers over the years; they were passionate about their subject and passionate about imparting it to us. I hear this idea about passion come up often when I talk to the graduate students from Malawi.
Meet Michael Simawo
Michael was born in Blantyre in the southern part of Malawi. He has taught in Blantyre, in Lunzu, and now teaches at the Teacher Training College in Machinga, alongside two other Lakeland graduate students, Phillip Nachonie (who we met last week) and Elymas Tembwe, whose profile on this blog is yet to come. Michael is married; his wife does part-time data collection work for various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and also helps care for Michael's nieces and nephews. They are not the parents of any children of their own.
When we talked recently, one of the first things Michael told me is that he felt that there is still much to be done to better train teachers in Malawi. He hopes that a passion for teaching becomes one of the reasons young people choose teaching for their profession, not simply because there are many job openings for teachers in Malawi. He hopes that the training of teachers becomes more rigorous and of higher quality and that teachers are regularly monitored and assessed. He hopes that teachers will be dedicated to their students and work fervently to see these learners succeed.
The graduate classes are underway again, and Michael feels refreshed after a few days off and ready to dig into some new ideas with his cohort. The courses this term are Contemporary Philosophies of Education, Organization and Operation of American Education, a tutorial in reading called, Means for Mastery of Reading Pedagogy, and Educational Research and Evaluation.
As the term begins, Michael is looking forward to start reviewing the literature for his thesis project. He plans to research the effects of incorporating various teaching resources into the curriculum, for example, name cards, flash cards, and other print resources. He wants to determine what kinds of resources are most effective and then work to get more of them in use in classrooms in Malawi. He said, "Keep in mind, this topic is grounded in the fact that in Malawi, teaching resources are very scarce."
Michael explained to me that all of the M.Ed. students are proposing thesis topics now and will read the existing literature. Then back home, they will undertake what is called "action research." This means that they will all be working at their regular jobs in the TTCs, teaching future primary school teachers, and simultaneously collecting and analyzing their thesis data. They have a lot of work ahead of them.
Michael envisions that someday he might be part of a team of literacy consultants for Malawi, people who could recommend solutions to schools and teachers who are having difficulties getting their kids to read. He wants children in Malawi, he says with great energy, "to learn to read so that later, on their own, they can read to learn."
Regarding this, Michael is quite passionate.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
Part of the fun of being in Wisconsin is trying new things. During the recent break from classes, the graduate students had the opportunity to visit the home of Rev. Brian De Jong in Sheboygan Falls. Pastor De Jong serves at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sheboygan. He hosted a backyard party for the students, and the festivities included a special twist. The Malawians got the opportunity to ride a horse. Phillip Nachonie, like most of the others, had never done this before. His reaction: "It was an experience, I tell you." I sat with Phillip outside the Campus Center on a beautiful summer day and heard about his first horseback ride, as well as his determination to work with his colleagues to help young learners back home in Malawi.
Meet Phillip Nachonie '06
Phillip Nachonie's first experience at Lakeland began over ten years ago, when he arrived as an undergraduate student. During his three years here, Phillip attended Grace Presbyterian and as Pastor De Jong describes him, "Phillip was a faithful attendee and got quite involved in activities of the church." When Phillip graduated with his bachelor's degree in general education in 2006, he returned home and went to work immediately at the Teacher Training College (TTC) in Lilongwe. Then in 2010, he was hired to work at a new TTC that opened in Machinga, about 160 miles southwest of the capital. He lives there with his wife and their four children: three girls, ages 17, 15 and 7, and one boy, age 11.
Recently, Phillip was invited to be a researcher for a project that was undertaken by USAID to collect data on the reading progress of young learners in Malawi. The assessment study found that learners in Grade 2 were failing to read, for the most part, at the most basic level. To Phillip and his colleagues, this finding was both distressing and alarming. When he saw that there was an opportunity to come back to Lakeland to obtain his master's degree with a focus on early grade reading instruction, he felt it imperative that he apply. He hopes to do everything in his power to help young Malawians become better educated. "I am fully aware," he said, "that reading forms the basis of all other learning."
For Phillip, like the other graduate students in the Malawi program, the short break between classes has combined a mixture of relaxation, shopping, and fun, with formulating a topic for his master's thesis. He told me how he had narrowed his thoughts down to two possible projects, and will now pursue the second of the two.
The first topic he was pondering had to do with how new teachers are monitored and assessed and what could be done to ensure that they are truly reaching their students. The challenge for Phillip in pursing this topic would be logistical: "This project would involve a lot of movement around the country to collect the data." He soon realized that it would be more than he could cover.
The second project has to do with time allocation and management. "There is not enough time allocated strictly to reading in the early grades," Phillip observed. He would like to study the impact of devoting more time on reading instruction in an early grade classroom. Phillip envisions that there would be great value in "shedding off" some topics from the curriculum in the early years, and giving more focus to reading. "I will be happy if we are successful in this. I think we will be."
Phillip has been very pleased with the coursework at Lakeland, and describes the experience here as "eye-opening." He said that the idea about the amount of time spent on reading came to him from the discussions that took place a couple weeks back in the course, Second Language Acquisition. "In this place, I am getting many new ideas. I'm sure that what I have learned and what I will learn this semester will help to shape my project."
He also spoke very highly of his nine colleagues. Echoing a theme we have heard before on this blog, Phillip said of them, "They are open to discussion. It is not a one-man show. We cannot succeed on an individual basis."
Phillip on horseback, with Grace De Jong assisting.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
The graduate students are on a short break right now. Classes ended last week and will begin again right after Labor Day. When I informally polled the group about what they are doing during their time off, I learned that they have been relaxing, making trips into Sheboygan to look for winter clothes (yes, it will be winter again one day), watching soccer on television, listening to music, and also reading the education literature on literacy to look for "gaps in the knowledge" that might lead to fruitful thesis topics. Even when on break, these graduate students are never far from their studies, are they? In fact, in an eighteen-month graduate program, there really are few breaks. One of the teachers, a self-described "strong and determined woman," is a 2008 graduate of Lakeland. She spoke with me about out how happy she is to be back.
Meet Ndamyo Mwanyongo '08
Ndamyo Mwanyongo graduated with her bachelor's degree from Lakeland in 2008, but her connection to the school goes back earlier than that. Her husband, Andy Blessings Mwanyongo '02 was in the first cohort of five students who came to Lakeland from Malawi in 1999 to earn bachelor's degrees. She fondly remembers visiting the campus when he was a student here, to hear him sing in the choir. "Lakeland is like family to me," she said.
