An Interactive Software approach to promoting Space Science and Technology Education

3rd IAA Regional Conference Space for Africa: Joint Participation, Knowledge Development and Sharing

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Promoting Space Science and Technology in Africa:

An Interactive Software Approach

Baiyere, Fadare Abayomi (Research Scientist/Software Developer)

ABSTRACT

Generally in Africa, Space Science and Technology is considered a very difficult and esoteric

field reserved for the “ultra intelligent”. Hence Space Science and Technology as an educational option continues to be seen as an option to be completely avoided. This trend could

seriously hamper the progress and development of space technology in the continent with adverse long term effects.

Consequently this paper focuses on bolstering Space Science and Technology Education in the continent by the pragmatic fusion of exciting entertainment software with a highly focused educative curriculum content.

Furthermore, there exists an avalanche of evidence to show that youths and young minds will

naturally prefer to play a game or engage in an entertaining software rather than to read an academic textbook having the same content.

This paper further covers the development of an educational software – “Launch Director!” that is designed with the aim of serving as a compendium on rocketry curriculum for a wide

range of users.

The software is structured in three complementary phases with detailed rocketry tutorials and

academic demonstrations skillfully embellished with entertaining games, interactive designs and quizzes. It also intelligently provides a phase which enhances the learning process. The user is put in a simulation environment with practical hands-on experience, requiring critical mission

assumptions, decisions and calculations with instant response and feedback. This ultimately fuses the entire concept that has been learnt so far, with this simulated real life scenarios.

KEY WORDS: Education, Simulation, Fusion, Development, Space curriculum and Space

Awareness

INTRODUCTION

The relevance of Space Science and Technology in the world and to mankind can not be over emphasized. In order for Africa

to be an active participant in global space activities, there needs to be a huge focus on

space education in the continent.

Realising the Need for Space Education is

not enough to propel Africa to the desired level of space preparedness. There is also a strong need for careful consideration of the

most effective and impactful approach that will give the desired goal in a short period of time. This is necessary because the margin

between Africa and other continents of the world in terms of space development and

activities is so wide that if the conventional



educational methods alone are applied, Africa will continue to play catch up with

the rest of the world for indeed a very long time.

The question to be answered now is this: “What are the effective and impactful

educational approaches that can be implemented?”

This paper presents one unique identified answer to this question: the use of

interactive educational games and simulation softwares.

BACKGROUND TO STUDY (The

African Educational system Overview)

Some key factors observed in the African context of space development forms the basis for this educational approach. A quick

overview of the present status of space education in Africa reveals the following:

In Africa, most people consider the

study of space science and technology to be a field for the gifted. This misconception further

alienates the young people that form the core of the future of the continent

from taking up educational programmes in this field.

The dominant method of tutoring in Africa is the conventional method of

reading space text books amidst an allocution of instructions. This pedagogical approach can gradually

drain the zeal and interest from initial space enthusiast.

There also exists an Insufficient

availability of educational resources and institutions to promotes space

education and generate space awareness in the continent.

These are some of the highlights of the

issues that are addressed by this approach to promoting space education and development in the continent. These highlighted points

cut across three major professional fields ranging from:

student/learning psychology

pedagogy and educational system

educational infrastructures and institutions.

This invariably implies that there are several stakeholders required for the successful

implementation of an adequate intervention to space education and capacity building in Africa.

Space Orientation:

In Africa the interest in Space activities needs to be built first before we can

effectively build a sustaining capacity for space development. How then can space

activity be promoted to effectively generate a susbstantial interest? To answer this question we need to identify the factors that

can make space education as an academic option, an option that has been avoided by

most.

Chief among these reasons is the

misconception that space science and technology is for the most intelligent and the best in the society. To make a “difficult

task” seemingly easy there has to be an element of interest and the task becomes

even easier if an element of fun is introduced into it. A task that is presented in a manner that makes it fun will, among other

possible options, undoubtedly generate interest.



Pedagogical Orientation:

The continent is in the transitory process of gradually evolving from the era where

people are cajoled, encouraged and even coerced to get education to a point where every one knows and appreciate the need to

be educated. For a society in such a transition phase, it becomes necessary to

adapt a welcoming and exciting pedagogy approach for such a developmental endeavour as space science and technology.

