Report on visit to Berlin
4th to 7th September 2003
by
Dr. Kenneth Amiga Kaduki
Department of Physics
University of Nairobi, KENYA
Schedule
of meetings
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Dr. Kaduki (right) arrives
in Berlin and is welcomed by Dr. Owinoh. This and all other pictures
below were taken by Mr. Markus.
|
Below is a chronological report on the series of meetings
I had during my visit to Berlin from 4th to 7th
September 2003. The main objectives of the visit were to:
- Meet with the people involved in the development
and implementation of Interactive Screen Experiments (ISEs) at both
the Technical University Berlin (TUB) and the Free University Berlin
(FUB).
- Get first hand experience and appreciation of
the use of ISEs in physics education as well as what goes into the
development of ISEs.
- Initiate discussions that will lead to the writing
of a proposal for funding of a project that will introduce ISEs to
the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
- Discuss how Berlin-Nairobi exchange students
can be integrated into the process of setting up ISEs at the University
of Nairobi.
- Meet with members of Prof. Dr. Ludger Wöste's
research group at the FUB with a view to identifying possible areas
of collaboration in Laser Physics.
- Meet with the German Berlin-Nairobi physics exchange
students who will be studying at the University of Nairobi in 2003/2004.
First Meeting - Thursday 4/9/2003: 1530 to 1700
hrs
In attendance:
Prof. Dr. Bodo Hamprecht, Dr. Peter Steidl and Mr. Karsten Markus
|
Dr. Steidl (left)
and Prof. Dr. Hamprecht (right) demonstrate ISEs to Dr. Kaduki.
|
My first meeting was with Prof. Hamprecht and Dr. Steidl
and was on the use of ISEs at the FUB. It was clear from our discussion
that ISEs are well integrated into the curriculum and well accepted
by both students and staff. I then had an opportunity to experience
the use of ISEs first hand. My opinion is that ISEs will, if implemented,
be very useful in enhancing the teaching of physics at the University
of Nairobi.
Dr. Steidl, who heads the ISE development program at
the FUB, then took us round to the ISE production laboratory and
described the intricate process of ISE development. This gave me
an appreciation of the amount of skill and effort that goes into the
production of the ISE modules. The idea of setting up a similar production
lab in Nairobi was floated but deemed impractical at this stage due
to the enormous capital investment involved.
In the latter part of the
meeting, Prof. Hamprecht and I had an informal discussion on the
state of the Berlin-Nairobi exchange program.
Second Meeting - Thursday 4/9/2003: 1700 to 1830 hrs
The next set of meetings
I had was with members of Prof. Dr. Ludger Wöste's research
team at the FUB. I met individually with the following people:
-
Dr. Kamil Stelmaszcyk - Femotosecond Lidar group
- Ms. Christina Kaposta - Cluster
Spectroscopy group
- Dr. Thorsten Bernhardt - Cluster
Reactions on Surfaces group
Dr. Kamil Stelmaszcyk outlined the research work currently
being carried out by the Femtosecond Lidar group. This work is part
of the Teramobile project that incorporates three other European institutes
namely: Friedrich Schiller University - Jena, Universitét Claude
Bernard Lyon and ENSTA - Ecole Polytechnique. We briefly discussed
the possibility of a Ph.D. student from Nairobi working with the femtosecond
lidar for one year and then developing a data evaluation algorithm
on his return to Nairobi. While this may be feasible, details of the specific
study program for the student will need to be clearly worked out with
Prof. Wöste.
I then met with Ms.
Christina Kaposta who described the research work she and her colleagues
are pursuing in Cluster Spectroscopy. She went on to show me the
facilities used for this work.
The final meeting for the day was with Dr. Thorsten Bernhardt
who took me to the NeNoPo-Spectroscopy and Cluster Deposition Laboratory
and explained the research being undertaken in the lab.
Third Meeting - Friday 5/9/2003: 0930 to 1130 hrs
In attendance:
Dr. Jürgen Kirstein, Mr. Karsten Markus and Ms. Kristina
Slanczyk
This meeting was held at the TUB. Dr. Kirstein, the inventor of ISEs,
took me through further demonstrations of ISEs - including some of the earliest
versions developed. He emphasized that the ISEs were initiated to
supplement rather than replace real experiments. However, in situations
where real experiments are not available, ISEs are a welcome alternative.