Several years later, Andy encouraged Ndamyo to apply to Lakeland herself. She still feels deep appreciation for the support her husband gave her. He took care of their home and family during her three-year absence. Their two sons were 16 and 11 when she first left. She said the youngest one, especially, missed his mom.
Now she is back for a second degree and couldn't be happier to be here. Ndamyo said her youngest son, now 19, assured her, "It's only one year this time. We'll manage."
Ndamyo told me she is pleased to know that her example of being selected to leave Malawi twice to study has inspired many of the younger teachers back home. "It's an opportunity that I don't take for granted. I feel like I can make a difference. I think the student teachers respect me and look up to me."
I have no doubt that Ndamyo is right about this.
Ndaymo teaches at the Teacher Training College in Kasunga, a town 60 miles north of the capital city of Lilongwe. She would like to see reading taught in a broad manner. "I do not want to see it narrowed," she said. "I teach very widely, using all the expressive arts." Ndamyo, like her husband Andy, is very interested in music. "We play music as a family a lot." She has used music, drama, and drawing as a tool in teaching not only young learners, but student-teachers, too.
"In Malawi, we must start with better training for teachers. We need to incorporate other subject areas. And, we need a means for engaging parents. In Malawi, parents are not so involved with children's education. We need to help them see their role."
Ndamyo knows first-hand the value of parents' involvement in a child's education. She was the fifth of nine children. Her dad was a secondary school teacher and her mom was a primary school teacher. There were books at home and she watched her parents read and her siblings study. She had models for reading at an early age and in-home tutors to help her when she needed help. In sixth grade, she went off to a boarding school that encouraged library use and then, in secondary school, her teacher was a Peace Corps volunteer who strengthened Ndamyo's developing English with phonetic reading skills.
On a different note, I asked Ndamyo about the interesting middle names that people have in Malawi. Remember, last week, we learned that Elias gave himself the middle name, Ambitious. The parents of her husband, Andy, gave him the middle name Blessings. Ndamyo has a middle name, Kettie, which is the name of her mother's sister. I asked her the meaning of Ndamyo. Her name means "troubles, challenges." She said her mom had some troubles when she was pregnant with Ndamyo, hence the given name.
The way I see it, Ndamyo may have been born in challenge, but being strong and determined, as well as open-minded, she has been the recipient of many blessings. She is here now to put all that to good use for the children of Malawi.
Ndamyo (left) with students at the Viyere Primary School in Mzuzu, Malawi,
where she did her student teaching after graduating from Lakeland in 2008.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
Last week the Malawi graduate students were struggling in class with the question, "what do we need to do in Malawi to improve the acquisition of reading skills for our youngest learners?" In a vigorous class discussion, they talked about how teaching has changed in the many years since they were student teachers themselves. For one thing, when they were learning to be teachers, tests involved essay questions that required written answers. Now, too much testing is left to multiple choice questioning, which as one person said, "is not really a test of true knowledge." In an effort to move more people more quickly into the profession of teaching, according to the M.Ed. students, standards in Malawi have been lowered. But, as recent reading assessments reveal, less-skilled teachers don't do children much good. And so, we come back to the question: what can be done?
Meet Elias Ambitious Jonas Lyson
Elias was born in Zomba in the southern part of Malawi, and he lives now in the capital, Lilongwe, where he is in his fifth year of employ at the Teaching Training College (TTC) there. His wife teaches primary school and they have four children: three girls ages eighteen, fourteen, and twelve and a boy, nine.
In his first weeks in the graduate program at Lakeland, what Elias has found most surprising is the emphasis on time management. He shared, "Teachers here are serious with time. That is the first thing I want to emulate when I go home. If class starts at eight, it starts at eight." He was also delighted to see classrooms at Valders elementary school that were rich with print materials everywhere he looked. "The environment is very conducive to learning," he said. "Classroom set-up, desk set-up...all these things are so important." He also found it amazing that even kindergarten-age children are able to use technology as part of a normal school day.
Like his colleagues in the Lakeland Master's program, when Elias saw the advertisement to come to Wisconsin, it was the focus on "early grade reading instruction" that particularly caught his eye. His first thought at the time was, "If I can go for this opportunity at Lakeland, I can assist the learners in Malawi."
Elias wanted to make clear to me that the strategies being discussed in class are often known to teachers in Malawi, but sometimes it is a matter of resources or the teacher's individual creative energy that impacts the ability to follow through on them. The best strategies do nothing if they are not implemented. With 100 students in an average classroom, there are many challenges a teacher faces.
When I spoke to Elias and Margaret Mulaga (his colleague at the TTC in Lilongwe) together one afternoon recently, they echoed something that Elias had first shared with me on his own: Classrooms need to be made secure and lockable so that teachers can put up educational materials—making a "print-rich" learning environment—and leave the materials there, knowing the resources will be safe until the next class. As it is right now, teachers have to carry their materials to class, put them up and take them down each time they teach. This is inconvenient and exhausting in a situation that is already stressful with so many children to teach at one time.
Elias also taught me the acronym, TALULAR, which stands for "Teaching and Learning Using Locally Available Resources." So, if the teacher doesn't even have a classroom, what can the teacher do to put up print resources? Can they be hung on a rope? Can they be tacked to a tree? Yes and yes. But, all these things require ingenuity, creativity and physical energy. Elias hopes to instill these qualities in his student teachers when he goes home.
You will notice that Elias has two middle names. One is Jonas, the name of his grandfather. The other is Ambitious. This is a name that Elias gave himself after high school, because he felt it represented his desire to be a better teacher. It strikes me that by making the commitment to gain his M.Ed. degree from Lakeland College, Elias is on the path to fulfilling his destiny.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
Earlier this week I got to be a student again when I visited the "Second Language Acquisition" class and listened to several presentations by the Malawi students. I learned different strategies for teaching English as a second language, for this is essentially what the teachers must do in Malawi. In the early grades English is a subject but by fifth grade, all classes are in English. The native tongue, Chichewa, must make room for this. The challenge is that many teachers back home are not proficient in English themselves, which causes a downward spiral in learning. The Malawian graduate students here at Lakeland are determined to find ways to turn things around. They would like to see the standards raised for teachers. They would like to see teacher training be more intensive, and longer. They would like to see reading taught across the curriculum, not just in the language classes. And they said over and over that the best teachers need to stay focused on the early grades, not moved up to high school. I left class this morning so impressed by their knowledge and dedication. They have many challenges ahead.
Meet Margaret Mulaga
Upon arriving at Lakeland, Margaret Mulaga was surprised to find that the college is in a farming area. She was also surprised by the ubiquity of cheese. "I don't like cheese," she admitted. Also, she was very surprised by how much the weather can change in a day. And, to that I said, "Margaret, so are we!"
