Mount Etna

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Europe’s most active volcano, Mount Etna, has been hitting the headlines recently after a series of spectacular eruptions. In Etna’s first eruption of 2021, explosive lava fountains reached over 1500 m in one of the most amazing eruptions in decades.

Mount Etna, located on the island of Sicily, has been largely dormant for the past two years. The stratovolcano (composite) dominates the skyline of the Italian island, where it sits on the eastern coast.

Located between the cities of Messina and Catania, it is the highest active volcano in Europe outside the Caucasus – a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea – and the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps.

The recent activity is typical of a strombolian eruption among the normal activities of the more than 3,300-metre-high volcano. The recent eruption is the strongest explosion in the southern crater since it was discovered in 1971.

On Monday 22nd February 2021, at around 11 pm, the lava fountains, surrounded by gigantic clouds of smoke, exceeded 1,500 metres (4,900ft) in height, while thousands of rock fragments, some the size of fridges, were thrown from the crater into the sky for several kilometres.

Etna is a hyperactive volcano with over 3,500 years of historically documented eruptions. The volcano has been erupting on and off since September 2013. Since September 2019, it’s been erupting from its various summit craters virtually continuously. In December 2020, Etna’s explosive activity and lava output began to spike, and in February 2021, it has been launching fluid lava skywards.

Etna is an unusual volcano in that it can produce explosive eruptions of runny lava and release slower flowing, thick lava flows. Scientists are still trying to work out why this is the case.

The magma from the latest eruption appears to be coming up from deep within the mantle. Extremely hot, fluid magma is rapidly rising through the network of conduits within and below the volcano. However, there is another factor that is contributing to the current explosive eruptions.

There are high quantities of water vapour in Etna’s magma, which makes it explosive. The water does not cool the magma. As the molten magma approaches the surface, the pressure drops, and the bubble of water vapour expands violently, leading to lava being ejected out of the volcano.

Following each explosive lava fountain, less gassy magma lingers just below the vent. This is then cleared when a new volley of gassy magma rises from below. These explosive eruptions are known as volcanic paroxysms.

Authorities have reported no danger to the nearby towns, however, local airports have been temporarily closed, as has the airspace around the volcano. Etna’s last major eruption was in 1992. Despite the explosive nature of the recent eruption, there is no risk to the population, other than from the ash that covers buildings and smoke that can, after a few hours, cause breathing problems. In March 2017 vulcanologists, tourists and a BBC film crew were injured during an eruption when a flow of lava ran into snow, producing superheated steam that sent fragments of rock flying in all directions.

Further reading

For a Volcanologist Living on Mount Etna, the Latest Eruption Is a Delight – Advisory – this article contains expletives (swear words).

In Pictures: Mount Etna eruption lights up Sicily’s night sky

Mount Etna: BBC crew caught up in volcano blast

Mount Etna illuminates night sky with 1,500-metre lava fountain

 

 

Thoughts on Catch Up

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The gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students, which unfortunately exists anyway, is likely to have widened over the last year. How will the proposed funding of £80 per pupil (for all schools) narrow this gap? The gap will continue to exist if all students access ‘catch up’ (whatever that may be). According to Gavin Williamson, catch up can be academic or support mental health. Disadvantaged children will likely be in greater need of MH support. Meanwhile, those students who have had parental support throughout home-learning may be more likely to receive academic support.

If an extra couple of weeks of summer school is the magic bullet (which I don’t think it is), why has this not been proposed in recent years to narrow the gap?

Imagine being a student returning to school after this challenging period, where many have struggled with isolation and home learning, to be told you now need to ‘catch up’; that this catch up might include losing holiday time and/or spending longer days at school. I know my head would be hitting the table.

The small amount of extra funding allocated to schools, who will be accountable for ensuring students’ catch up’, appears to be a token gesture to show the government is doing something about education. In practice, what will this ‘catch up’ look like? My guess is a cycle of baseline assessments, targeted intervention, more assessments, updating spreadsheets, rinse and repeat.

Might it be better if we were to focus on rekindling a love of learning in our students, along with them experiencing the sense of success in education that comes with effective retrieval practice?

For ourselves, might it be better that we have the opportunity to hone our skills, to use the most effective teaching methods possible (including integrating some of the best of remote learning into our offer). We could sustainably improve the quality of teaching and learning, rather than everyone burning out ‘catching up’? We have an amazing opportunity to reflect on what works well for our students and embed effective practice to support future generations. Or, we could just ‘catch up’.

None of the above will be possible unless we trim down the curriculum to provide a level playing field. Without making changes to the curriculum, we will pile further pressure on students and teachers on the back of the pandemic’s untold impact. To plough through already content-heavy specifications/curriculums as well as catching up on ‘lost’ learning is a recipe for disaster.

