Digital Teaching at the MPSP
Since the main goal of the Max Planck School of Photonics is cross-location and individual teaching by the best minds in photonics research, we of course need one thing above all: digital courses! We see ourselves as a pilot project for innovative digital teaching applications and services. Our team at the Digital Teaching Lab in Jena is at the side of the MPSP Fellows and PhD candidates with advice and action.
Our goal is to offer our PhD candidates innovative digital courses from all areas of photonics on our virtual campus. At the same time, we want to support the MPSP PhD candidates and Fellows in becoming pioneers in the field of digital teaching themselves. For this purpose, our digital teaching team offers the following services:
1. Digital Teaching Support
Our digital teaching team supports our Fellows and PhD candidates in their virtual teaching activities. We help them in designing and concepting teaching activities and provide the necessary software and hardware.
2. Digital Teaching Empowerment
You have the desire to learn digital teaching design and implementation skills? We are continuously rolling out related courses and workshops to build up the bridge between our MPSP members and digital teaching.
3. Digital Teaching Exploration
With virtual / augmented reality technologies we want to explore new ways of lab training together with the Lichtwerkstatt Jena. Students can immerse themselves into the virtual world - a promising approach especially in times of COVID-19.
Digital Teaching Hardware / Software
At the Digital Teaching Lab, we provide the hardware and software for the best digital teaching production. For example, for video and 3D environment recording, we have the SLR cameras, microphones, tripods, lampshades, 360-degree cameras, and authoring software for shooting, recording, and post-productions. Moreover, we have VR and AR Hololens to demonstrate the 3D environments or virtual objects. Interested MPSP Fellows and PhD candidates who want to use this equipment for their teaching activities can contact our digital teaching team at any time (thomas.kaiser.1@uni-jena.de).
For MPSP Fellows: Contact us!
Are you a Fellow of the MPSP and want to improve your teaching, try out new digital teaching methods or borrow equipment from our Digital Teaching Lab? Then contact our digital teaching team now and receive personal consulting and specific suggestions!
Contact: thomas.kaiser.1@uni-jena.de
Dr. Thomas Kaiser
Responsible for Digital Teaching Strategies at the MPSP and a physicist, Dr. Thomas Kaiser is the communication channel between our team and the Fellows. When a Fellow approaches us, he recommends and assesses the possible digital teaching strategies for different subjects – from not only the perspective of digital teaching but also of physics.
Dr. Reinhard Geiß
As a Curriculum Coordinator at the MPSP and physicist, Dr. Reinhard Geiß coordinates the potential courses from different Fellows and external trainers for the MPSP candidate’s curriculum. He assesses the courses for our PhD candidates and decides on the structure and future direction.
Tzu-Huan Lin
With the educational background of a Digital Learning Designer, Tzu-Huan Lin manages the virtual campus (LMS) and develops digital teaching concepts and materials such as instructional videos, self-paced learning materials, and game-based learning.
Johannes Kretzschmar
The CTO of the Lichtwerkstatt Jena and computer scientist Johannes Kretzschmar develops immersive VR and AR lab environments for students as an alternative or addition to hands-on lab training. Students can immerse themselves into the virtual world and repeatedly interact with the objects to imagine what they can do in the laboratory.
Christian Kuttke
Christian Kuttke is developer with a computer science background. He creates 360-degree videos and pictures for students to have immersive environments such as the introduction of a professor’s laboratory.