She was greatly inspired by the visit about a month ago now to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. She was especially struck by the displays and demonstrations that talked about how the earth moves (earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis). She mentioned that these were things she had recently been teaching about back home and it was very interesting to see how the museum explained these things.
Last spring, when Margaret's husband showed her an advertisement in the newspaper announcing the opportunity to come to Lakeland for a Master's degree in early grade reading instruction, her first thought was, "Let me be one of those people who can teach our children to read, so the country can develop."
Margaret and her family (three girls ages seventeen, fifteen and thirteen, and one boy age four and a half) live in Malawi's capital city, Lilongwe, where she teaches at the Teacher Training College (TTC) there. She began her teaching career at age 21 working in the primary grades and later taught secondary school. She received her BA four years ago at Domasi College of Education (part of the University of Malawi) and began to work at the TTC as a teacher trainer. She is now thinking long and hard about what can be done in order to improve early grade reading instruction back home.
She explained to me that in Malawi, you are very lucky to have only eighty students in your classroom. More consistently, a typical class size is 200 children. For us here in the U.S., who find it untenable to have forty, these numbers give us pause. How can anything at all be accomplished with that many children at once?
Margaret feels that strategies can be developed to work with these large groups and that teachers must help each other to be creative and innovative. One thing that is needed is the "print-rich" classroom. Students need to come into their classroom and see words and letters everywhere. And, if school happens to be under a tree, the teacher needs to be creative and still provide visuals of words and letters to inspire young minds.
Perhaps it is a tall order, but when I talk to Margaret, I feel that if anyone can help create a change, she can.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
My conversations with the teachers from Malawi have been very enlightening. Themes recur when I ask them: "what needs to be done to improve early grade reading instruction in Malawi?" Multiple times, I have heard answers such as: "we should teach reading across the curriculum," and "we need to develop teaching strategies for diverse learners" and "we must create print-rich learning environments." In upcoming posts, I will share more of what the teachers are telling me, and what ideas are brewing as they continue their studies. Today, let's meet another dedicated teacher:
Meet Benjamin David
Benjamin David works at the Teacher Training College (TTC) in Blantyre, in the southern region of Malawi. It was here that Benjamin was first trained to be a teacher, graduating eighteen years ago. From there, he went to an elementary school in the middle of the country in Machinga where he worked with young people for twelve years, teaching not just reading, but eight other subjects as well.
In 2009, the TTC in Blantyre called him back and hired him to train young teachers. Like his fellow Malawians in the Lakeland M.Ed. program, Benjamin takes his job very seriously. He says, "In Malawi, learners want to learn, but the teachers do not always have a good approach, or good materials….They don't know the right techniques to help the students."
When I asked him what kinds of things he was learning here that will help him with the situation back home, he was quick to reply, "We need to form a group back at home, a task force that can plan projects and workshops. We should begin in an individual TTC, and go from there." He indicated that discussions about forming teams like this had come up in the Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics class, and had clearly planted a seed.
Strength in numbers, with like-minded colleagues. Teamwork. Always a good thing.
Benjamin pointed out to me that there are only ten Malawian teachers here at Lakeland, learning new things. They are just ten among hundreds of teacher trainers and curriculm planners in Malawi. Benjamin sees that part of his job is to discover which of all the things he is learning can be successfully customized to the context of Malawi and to bring that back to his colleagues at home. He stated, "This is not just a mere change, rather it's a change to be directed towards meaningful input to a Malawian learner."
Benjamin said that the most strange and surprising thing so far was his journey here: the plane ride. The word he used was "weird," having never traveled anywhere by plane before. He was also greatly impressed by Bookworm Gardens, the children's reading garden in Sheboygan. He liked how books are available to visitors right there in nature, in a rich, experiential, visual environment that enhances the story. He especially enjoyed hearing Valerie Elzinga, wife of Professor Jeff Elzinga and a teacher in Valders, tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk during the visit.
Benjamin is excited to be at Lakeland. He looks forward to returning home to his work and his family—a wife, three daughters (ages fifteen, seven and two), and a son, age ten—a year from now with new energy and new tools to teach reading. One key, he said, is "to model for learners how to read." He feels that this has not happened enough in Malawi.
He said, "When things are changing, it is a good thing."
Benjamin David (far right) at Bookworm Gardens with colleagues,
left to right: Overton Simbeye, Phillip Nachonie `06 and Elias Lyson.
This post is written by Lisa Vihos, the Director of Sponsored Programs and Research at Lakeland College. The program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this blog are the responsibility of Lakeland College and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.


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Survey: Cost of cloud may be top priority over security
nCircle, a security and compliance auditing provider, conducted a survey that yielded an increase in the number of agencies considering switching to cloud security, but found that cost may override other security concerns.
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DISA cloud contract for all of DoD?
A single Defense department cloud email system might be in the works. Learn more in today's DoD report
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Interior defines new approach to IT
The Interior Department issued its four-year technology transformation plan where it describes how it will save $100 million a year starting in 2016. Interior's roadmap focuses on back office and administrative systems.
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DoD decides not to move DISA to Cyber Command
Just-retired DoD Secretary Robert Gates issued a recent memo announcing his decision about how DISA and the chief information officer's office will change. Gates said DoD will dis-establish the Networks Integration and Information office.
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Host John Gilroy will talk cloud computing with Van Risau and David Blakenhorn, executives at DLT Solutions.
July 5, 2011
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Mark Forman, the first e-gov administrator. gives a forecast on the future of cloud computing.
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After a RFI and two industry days, the agency is preparing one or more solicitations to move its technology backbone to the cloud. HUD also is taking advantage of the TechStat sessions to improve the oversight and management of its ongoing IT projects.
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GSA, DoD, DHS still need at least another month to finalize the FedRAMP requirements. Agencies and vendors are anxiously waiting the FedRAMP process to speed up the move to cloud computing and save money. The CIO Council also is developing the top 20 cloud security considerations to help agencies mitigate risks.
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Golden Pineapple Carrot Muffins
- Yield 8 servings
These light and cakey yet wholesome muffins are perfect for breakfast or a lunch snack.
The banana and pineapple add a natural source of sweetness while the strands of grated carrot add texture and color. Enjoy warm out of the oven.
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon unprocessed sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup mashed banana
- 1/2 cup expeller-pressed oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup canned crushed unsweetened pineapple, undrained
- 1/2 cup finely shredded raw carrot
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-cup muffin tin.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a large bowl.