Using an inviting pedagogical approach is especially necessary to counter the

misconceptions of the special abilities required to understand the so called

“difficult” space concepts.

Space Institutions:

There exists a large vaccum to be filled in

the process of passing across relevant information that can significantly increase the level of participation of Africa in Space

activities. If this vaccum is to be ever filled, the issue of “how, who and where?” therefore arises. This are key questions for

decision makers to develope an answer and implement a solution to.

If we consider primarily the “why?” of this issues we can logically generate several

reasons by considering the counter question “why not?” If there is a genuine interest to

promote the involvement of the continent in space development then, why not? If there exists a vision to develope the space

capacity building of the latent potentials in the continent, then why not? These among

other generated reasonings can help stimulate and identify developmental options of effective space institutions in

Africa.

Basically, institutions that will promote and inspire space activities in the continent are

needed. Another essential step is Including space science as part of the educational

curriculum in schools and also making the basic educational resources available for this

purpose.

SPACE EDUCATION INTERVENTION

CONCEPT

The concept discussed in this paper as an

intervention means to promote the level of space education in the planet, is based on the use of interactive tools, especially

simulation softwares and educational games.

The major driver of this concept is the balanced fusion of educational curriculum and entertaining concepts into the softwares.

Therefore it is an approach that does not consider education or entertainment but

rather education and entertainment as its core.

Considering the challenges of space education in Africa highlighted above, a closer look will be taken to observe the

impact and rationale justifying this approach.

Space Orientation Intervention:

It has been identified that a vast majority of Africans shy away from space related activities because of the impression that

space as a topic is very complex and it should be reserved for the developed nations

where there are super brilliant and intelligent people. This perception has further decreased the passion and zest to learn or to

be involved in space research and development.

To make a seemingly complex task appear easy, interest needs to be built on that task.

A basic principle of generating interest in



such a case is to make the task become fun and entertaining rather than arduous and

burdensome.

Hence, the introduction of educative and yet entertaining softwares and games becomes an invaluable tool. This approach is aimed at

making perceived complex tasks contain some elements of fun and challenge, which

inspires the interest required to pass the main educative content across.

Pedagogical Intervention:

Furthermore, the pedagogical approach used

to present space concepts to students or participants in Africa should be reviewed to

allow for interactions, feedback and of course fun without losing focus of the main aim.

While maintaining the intellectual capacity

present in the continent it is also important that the younger generations are targetted because then we are sure this knowledge

won't fade away easily and we are certain that we are building the foundation for the future of space development in the

continent.

Space Institution Intervention:

With the present state of institutions and

infrastructures available in Africa, the use of an interactive solution like the software

simulation presented in this paper can be an effective way to provide an educational platform where resources can be shared and

the cost of replicating devices and laboratories can be minimised.

This concept however does not diminsh the need for increased contact points for space

education. Instead it is an option to be used as an intervention for the present before the institutions are created and also after they

have been created. It is an approach that

helps us maximise the existing infrastructures while creating the network

for future development.

CASE STUDY: LAUNCH DIRECTOR!

Concept Discussion:

Launch Director [LD] is an Educational

Software Game that is designed with the aim

of serving as a complete compendium on

rocketry for educational purposes. LD is

aimed at passing across real life education

about rockets with an exciting

embellishment of entertaining fun

options.(see figure 1)

METHODOLOGY

Design Process:

The design of the software involved a research in two dimensions: first, deciding on the rocketry concepts to be focused on

and understanding the principles behind these concepts, and second, the most

effective presentation approach to be used without compromising the educational and entertainment objectives.(see figure 2)

The software design has been structured as a

3-in-1 software with three complementary phases:

Phase I [Rocket Structure and Design]:

This phase of LD introduces users to the

fundamentals of building a rocket using

variants from water rockets to the

sophisticated future Space Shuttle!



A selection is made by the user from the list

of possible rockets. Users are then provided

with parts of a rockets required to assemble

the rocket selected. They are given a brief

description of what the part does and what it

is about. The user then has the responsibility

of deciding which of the part options to use

and where that part belongs on the rocket.

The user is guided by the part descriptions

and further information is provided in phase

III of the software for the assembly process.