After the demonstrations,
I visited the ISE production laboratory at the TUB. Dr. Kirstein
pointed out that the ISEs are based on real data and do not incorporate
calculations or simulations.
Ms. Slanczyk, who is
a Ph.D. student, described a study she had carried out on the impact ISEs
have had on physics education at the TUB. Some of the positive points noted
in the study were:
-
ISEs serve as good preparation for the real experiments.
- ISEs can be easily integrated into
a lecture situation by the use of a computer and a beamer (projector).
- Students tend to spend less time
preparing for laboratory sessions and doing the actual experiments
when they first do the ISEs.
- ISEs give students an opportunity
to "perform" experiments which are otherwise inaccessible because
they are either too expensive or too dangerous. Students also get to
"do" historical experiments which are no longer available.
- Students can repeat an experiment
as many times as they wish which is not usually possible with real
experiments.
It was agreed that physics
students at the University of Nairobi would enjoy similar benefits
should ISEs be introduced into their curriculum.
The following were noted as immediate challenges to the introduction
of ISEs at the University of Nairobi:
- The ISE software suite is currently available only in the
German language. An English translation is therefore necessary.
- There is need to source for funds for both translation and
purchase of a multi-user license for the University of Nairobi.
The following were noted for immediate action:
-
One of the German students (Mr. Mario Koschake) on the 2003/2004
Berlin-Nairobi exchange program will test the ISE software on the computer
systems in the Physics Department, University of Nairobi, as a first
step in determining the feasibility of integrating ISEs into the curriculum
there. The student will also study the curriculum in Nairobi and identify
a course for which ISE modules can be translated into English for the
purpose of an initial pilot study.
- A proposal will be written to source
for funding for translation of at least ten (10) ISE modules for use
in a pilot study. Funds will also be requested for financing this study.
If the pilot study is successful, further funding will be sought to
extend the use of ISEs to cover as much of the physics curriculum at
the University of Nairobi as possible.
Future areas of application
of ISEs that were discussed include:
-
Integration of ISEs into the African Virtual University (or similar)
Distance Learning curriculum.
- Development of ISEs for High Schools.
Fourth Meeting
- Saturday 6/9/2003
In attendance:
Dr. Antony Owinoh, Mr. Karsten
Markus, Mr. Mario Koschake, Mr. Marko Förstel, Mr. Falko Ueckerdt
At this meeting, we had
an informal discussion with the three Berlin exchange students
(Mr. Koschake, Mr. Förstel, and Mr. Ueckerdt) who will be studying
at the University of Nairobi in 2003/2004. The students had an opportunity
to ask questions related to their preparation and anticipated visit.
|
|
| Dr. Kaduki was
sightseeing in Berlin before meeting the Berlin-Nairobi exchange students
of 2003/04. From left to right: A friend of Dr. Owinoh, Dr. Kaduki,
Mr. Ueckerdt, his girlfriend, Mr. Förstel, Mr. Konschake and Dr.
Owinoh. |
Acknowledgements
|
Mr. Markus and Dr. Kaduki
at the official dinner of Dr. Kaduki's visit on Thursday.
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I wish to gratefully acknowledge
the following people who were involved in one aspect or another
of my visit to Berlin and therefore made it the success it was.
Firstly, thanks to Dr.
Jürgen Theiss, Mr. Karsten Markus and Mr. Florian Weissbach for personally
providing the finances to cover my flight and domestic travel, and to Dr.
Antony Owinoh who accommodated me for the three nights I spent in Berlin.
The four gentlemen also spent a considerable amount of time planning the
logistics of the visit. Special thanks to Karsten Markus who accompanied
me to all the meetings.
I also wish to thank the
following staff, both at the Free University Berlin and the Technical
University Berlin for taking time off their busy schedules to meet
with me: Prof. Dr. Bodo Hamprecht, Dr. Jürgen Kirstein, Dr. Peter
Steidl, Dr. Kamil Stelmaszczyk, Dr. Thorsten Bernhadt, Ms. Christina
Kaposta, and Ms. Kristina Slanczyk.
Last but not least, my thanks go to Prof.
Dr. Ludger Wöste, who though not present during my visit,
kindly arranged for me to visit his laboratory and meet members
of his research group.
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