- Combine the eggs, banana, oil, and vanilla in a blender. Pour over the dry ingredients. Add the walnuts, pineapple, carrot, and nuts and stir just until the flour is moistened.
- Fill the muffin tin cups two-thirds full, using a 1/3 cup measure.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown, testing for doneness with a toothpick or piece of pasta.
Reprinted with permission from The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook, by Laura Trice. Copyright 2010 Running Press.


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Title: If I stay
Author: Gayle Forman
First Published: 2009
Genre: Young Adult | Romance
About the Book:
After a car accident that affects her entire family, Mia wakes up from a coma- without her body, that is. Instead she is left to watch the situation from a completely new point of view from outside of her body as she finds out what has happened to the rest of her family and has to watch her boyfriend Adam deal with the situation. She is aware of the fact that her body is still in mortal danger, and is faced with the ultimate choice: Should she stay- or go?
It's been a couple of years since I've read this book, and honestly I still love it. Even though the story is simple and almost cliché, Mia is easy to relate to and the story does not seem outlandish, despite its unusual setting.
I picked this book for my next review because I've heard rumors about a movie coming out in August with Chloe Moretz as Mia, and if that happens I feel like there will be a lot of people talking about this book. There's also a sequel called "Where she went", but if you ask me, the first one is about a million times better.
Rating: 8/10
Age Recommendation: 15+
Educational Value: 2/5
Drinking, Smoking; Drugs: 2/5
Obviously I will add a trigger warning for injury and death.
This book ❤


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GE CEO Immelt embraces software; VC Andreessen embraces hardware
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – General Electric , famous for branded hardware from lightbulbs to turbines, is pushing hard into software, chief executive Jeffrey Immelt said at the Minds and Machines conference on Thursday. "In an industrial company, avoid software at your own peril," Immelt said in a discussion with Marc Andreessen, the famously pro-software venture capitalist, and Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine. Software and analytics have becoming increasingly important for many of GE's clients, Immelt said. …
Business News Headlines – Yahoo! News
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If Peter Jackson were a DJ, he'd be the kind that releases extended 12" vinyl remixes. And as a director, he's certainly shown his love for padding his movies with as much stuff as possible. Already released in extended editions, Jackson recently revealed that there's even more material lying around...Read More »
I can hear the groans now. It's kind of amazing the narrative change on Peter Jackson and his expanded "The Lord Of The Rings" hexalogy. The first trilogy, people loved and couldn't get enough, clamoring for those extended edition DVDs, with more and more footage making for running times that were o...Read More »
Its loss this past Sunday night to "Gravity" doesn't discount the effectiveness of the visual effects work in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." While Weta Digital's work on the film's titular dragon garnered the most attention last December, the effects company's wizardry can be seen throughout...Read More »
In a week's time, the Oscars will be over, but that doesn't quite mean the end of awards season, with a few stragglers — normally more populist than high-minded — following in the weeks and months after. Now in their 19th year, the Jameson Empire Awards — run by the UK movie magazine — are more MTV ...Read More »
In returning to Middle-Earth for the second "Hobbit" adventure, "The Desolation of Smaug," Oscar-nominated sound editors Brent Burge and Chris Ward were given a gift with the very hot Benedict Cumberbatch. But when he was first announced, they were apprehensive that his overexposure on "Sherlock" an...Read More »
The "Gravity" juggernaut, the surprising entry of "The Lone Ranger," the new and improved "Iron Man 3," the ascendance of "Star Trek Into Darkness" and the J.J. Abrams factor, and the power of the eponymous dragon from "The Desolation of Smaug." We reflect on the great year for VFX with the lead sup...Read More »
Even with inclement weather in the eastern half of the country cutting into attendance, the top 10 came in $4 million ahead of last year. This despite the relative shortfall from this year's standard first weekend opening of a new horror film. "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" failed to land t...Read More »
Yeah, we know....it's only hours until the ball drops in Times Square and yes, we'll be getting our party hats on soon. But one more list for you before we say hello to 2014: it's the IMDB Best Of 2013 Poll.Read More »
With the clock ticking on 2013, you might be finalizing your list of resolutions before heading out to celebrate the New Year. But in Hollywood, you can bet that studio executives are looking at the year that was, and hoping to do more of the same in the years ahead. Much more.Read More »
We're in the last leg of the winter holidays and it shows at the box office with strong holdovers leading the pack. This weekend, in between Christmas and New Year's Eve, marks that wonderful time when whole families pile in droves to see those films they've been hearing so much about (Did you take ...Read More »


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|30 Jan 2012
Moving users folder
I'm somewhat confused over correct way to achieve something.
I have only just upgraded to Windows 7
Previously I had OS on my C drive and 'user' folders on a physically different drive.
I have done a little googling .. some results show multiple pages on text on how to do this, another use 'mlink'
another using robocopy & whole load of cmd line stuff, another says do it within users profile setting.
What is the simple way of moving the 'users' folder (with the number of sub user folders) to a different drive, and removing the original folders ... i.e. keeping the house clean.
Purpose is to keep user data such as my documents etc ... separate from ... so OS partition does not run out of space.
|My System Specs
|30 Jan 2012
This is the method I used, and I believe the least likely to cause bad juju:
1. create a user folder on your secondary drive.
2. open your user folder (done by clicking on the arrow at the far left of the address bar, then selecting your name)
3. right-click on the first item then choose "preferences"
4. click on the "location" tab
5. enter the address of the new location. what I do is just copy the new user folder's address (EG: "D:/User/") to the clipboard, then highlight everything before the folder name and paste the new adders (EG: Default is C:/users/"username"/Desktop, highlight the "C:/users/"username"/" part and then ctrl+v)
6. click OK.
7. it will ask if you want to create that folder. click ok
8. it will ask if you want to move contents to the new folder. if you want to, then do that.
9. repeat steps 3 through 8 for all folders.
|My System Specs
|30 Jan 2012
does that then move the logic as well .... so if a user goes to ave anything in his 'my documents' he gets the new location by default ?
I did this with Vista and it worked fine.
|My System Specs
|30 Jan 2012
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit SP 1
User Folders - Change Default Location
|My System Specs
|30 Jan 2012
Win7 x 6 PC's
You can also simply add any folder to the relevant Library: Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums
|My System Specs
|30 Jan 2012
Just please be careful with system restore. in preparation of reformatting my data drive I moved all of the folders back to the boot drive and deleted them from the secondary. then something gorked and I had to do a restore, but windows now thinks my Desktop etc are all on the secondary drive. They've basically been blasted to oblivion, with no hope of setting them back to the default folder.