The government must take proactive steps; otherwise, we subject students and teachers to time-heavy, reactionary interventions, all in the name of ‘catching up’.

Perhaps we need to draw a line in the sand and allow schools and students time to get back to normal (in addition to implementing Covid testing etc.). Perhaps the government could support students and schools by rationalising the curriculum over the medium term rather than dishing out nominal funds and expecting everyone to do even more to meet an arbitrary curriculum’s needs.

This would allow schools to identify students who have a genuine need for academic and mental health support. Specialist intervention can then be given to those that genuinely need it. This will help narrow the gap by elevating those that are underprivileged or are most in need of support.

We now have the opportunity to be proactive in improving the life chances of all students. Reactionary ‘catch up’ will be counter-productive for everyone involved.

Anthony

10 tools for home teaching

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Anthony explores useful kit to support remote teaching and working from home. 

Looking for tools to support home teaching? Since working on Internet Geography full-time, I’ve picked up some kit proven to be incredibly useful for home working. In the interest of being transparent, this post may contain affiliate links (at no extra cost to you).

Sit-Stand Desk

An electric, ergonomic height-adjustable sit-stand desk helps maximise the health benefits of alternating between standing and sitting while working. Long sitting hours on top of uncomfortable homeworking conditions can pose serious health risks such as high blood pressure, muscle loss and cardiovascular diseases. A sit-stand desk will help reduce your sitting hours and support you to work more efficiently.

Depending on your budget and resources, you’ve got the option to get a fully integrated frame and desk, or pick up a frame and attach a desktop of your own.

Desk frames start from around £179. The Flexispot EC1 is a single motor, heavy-duty steel desk to add your own desktop.

Monitor Stand 

Raise your monitor to a comfortable, ergonomically correct height while maximising desk space with a monitor stand.

Monitor stands range from a simple adjustable desktop stand, such as the AmazonBasics adjustable stand to mounting solutions for one, two and three monitors.

Laptop Stand 

Getting aches and pains from being hunched over your laptop? You might want to consider getting a laptop stand to raise your device to eye level. When combined with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, you can wave goodbye to aches and pains. I’ve got a VMEI laptop stand which I’ve been very impressed with.

Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse

If you’re using a laptop as your primary device, you should really consider investing in a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. A Bluetooth keyboard and mouse allows you to position yourself at a distance from your laptop or desktop, and generally have a much more flexible work area. If you are in the market for a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse you might want to consider the Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo. Combined with a VMEI laptop stand, the days of hunching over the laptop are over!

Headphones and Microphone

Unless you’re in a soundproof room, you are going to be competing with outside sounds. A quality headset will ensure you hear only what’s important – your students. Having had online meetings using both the mic and speakers on my laptop and Bluetooth headphones with in-built microphone, I have to say the headphones were much better. If you have the budget, then consider getting Apple AirPods. If you are looking for a cheaper solution, then the Mpow M30 wireless Earbuds are worth considering.

Second Monitor 

There are many benefits to using multiple monitors, including enhanced productivity, better multitasking, easier cutting and pasting and displaying multiple windows at once. If you’re still using a single screen, you might want to consider moving to an additional screen (or two).

If you’ve already got a tablet that can be used as a second monitor, a gooseneck tablet holder, such as this one by Lamicall, is a great way to hold your tablet and give you the freedom to place it wherever it works for you.

If you are in the market for a cheap second monitor, it’s worth having a look on Facebook Marketplace. Alternatively, if you have a new monitor budget, I would recommend an HP 27f or BenQ GW2280.

Graphics Tablet 

Graphics tablets are great for drawing diagrams, annotating images and providing feedback. My go-to graphics tablet is a Wacom Intuous. However, the cheaper XP-Pen G430S Graphics Tablet is worthy of your consideration.

Visualiser
Visualisers are cameras that can be attached to a computer and used to model answers etc. to students. The benefit of a visualiser is that once it’s set up, there’s no faffing around setting it up each time you want to use it as it’s plug and play. The Okiolabs Okiocam S is well worth considering if you are in the market for visualiser. Alternatively, if size is important the A3 Okiolabs Okiocam T version is also available.

Goose Neck Phone Holder
Not got the budget for a dedicated visualiser? Most smartphones can be used as a visualiser. A Lamical, gooseneck phone holder is a great way to suspend your phone while you model answers and geographical techniques live from your desk.

Desk Mat

Protect your desktop and reduce the noise of an external mouse by investing in a desk mat. I recommend this world desk mat by Jailong.