Towards an online design studio: a study of social networking in design distance learning

In this paper we examine the role of social networking and online community building in distance design learning. We analysed interactions of Facebook, a popular social network site, using qualitative content analysis and social network analysis. Two distinct learner identities could be identified – a design course Content Focused Learner and a course Context Centred Socialiser. We discuss the implications of this finding particularly in respect to online design studio education

Engaging Qualities: factors affecting learner attention in online design studios

This study looks at the qualities of learner-generated online content, as rated by experts, and how these relate to learners’ engagement through comments and conversations around this content. The work uploaded to an Online Design Studio by students across a Design and Innovation Qualification was rated and analysed quantitatively using the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT). Correlations of qualities to comments made on this content were considered and a qualitative analysis of the comments was carried out. It was observed that design students do not necessarily pay attention to the same qualities in learner-generated content that experts rate highly, except for a particular quality at the first level of study. The content that students do engage with also changes with increasing levels of study. These findings have implications for the learning design of online design courses and qualifications as well as for design institutions seeking to supplement proximate design studios with Online Social Network Services

Lurking and learning: Making learning visible in a Virtual Design Studio

This paper explores certain types of student behaviour in design courses presented through an online distance learning environment and using a virtual design studio. It demonstrates that types of behaviour often considered to be passive, and therefore negative or less valuable than obviously active behaviours, can be significant evidence of student learning. Specifically, viewing other students’ work is demonstrated to be a stronger (or equal) correlation of student success compared to any other behaviour measured in the virtual design studios studied. It is hypothesised that this activity is part of a larger set of social learning behaviours that contribute to a general social press or ‘ecology’ of studio learning. This finding has important implications for the design and implementation of virtual studios (technically and in learning design) and these are reported specifically for the interest and use of learning designers

OpenDesignStudio: virtual studio development over a decade

This paper presents a case study on OpenDesignStudio (ODS), an online, virtual design studio used to support a Design and Innovation qualification at The Open University (UK). The case presents the main design and development iterations ODS over a period of nearly 15 years and presents recent usage data of large-scale student populations (3000+ students). As such it is one of the largest and longest online, distance design studios, representing a unique longitudinal study of Virtual Design Studio use. The case highlights the importance of learning design, social learning mechanisms, and induction into studio culture

Social engagement in online design pedagogies

Design studio education has been a leading pedagogical principle in design learning for over 100 years. Initially, the studio environment was seen as a collaborative environment in which students follow the work of their peers’ through formal presentations, critiques and informal conversations. In the recent past, research on design studios has lost sight of the social component in studio education in favour of concentrating on the tutor-students relationship. As the delivery of design education has moved into online environments, scholars have begun to recognise that social engagement with peers may be of a greater importance to students’ design learning than previously acknowledged. This paper explores the gap in our understanding of engagement and interaction by analysing quantitative and qualitative data from 317 students who were studying an online module in design thinking. The module facilitates learning akin to the design studio experience. An online environment allows students to share and discuss design work, asynchronously, with peers at a distance. The results of the analysis show a correlation between engagement and students success, and further analysis of the kinds of interactions suggest six themes of social engagement that have a positive effect on students’ outcomes. These findings add to our understanding of successful online design pedagogies

Is the Design Studio Dead? - An International Perspective on the Changing Shape of the Physical Studio across Design Domains

The process of moving the physical design studio experience, where social interaction is a guiding principle, into a detached virtual environment during the Covid pandemic has prompted design educators to re-evaluate what constitutes a traditional studio-based learning system. This shift is based on classroom experiences after design educators moved their courses online as physical classrooms closed. Early research findings indicate that design educators and students adapted surprisingly well to an online classroom during the pandemic. But is this equally the case across all design domains? The author argues that it is unhelpful to generalise across design domains when setting out to construct alternative digital learning and teaching environments. This study contextualises varying responses to the online design studio and offers a unique international perspective on differences in design domains impacting future plans to offer blended or online learning. The research is underpinned by the epistemology of pragmatism. The interpretation of data is based on surveys filled out by 90 highly experienced design educators representing eight design domains in seven countries. Results indicate a clear shift toward long-term acceptance of select online elements even in design domains focused on physical studio skills. It is clear that design domains will differ in their adoption and development of blending face-to-face and online teaching in the future