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Whether you are passing through for business or kicking back on vacation, you will be a natural fit at the Hampton Inn® hotel in Lakeland -South Polk Parkway. Our comfort and convenience are the foundations to a successful trip, whatever your age or background. Relax in spacious rooms that offer king or queen-size beds, and see how our hotel in Lakeland was designed with a passion for ease and a guarantee to delight.
Once you've arrived at our hotel, you'll find a lot of great amenities waiting for you in your room. Need to get some work done while you're with us? We offer free high-speed internet access in every guest room. Prop your laptop on our handy lap desk and type away while you watch TV. Or simply listen to your favorite kind of music by pressing one of the preset buttons on your room's alarm clock. When you're ready for some rest, hunker down for the night in our comfiest amenity yet, our clean and fresh Hampton bed®.
Our promise to you includes a clean, comfortable hotel room. In fact, we have 117 of them! If you're traveling with your family, you may opt for a room with two beds. Or, if you're here by yourself on business, why not book a room with a plush, king-sized bed so you can stretch out and relax?
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Early Weekend Discussion-What A Mess
By Gil Simmons on February 22, 2013, 4:44am Last modified: February 22, 2013, 2:17pm
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What a mess on the way! Click my video for an early update on my latest thoughts with this weekend scenario!
So many changes coming up with temperatures through the atmosphere starting Saturday and going through Sunday. The temperature at 5,000 feet will warm to above 32 degrees and that will make it tough for Connecticut to get the heavy snow. I do this Thompson Connecticut in the Northeastern part of the state will get the biggest amount. There are indications of 8" to 12" in Mass. coming down to right around Thompson.
Shoreline looks slushy with a round of snow Saturday Afternoon and another round Sunday Morning. All rain between which will fall later in the day Saturday through most of Saturday night.
Here is my accumulation map:
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Mt. Banahao rim of caldera
The initial timing was unfortunate, a storm kept the Hearst Expedition divers out of the sea for two days, but as the storm abated and the nearshore water became clearer, several of us made a trip to Lake Taal, an hour and a half north of Club Ocellaris, the base of operations for the expedition's shallow water marine component. Compensation for not diving those two additional days was a glimpse at a truly unique place.
For the purpose at hand, the timing couldn't have been better. A stage 2 alert had virtually shut down the local tourist industry, which exists to take people to and from the island in the Lake and show them around on horseback. What is this alert? You see, the island in Lake Taal is an active volcano, with the most recent eruption having ended in 1977. The alert was issued and remains in effect because monitors recorded several seismic events early on, a rise in magma level, and an increase of noxious emissions.
Why visit an active volcano? Well, the surrounding lake has a very interesting history. Lake Taal is the third largest lake in the Philippines in terms of surface area and possibly the deepest (approaching 200 meters). The surface of Lake Taal lies at an elevation of less than 30 meters which means that a significant part of the lake water lies below sea level. Lake Taal used to be broadly open to the ocean, but volcanic activity approximately 250 years ago closed it off, and over time, runoff from the surrounding mountains has lowered the salinity to a point where it is essentially freshwater. Many of the Lake's native fishes are derived from marine species that have adapted to freshwater, including the Lake's most famous inhabitant, the world's only freshwater sardine, the Tawilis (Sardinellla tawilis), an endemic species found nowhere else.
The logistics for our half-day excursion proved more challenging due to the presence of an ABS-CBN news team doing a documentary on the Hearst Philippine Expedition tentatively due to air in September. Upon arriving at the Talisay Yacht Club, we began unloading our gear and obtained gasoline for the electroshocker. Representatives from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and PUSOD (a non-profit Philippine environmental organization) were present along with the TV crew. While we discussed our plan, the Invertebrate Zoology team made a small shore collection. With our gear finally loaded on two bangkas, we set off for Volcano Island.
Lake Taal is home to extensive aquaculture operations with thousands of floating cages for raising tiapia and milkfish. The heaviest concentration of cages lies in the northern and western parts of the lake. It was in this region we made our first stop, at a particular place where Philippine scientists reported netting two or three kinds of gobies new to science. These are species not yet named in the scientific literature. En route to this first stop, the bangka carrying our invertebrate zoologists experienced engine trouble and put to shore. In a wonderful turn of events, there were two pipefishes in the water next to the boat that they were able to collect. This was one of our targets for this trip. The operable bangka went to pick-up the Invertebrate Zoology team and bring them to the first site. The second boat joined us later, after repairs were made. It was time to begin our search in earnest.
Our primary tool for this hunt was an electroshocker. This is a device primarily used by fisheries biologists to capture fishes for tagging and/or data gathering. It is essentially a sophisticated power supply using two electrodes to create an electric field in the water, stunning fish that can then be netted. Our unit consists of a small gasoline generator to power the electronics box both of which are mounted on a pack frame. Everything checked out fine, but each time we started to fish, the unit registered an overload. Our backup plan called for dipnets and a small seine. While executing this "plan B," we noticed areas of hot water in excess of 50 deg. C. that had seeped up through the sand plus plenty of sulphurous odors. It then occurred to me that this might provide an explanation for why the electroshocker failed to work. Volcanic activity increased the amount of dissolved minerals in the lake water near Volcano Island increasing the conductivity to a point where the unit could only register an overload. Subsequent inquiry not only confirmed this but also revealed that the entire lake has high conductivity.
Regarding the specimens we did manage to collect, no conclusions could ever be drawn from a sample that small, but there are some highlights. We did collect seven gobies, of which three are common and the remaining four, very small. We will probably seek the help of specialists to determine what they are or if they might be new to science. The three freshwater pipefishes are of particular interest to Dr. Healy Hamilton and the researchers in her lab at the California Academy of Sciences who are working on a molecular phylogeny of the seahorse / pipefish family Syngnathidae. Probably the most significant aspect of our visit to Lake Taal concerns the jaguar fish, an aggressive, fish-eating, Central American Cichlid, introduced a little over 15 years ago. Since then, this invasive species has increased to the point where it is now ranks fourth in number of individuals caught per year. We were able to provide limited anecdotal evidence of just how pervasive the jaguar fish has become. We also observed first hand, it's tolerance for poor water quality, a definite competitive advantage. Finally, for our mini-expedition to Volcano Island, a delicious lunch was provided by Ipat Luna of PUSOD, and even though we weren't able to collect the famous freshwater sardine, the Tawilis, we were able to taste it.
We presented our findings during a meeting at the town hall in Talisay. In attendance were representatives from PUSOD and BFAR as well as mayors from several municipalities around the lake. The good news is that the Philippine government approved a comprehensive management plan for Lake Taal that has strong local support. Implementation and enforcement of the plan's provisions are the next critical steps.