If a part is wrongly placed, the software at

the early level will return the wrongly

placed part and provide a brief explanation

on why that part is not a suitable choice. (see

figure 3& 4)

As the user improves in the assembly

process the software provides him with more

difficult rocket assemblies. The user

therefore proceeds gradually from the first

assembly (water rocket) to other known

rocket models and finally to a complex

fictitious space shuttle.(see figure 5)

The objective of this phase is to help the

user gain a good understanding of the basic

rocket design principles, parts, composition,

abilities, capacities, mission history among

many other rocket design concepts.

The user is fed several educational details

while keeping him engaged in the challenge

of getting the next rocket built. He implicitly

gathers knowledge, applies the knowledge

and will respond to questions relating to

knowledge gathered here in phase III.

Phase II [Rocket Launch Simulations]:

This phase puts the user in the drivers’ seat

of a simulated real life rocket launch

situation, where he/she needs to make

mission critical decisions, assumptions and

even calculations like a real Launch

Director!

For each of the rockets built, the user has the

priviledge of coordinating all the activities required to launch the rocket. In this phase the user selects a mission (moon mission,

payloads deployment, Satellite repair,

in‐orbit transfer, Hubble mission e.t.c) and is

expected to pick the right rocket for the selected mission and is also saddled with the task of ensuring there is a successful

mission. (see figure 6)

A successful mission involves: successful

take off, attaining the right escape velocity,

flying at the right weather conditions, taking

all necessary equipments for the mission,

avoiding overloading the rocket (mass –

weight considerations), fuel consumption

consideration, and several other critical

mission dependent decisions.

Each responsibility opens an avenue for

educational exposure to materials, samples,

theories, formulas, demos e.t.c that focuses

on that point. The user is expected to make

mistakes but at each point he is guided by

the relevant materials to reveal the necessary

knowledge that is required to go beyond that

point and proceed in the simulation until a

succesful mission is achieved.

The key target of this is to allow the users to

have a virtual hands-on session. The effect

of decisions are made visible to them and

they are able to appreciate how a change in

one of the launch parameters can affect the

whole launch process. They are also made



aware of the basic concepts required for a

rocket launch, including the Dos & Don’ts .

Phase III [Rocketry Tutorials & Demos]:

This phase basically provides general

educational information and materials. It

provides the insight and knowledge required

to navigate through the other two phases

progressively. The presentation of the

tutorials is spiced with interactive scenario-

based discussions, questions & answers,

videos and pictorial descriptions to visually

bring home each point to varying degree of

users.

For the more academically inclined user,

this phase can be directly utilised to get the

theoretical details covered about rocketry.

Progress through this phase is punctuated by

a series of interactive questions and

scenarios where the user is expected to

answer or make a decision. Some presented

scenarios have no True or False answers but

the software provides more explanations

based on the selected choice of the user,

thereby providing an interactive learning

session.(see figure 7 & 8)

The present software version is targetted at,

but not limited to, students in the secondary

school, space enthusiasts and the learned

space connoisseur.The basic platform for the

software has been developed with the aim to

further develope it and continuously upgrade

its scope and simulation capacities to cover

these principles.

Figure 1: Opening view of the Launch Director



Figure 2: The Software Menu options

Figure 3: View of the assembly stage for a water rocket.



Figure 4: A completed water Rocket assembly

Figure 5: View of the rocket options for assembly and missions



Figure 6: Snapshot of a water rocket Launching Pad

Figure 7: View of some topics covered by the educational material.



Figure 8: View of an educational resource in the software.

CONCLUSION

Space for Africa, Space in Africa, Space by Africans! For an effective improvement of the level of space activities in Africa, there

needs to be a build up of interest by Africans to learn more and discover the possibilities

that space development offers. To achieve this, an approach has been patterned after the natural tendencies that inspire interest –

Entertainment. This thus leads to a fusion of Education and Entertainment with the aim to

educate while entertaining and eventual conquer the fear and lack of interest that is threatening the advancement of space

education in the continent.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thankfully acknowledge the support of African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education – English

(ARCSSTEE/NASRDA) of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology;

especially the immediate past and present Directors, Lt. Colonel Alobawone A. of Ghana Armed Forces, Mrs Lami Fadiora,

Mr Leye Salu, Mr Kayode Adepoju, Miss Funmi Erinfolami, Mr Etim Offiong and Mr.

Echi Friday.



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2. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009.

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