Synchronicity in the Online Design Studio: A Study of Two Cases

Traditional design education models foreground place-based learning and teaching approaches that situate educators and students together in the studio. This experience enables an engaged and participatory teaching practice in which over-the-shoulder feedback and peer-to-peer critique become essential formal and informal learning interactions. However, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly interrupted the educational offerings of higher education institutions. Face to face learning ceased and rapidly pivoted to online and new remote models of delivery. For students studying design at the University of Sydney, this disruption significantly impacted the design studio – a space traditionally understood as a physical learning environment and a mode of learning and teaching. This paper presents a case study of two approaches to teaching design studio online delivered in early 2020. The first approach adopted an asynchronous delivery model in which students engaged with online materials at a time of their choosing, with assessments designed as individual tasks. The second approach adopted a synchronous delivery model in which students participated online in real-time, and assessment tasks were predominantly small-group tasks. In sharing the experiences of both case studies, this paper considers the role of synchronicity in delivering design studio online across four themes: interaction, assessment, feedback and design learning. Finally, the paper presents practice-based lessons that could inform pedagogical practices in design and support future models of design education

The Connectivist Design Studio

The design studio is the core element in the design curriculum where students gain key knowledge and skills. Typically implementing a project-based approach, it is characterised by learning by doing, collaborative learning and a prominent studio culture. The traditional notion is that the social and cultural domain of the studio has a counterpart in the physical environment. However, with the pervasion of information and communication technologies, the design studio was inevitably transferred to the digital realm. When the traditional face-to-face studio had to be transferred to an online modality enforced by covid-19 pandemics, re-conceptualization of the structure and contents was required in order to ensure the quality of the teaching and students’ satisfaction. Based on the premise that the contents should not be simply adapted to an online version but an entirely new learning experience should be created, the redesign of the class was inspired by the principles of connectivism (Siemens, 2005). Connectivism as an alternative learning theory recognizes the societal shifts and the inevitable impact of technology on the learning processes. This new framework for understanding learning, states that knowledge is derived externally of the individual through a process of connecting nodes and patterns recognition. The paper explores the potential of connectivism applied in two online design studios at the University of Monterrey, Mexico. It describes the structure of the course and the results obtained in the online learning environment. The outcomes are verified in a survey on the perceptions of the students in regard to their satisfaction and the effectiveness of their knowledge acquisition

REFLECTION OF TRANSFORMING DESIGN WORKSHOP DURING PANDEMIC USING ONLINE EDUCATION PLATFORM, SCHOOLOGY, AT SECOND-YEAR STUDIO

Design workshops are one of the phases in studio-based learning that helps architecture students to accomplished projects in the studio through interactive and intense interactions between lecturers and students. Therefore, this phase is carried out through the face-to-face method and done in the studio. Since March 2020, for the first time, courses at the Architecture Program of Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK) have been conducted by distance learning, including a second-year studio, Architectural Design III. Long before the pandemic COVID-19, several courses at the Architecture Program of Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK) had been carried out by blended learning through USK e-learning platform and Schoology. As a case study, the Architecture Program (PSA) of USK uses Schoology as an online education platform to facilitate design workshops. This paper aims to reflect on the results of using Schoology as an online education platform that is fully utilized in second-year studio course. Using descriptive analysis method, this paper explores the strategies to maneuver from face-to-face into distance learning method in order to achieve learning objectives. As the result, Schoology is able to attempt synchronous and asynchronous features when conducting design workshops but it is not fully utilized, especially interactions between students.

Dual Delivery Design Studios: Exploring Design Learning for Hybrid Cohorts

In the wake of 2020’s move to remote learning and teaching, institutions of higher education began experimenting with approaches that combine face-to-face and online learning. This article reviews one learning and teaching group’s development of guidance for “dual delivery” and reports on focus group conversations with staff coordinating dual delivery design studios. It highlights key considerations identified by the group—learner equity and access, cohort building, and staff and student perceptions—and reports on efforts to address these through the design and coordination of studio subjects. This marks the first known study exploring hybrid/dual delivery in the design studio context. Findings suggest that treating the hybrid split-cohort mode of 2021 as an amalgamation of online and blended learning approaches is to ignore its unique learning design challenges, and to underestimate the implications of dual delivery for studio teaching. In addition to specific strategies for the design of studio learning activities, teachers’ “on-the-ground” reflections offer additional insights for studio coordination—on distributed, place-based learning; on peer-to-peer interaction around student work; and on approaching learning design on the premise of “contingency”. The article encourages testing of new pedagogic forms that can combine learning modes across space, and engagement with activities over time, in support of rich design learning for emerging hybrid cohorts