-Dave Catania
Most of the critters I'm working with during this expedition are so tiny that you need a microscope to examine them…sometimes even just to locate them! There are lots of exceptions, however, and one of them involves a very cool critter called a chaetopterid worm that I encountered the other day. Since it was fairly big and impressive (colleagues actually stopped by to gawk at it in awe) and because these are such creepy-cool worms, I thought I'd share.
While working in a sandy seagrass area the other day, I dug up a large parchment (which is sand stuck together with mucus) tube about an inch in diameter that was sticking up out of the sandy sea bottom.
Typically this type of tube houses a fanworm (a sabellid) with delicate fan-shaped radioles stretched into a sort of funnel-shaped plume like this:
In sabellid fanworms each radiole has tiny hair-like structures called cirri used to filter small particles of food from the water to be carried to the mouth. So considering the tube's appearance, I was expecting a nice fat fanworm to emerge as I eagerly cut into my tube back at the lab, kind of like I was unwrapping some sort of creepy worm shaped gift. This tube, however, was shaped more like a "U" buried under the sand and so I suspected that it might house something a bit different. And it did…a very large chaetopterid worm!
Chaetopterids are very specialized polychaetes (marine bristleworms) that live their lives confined in tubes. These worms have 3 distinct body regions: the head/anterior region is large and equipped with bristles and a set of palps used for sensory. The middle of the body is made up of the darkened gut and highly modified lobes that pump back and forth like big flaps to provide a steady water current used in feeding.
The tail/posterior region is more "normal-worm-looking", meaning long with foot appendages called parapodia carrying bristles on either side of the body.
These worms feed using mucus nets which they string across the inside of their tubes to trap food particles by pumping water through their tubes to filter food onto the net. Once it's full of food they eat the whole deal and then proceed to make a new net. Other critters, such as smaller worms and crabs, often live alongside chaetopterids in their tubes as commensal animals which score free food scraps and shelter while living there.
Another cool thing about these worms is that even though they live rather clandestine lives hidden in tubes, they produce bioluminescence (they emit light!). What in the world they are doing with this light-producing capability? Well, we don't know for certain. Studies have shown that when a chaetopterid is disturbed, it shoots a wave of glowing particles from its tube. One idea is that this light surge alerts prospective predators that "I don't taste particularly good", or maybe the light bursts are used to freak out and evict some of the free-loading critters out their tubes if it starts getting too crowded in there.
Many polychaetes and other invertebrates emit light when disturbed, either for warning/predator avoidance or for communication with potential mates. The yellow bands shown here on a nereid "pileworm" may be bioluminescent areas of the body used for signaling.
Polychaete worm behavior and physiology is as extremely diverse as their morphology. For such "sleeper" creatures that are unfamiliar to most regular folks, polychaete worms actually have alot going on!
I had a fantastic two + weeks with the Terrestrial Team. They summited Mt. Banahaw as I moved to Anilao to join the Academy's aquatic biology research team. The snorkling and diving here is unbelievable. The forested slopes of Mt. Banahaw are treacherous and, for the most part, without trails. Travel is by foot and machete. The leech burden was too small to continue my experiments with nylons. Plus, they are too hot to wear in this climate. The botany team collected more than 300 samples on Mt. Banahaw, while the entomology/arachnology team collected more specimens than I could count.
It was hot and muggy on the mountain and I couldn't help but think about our patients at the VA Medical Center up the street from the Academy. I've heard many of their stories while at work there and I still can't imagine what it must have been like to live in the jungle with, baseline, dangerous conditions and in fear of illness or injury from combat.
Illness (most commonly, diarrhea and febrile illnesses such as malaria) and injury are common during expedition travel, even in ideal conditions. To date, from a medical standpoint, we have been lucky about major trauma in the field. The worst injury, thus far (and for the entire expedition, I hope) occurred when a porter caught a machete by the blade. The injury occurred late in the afternoon, far from camp (about 2 hours hike). By the time we got back it was dark. During exploration of the wound and irrigation with more than a liter of sterile saline, my headlamp and the other lights were attracting insects to the surgical field. It was an anxiety provoking injury for both him and me. He could not feel three fingers (thumb, index and middle) when pricked with a sharp needle, compared to brisk hand withdrawal when his ring and little fingers were pricked with the same pin. I couldn't find any obvious nerve injury on exploration of the wound. I suspect he had spasms of the underlying muscles or the nerve was struck, but not cut. He did well, with return of normal sensation within 24 hours and no infection after 4 days.
Additionally, during a deep dive, one of our crew was envenomed by a large lion fish. The pain was excruciating and the currents strong. It was about 3 hours to get to shore and by the time he arrived at camp, the pain had spread from his lower leg to his knee and hip. The venoms in the family are protein-based and effectively treated by immersion in warm water (not more than 115 degrees Fahrenheit). The heat denatures the proteins and decreases the pain. At least three barbs penetrated his wet suit and he reported losing some power in his right foot because of the pain. In the conditions he was working, this type of impediment can create dangers much greater than the painful injury, itself. Lion fish have invaded (i.e. been introduced by humans) to the warmer waters skirting the U.S. and Caribbean. Thus, lion fish stings are becoming significantly more common in areas outside their native waters. They are voracious predators and poorly controlled because their natural enemies are not present in their new habitats.
We saw a similar thing in the forests of Mt. Banahaw in the form of cane toads…an invasive species from the America with a voracious appetite for endemic species and it has few predators here to keep their populations in check. They are not dangerous to humans like the lion fish, but are a distressing sight in the rain forest knowing they are potentially permanent residents. At a dive site near Anilao nicknamed "Basura" (Trash), divers found incredible quantities of trash intermingled with the corals and fish life. Included among these discarded objects were a headless Ken doll and a green, stuffed Tele-Tubby. Every piece of garbage reminds me that our children might not have the same privileges we have had on this visit to the beautiful and hospitable Philippines–Save Our Planet!
Finally, with respect to this part of my commentary I want to raise awareness of several disturbing events that occurred during May: First, a park ranger from the Mt. Makiling preserve was murdered after reporting illegal squatters and poachers in the forest. This occurred in broad daylight, in front of the courthouse in Los Banos. The work of conservation is highly political and is in direct conflict with lucrative, illegal practices such as poaching. On the slopes of Mt. Banahaw, Dr. Darin Penneys and I came upon a loaded civet (endangered cat) trap in the forest. Later in the week, when the birds and mammals team joined the Botany/Entomology crew on the mountain, mist nets used to catch, tag and release flying animals were stolen.
