Dr Alan Howard

Thanks for visiting my personal home page and web blog. I am a senior lecturer at the University of Reading, undertaking research in modelling aquatic systems, primarily the movement and growth of toxic cyanobacteria. I am also Senior Tutor in the School of Human and Environmental Science. My teaching interests cut across geography in its broadest sense and I am a keen exponent of the use of Web 2.0 technologies to support teaching and learning. On this site you will find links to some of my Web applications, which were developed either to support teaching or other outreach activities. In 2007 I wrote Don McLean’s (American Pie, Vincent, And I Love You So, etc.) official biography.

“my bing map 2.0″ is a new Web 2.0 application that creates a live feed from sites like flickr, twitter and wikipedia based on the visitor’s chosen location. Unlike my previous interactive maps, this is based on Microsoft’s bing map api, which is likely to prove strong competition for google maps.

visit the new site here

lori lieberman‘s experience of seeing Don McLean in concert in LA in 1972 formed the basis of Roberta Flack and The Fugees’ number 1 hit “Killing Me Softly With His Song”. However Lori recorded the song first and has now, in 2009, released a new recording of her great song on her new album, “Gun Metal Sky“.

Tom Watson’s failure to get down in three from the centre of the 18th fairway to win his 6th Open Golf Championship today at the age of 59 must rank as one of sport’s greatest tragedies. I remember his last Open victoryin 1983 when Peter Allis described Watson’s 2-iron approach to the centre of the 18th green at Royal Birkdale as ‘the shot champions are made of’. On that day I had urged Nick Faldo to go on to victory but today there must have been very few home fans who would have preferred a British (or any other) victor in preference to a Tom Watson triumph.

The field trip to Crete (June 16-23rd 2009) involved three staff (Dr Alan Howard, Richard Tegg, Ken Beard) and 28 students registered for the degree in Human and Physical Geography at the University of Reading.

We were based in the village of Chora Sfakion in the Sfakia region of south west Crete. Fieldwork was undertaken in the village, at Loutro and in the Samaria Gorge.

Daytime temperatures ranged from 28 to 36 degrees and, whilst not in the sea, work was undertaken to model the extent and impact of a major flood in December 2000 in the Ilingas Gorge and the potential impact of tourist development on society in this area (Sfakia remains largely untouched by the mass tourism associated with northern Crete).

Group Photo - 22/6/2009, Chora Sfakion

 During the field trip our students made use of various Web 2.0 technologies in order to produce group blogs and videos of their experiences. These were completed in the field utilising ubiquitous wireless internet access available in the village of Chora Sfakion and the mini Dell laptops we provided. The students did an excellent job and the process of writing daily entries on their group blogs (hosted on WordPress.com) enabled them to reflect upon the educational experiences they encountered. The blogs have been compiled here:

http://www.cretefieldtrip.com/sfakia/

where you will also find all the light hearted videos each group produced while in the field. A random choice of video is displayed here:

We arrived back at the University of Reading at 10.00pm to clear blue skies and an air temperature of 20 degrees, which one in the party described as “freezing”.

Even during the journey home the students were remarkable in their enthusiasm and commitment – posting final blog posts from the less than inspiring Gate 8 at Chania airport thanks to ubiquitous Cretan wireless Internet access.

Meanwhile staff did their best to spend the night in alternative Cretan accommodation as Ken challenged the logic of charging for excess baggage when his and Richard’s luggage came in 7 Kg over weight – a discussion closely observed by local armed security.

As we waited for our flight we reflected on the size and shape of tourists queuing to board other UK-bound flights which led one of us  to advocate ticket pricing based on combined luggage/passenger weight…

As our flight to Gatwick was leaving fairly late in the day at 6.00pm we took the opportunity to make a last minute change to the field class programme and arrange a four hour visit to the old town of Chania. This proved an interesting contrast to unspoilt Sfakia. Indeed one student noted  ‘you took us to a gem, now you’ve brought us to a **** hole.’ A little unfair but indicative of the contrast.

Chania is in fact a fairly attractive place with an excellent location on a beautiful coastline and a rich history. However even in mid-June it is very busy and after a week in Sfakia the hustle and bustle of mass tourism and all that goes with it was a shock to the system.

Minor medical drama this evening as one group member suffering from a recurrence of tonsilitis required prompt medical attention after a worrying rise in body temperature. Access to the local doctor was secured within 5 minutes via the hotel and the patient was rushed to the local GP surgery.

Not bad for a Sunday evening in a remote Cretan village.

Treatment was prescribed without charge and put the patient on a rapid road to recovery.

This level of medical service would be difficult, if not impossible, to secure in the UK under similar circumstances.

A triumph for the Greek Health Service…

I appear to have missed the big event of 2009 despite the drama unfolding only yards from my hotel room balcony. I can only assume I had punctuated the 8am to midnight working day with a mid-afternoon deep sleep as the nearby delphini restaurant went up in flames causing uproar and commotion across the village.

News of this event caused a flashback to 2007 when an ablaze car came to rest under my balcony.

On both occasions, and in particular at the delphini restaurant, bravery and rapid reactions of locals  avoided tragedy.