The work and logistics of field work are hard enough without these additional complications. On this expedition, the typical day starts at sunrise (~0600) and often ends well after midnight because data have to be processed. The incredible volume of information that needs to be recorded, transferred to computers and stored with accuracy is a labor intensive activity taking place each night after field work is completed for the day. Keeping up takes significant mental and physical discipline as any delays in data transfer processing increases the risk of error and confusion, later. Also, procrastination would result in an unmanageable volume of work. The Cal Academy crew and our colleagues from the University of the Philippines are true professionals: They get this job done every night no matter how tired they are from the exertion of the day's work. It is a simple concept, but far from easy!
I've attached photographs–in no special order, yet–taken by members of the terrestrial team now hunkered down in Isarog because of the typhoon. The majority of these were taken by Nataliya Polydouri, a graduate student from U.C. Berkeley after I drowned my camera during a river crossing.
I've been away from the forest for almost a week and already it feels like a long time ago. The ocean life in Anilao is magnificent, but I miss the forest and my botany and invertebrate (scientist) friends, already. I can hardly wait to see my family and share my experiences with them. Similarly, I can hardly wait to revisit the Philippines. I have more than 20 expeditions under my belt and I've never seen worked with such a fascinatingly diverse group of scientists in one place as extraordinary as this one.
Briefly: I have received several inquiries about whether the application of insect repellent should precede or follow the application of sunscreen. Traditional teaching is that insect repellents (e.g. DEET-based products) should be applied after sunscreen. The evidence for this is unclear from the literature as I interpret it. Both insect repellent and sunscreen require multiple applications during the day and both seem to have the intended effect when they are applied diligently. In my experience: Complete coverage by clothes is the most effective way to keep the sun and pests away from skin.
Please send your questions and comments to me, here, and/or to the Center for Exploration and Travel Health at the California Academy of Sciences (CETH). I will try to answer them, promptly. To learn more: http://research.calacademy.org/ieth or contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com
During our expedition to Mt. Banahaw the botanists and entomologists were able to take a small break to tour the annual harvest festival in the nearby city of Lucban. The tradition is to decorate your house with plants of the harvest, especially rice and coconuts but also many other plants. There is a competition and a large sum of money for first place. The botanists enjoyed identifying the plants that the entomologists were busily consuming from the street vendors.
In stark contrast to the beautiful many-colored coral reefs of the Philippines, muck diving is a lot like being on the moon. You float over seemingly endless plains of desolate grey substrate. The major difference is the life; here in the 'center of the center of marine biodiversity' the silty muck is packed with animals. Tube anemones with commensal shrimp using their tentacles for protection dot the landscape. As you swim over the silty substrate, flatfish that were perfectly camouflaged in plain sight become visible only when spurred into motion by your passing. Feather Stars move their arms in slow motion, revealing commensal shrimp and squat lobsters hiding amongst the 'feathers'. Venomous predators like Lionfish, Stonefish and Seagoblins hide in the muck looking for an easy meal. Ambush predators like the Stargazer lie mostly buried in the silt, just their skeletal face showing as they wait for an unlucky fish to swim by.http://www.vimeo.com/24176960
One of the animals that we have been looking forward to collecting for display at the Steinhart Aquarium during the Expedition is Amphioctopus marginatus, the Coconut Octopus. This is a little octopus, with a maximum 3 inch mantle and 12 inch arm span. It is plentiful in the Philippines, personable, tenacious, and has a habit of using found objects as temporary homes. Clay pots, bottles, tin cans and clam shells are all used as mobile homes for these octopus, complete with doors to close themselves in tightly and safely. They also will defend their homes, batting away anything that comes too close; even pushing a probing finger away with surprising strength. Sometimes they extend their arms and crawl around in the muck with their temporary home on their back, as if they are transforming into snails. All of this behavior should add up to a fantastic exhibit in the Steinhart Aquarium. Two Coconut Octopus have already arrived safely back at the Academy, and we look forward to putting them, and other animals collected on the trip, on display in the near future.
I was taught a lesson in self control the other day, while snorkeling in an area that had lots of rocks. In between the rocks were lots of crevices, and in those crevices we found some of the most magnificent of all the sea urchins. The self-control of the sea urchins (which I will talk about in a moment) inspired self-control in me with respect to scientific collecting as well.
The aforementioned magnificent urchin goes by the mellifluous name of Heterocentrotus mamillatus, and here is the creature, securely jammed into its urchin home:
That is the correct spelling of the species name. Some of my colleagues might be tempted to put an extra "m" in there to make it "mammillatus", but that is not what the original author of the name, none other than Carl von Linné (a.k.a. Carolus Linnaeus) himself, had in mind back in 1758. The reference is to more or less the same mammalian attribute in either spelling, but there are nuances of the usage that have to be respected, and Linnaeus knew that. He was nothing if not a smart guy who knew his human anatomy. He wanted the mammalian reference in the name because when cleaned of its spines, Heterocentrotus mamillatus displays the most beautiful of smoothly domed, glassy spine tubercles that reminded him of… well, a certain mammalian attribute. Maybe he had spent too much time in the field. The big, heavy spines of Heterocentrotus sit neatly on end, one spine over each of these tubercles. Think of balancing a baseball bat on a half-buried baseball. In the base of the spine is a neatly polished little hollow, or socket, making a finely honed ball and socket joint that any car mechanic would greatly appreciate. To think that this piece of urchin machinery, with its very fine engineering tolerances, is made basically of limestone is simply to wonder at it all the more.
At this point I feel it necessary to mention that you might have encountered these spines, minus the urchin, in various tropical places where a certain type of wind chime might be offered for sale. Turns out that when a Heterocentrotus spine is gently tapped with a hard object, such as another spine, it sounds with a gentle ring that some find pleasing to the ear.
Frankly, I am not a fan of wind chimes of any kind. The only place I have these big spines installed in my lab in San Francisco is in the form of my "Acme Echino Quake Detector", which is a strange composite "decoration" that hangs from the ceiling with my hope that it will jangle in time to warn of the next "big one". Otherwise, I don't think the natural and soothing sound of any breeze that would activate a set of wind chimes needs any enhancement whatsoever, as the breeze has its own kind of auditory beauty. Humans can be strange animals sometimes.
Before people get upset, I should also chime in that Heterocentrotus spines for the "wind music" industry are not usually harvested from the living animals. When the urchin dies, hopefully after a long and happily productive life (however that is measured by urchin standards), the spines remain so durable that they wash up in large numbers on certain beaches, where they can be picked up and employed in the noble noisy cause described above.
The genus name, Heterocentrotus, is in reference to these incredible spines, which come in two basic varieties: big and strong, and small and stubby. You can see these in the close-up below:
"Hetero" means "different", so this urchin is named for the fact that is has two very distinct types of spines. As I've said before, I love it when scientific nomenclature makes sense. But if you really insist on a common name for this creature, you could call it the "slate pencil urchin". Does that feel better? In my opinion, it shouldn't. There is a reason that biologists coin scientific names. How many of you out there have ever encountered a "slate pencil" in this day and age of electronic gadgetry? Would you even recognize one if it flew up your nose and did the lambada? Heck, even pencils come in mechanical form now, and not to write on slates either. And just to make matters worse, sea urchins in a completely different order, the Cidaroida, are also called "slate pencil urchins". So much for common names. Heterocentrotus it is. It's really not that hard after all. If a 5-year-old can remember "Triceratops", an adult can surely come to grips with "Heterocentrotus".
Speaking of grips, Heterocentrotus is nearly impossible to remove from its stony home. Actually, make that fully impossible, at least without dynamite, a crowbar, or otherwise hurting the poor thing. The primary reason for this is in the spines, which are, appropriately enough, called primary spines. As I mentioned, primary spines sit on a ball and socket joint. They are held down to the urchin's skeletal test by a ring of muscle that can be differentially contracted around the ring to point the spine in different directions. This is a handy attribute to have if you are nearly spherical, and want to point your spines at an incoming enemy, or to wedge yourself into a crevice in the rock. However, muscles are metabolically expensive to run, and sea urchins are not what you would call physiological dynamos. So there must be something else going on to keep these animals in place 24/7, safe from dislodging by waves, predators, or marauding echinodermologists.
Turns out that inside the ring of muscle is a second ring of connective tissue, which is not muscular, but composed of a connective tissue made of collagen. This tissue is ubiquitous in animals, and is usually used to connect muscles to bone, or bone to bone, amongst other uses. In the case of the sea urchins, the collagen is found in a ring just inside the muscular ring. I've shown this in the diagram below (which I have modified from a couple of images in Clarke and Rowe, 1971). In this diagram, all the spines have been removed except one primary spine, so that you can see the connection to the surface of the body, or test:
The collagen in this inner ring is rather special — it's so-called "catch collagen". It's stiffness is under voluntary control by the sea urchin, probably through nerve action. When the urchin wants to move the spine, the collagen ring becomes soft and pliable, allowing the muscles to place the spine… just so… perhaps to brace against the rocky wall of a cozy reef nook or cranny. Then the urchin stiffens the collagen in the inner ring, effectively locking the spine into position. The muscles can now relax, and ta-da! A powerful brace is in place in the space with energy of zero trace. With a bunch of these spines employed in this way, the urchin simply canNOT be dislodged without breaking something — usually the spines. But in the case of Heterocentrotus, the spines are so big and so powerfully built, any prying force strong enough to make the spines move away from the rock wall usually ends up breaking the urchin's test. And that is truly a shame, given just how beautiful this animal is.
A few other last words about catch collagen. This substance is part of a group of such tissues in echinoderms known generally as "mutable collagenous tissues". These have been found in all the major echinoderm groups. In fact, alongside the special stereom version of calcium carbonate used to make echinoderm skeletal elements and basic 5-part symmetry in adults, I would list mutable collagenous tissue as a unifying characteristic of the phylum. In the body wall of a starfish, for example, mutable collagenous tissues can be softened to allow the animal to glide neatly over uneven surfaces, then stiffened to lock the animal into place in an infinite number of what look like the most awkward poses that would be the envy of any acrobat. Such staying power, with no energy output! In sea cucumbers, we have arguably the most extreme usage of mutable collagenous tissues. The entire body can soften to allow movements into the tiniest of holes and cracks, yet stiffen again in an instant to hold the front end of the animal up to filter feed with elevated tentacles around the mouth, or wedge the animal into a small crack.
Okay, I lied. There is one more thing I wanted to add. Turns out that there is at least one other place where similar mutable collagen can be found. This is between the pelvic bones of human females (and perhaps other mammals). One of the many hormonal changes that happen in women during child-bearing is the softening of this connective tissue to loosen the bones in the pelvic girdle, allowing them to move a bit relative to one another. With a 10-pounder in the womb, many women have been the perhaps unknowing, yet ever-so-slightly happier beneficiary of collagenous tissue softening. With all that yelling going on, most women aren't thinking about that during the joyous occasion of childbirth, and who could blame them?
(Almost) all of this ran through my head as I looked at Heterocentrotus locked into its home, and after a few attempts to brute-force them out of there, I gave up. It felt like picking the rarest and most beautiful of flowers in the woods with a weed-whacker.


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(Daily Sketches!
Today's Nella26's birthday! Go tell her happy birthday! Red got her Blueberry cobbler.
I love Legend of Zelda, and the Battle Quest on Nintendo Land is one of my favorites. I'm always the archer, so I thought Red would do adventures with Link with a bow and set of arrows. She's also pro with it after a lot of time of practicing. Then there's a sick-in-bed sketch.)


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1/2 Photos of Simple Couscous
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I got this recipe from the Rachel Ray Show. I make it with Pork Chops With Cherry Pan Sauce - a great combination that my family loved - my almost 14 year old daughter actually ate everything on her plate!! ;) Love or hate RR, Don't knock it till you try it.
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Don't Miss
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Each issue of Road King magazine features a comprehensive amenities guide for all TA and Petro locations. Drivers use the guide to find identify locations with StayFit trails and fitness rooms, as well as full service and quick service restaurants.
Click here to download a PDF of the latest directory (18.7 mb).


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Red Wings Logo Done Simpsons Style! [PHOTO]
June 5, 2014 8:59 AM
Red Wings CentralShop for Red Wings Gear
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By: Evan Jankens
New look logos are always fun — even if they are just make believe. The fine people who run the ak47_studios Instagram account made logos for the NHL teams featuring Simpsons characters.
Some of the teams are obviously better than the others, but others are really cool.
Below is the Red Wings logo, with a description that reads:
NHL x Simpsons series – Motorcity Snake@detroitredwings #simpsons #nhl #logoart
Pretty cool, right? Below are a few of my favorites.
The Columbus Blue Jackets
L.A. Kings
Chicago Blackhawks
And finally the Toronto Maple Leafs
Which one is your favorite?


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Cowley, KD and Beaumont, PWR (1995) The micro-mechanics of crack growth in fiber composites: observing and modelling the failure processes. In: The 10th International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM X): Vol. 1: Fatigue and Fracture, 1995-8- to --, Whistler; Canada pp. 787-801..Full text not available from this repository.
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