Exploring perceptions and attitudes towards teaching and learning manual technical drawing in a digital age

This paper examines the place of manual technical drawing in the 21st century by discussing the perceived value and relevance of teaching school students how to draw using traditional instruments, in a world of computer aided drafting (CAD). Views were obtained through an e-survey, questionnaires and structured interviews. The sample groups represent professional CAD users (e.g. engineers, architects); university lecturers; Technology Education teachers and student teachers; and school students taking Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) Graphic Communication courses. An analysis of these personal views and attitudes indicates some common values between the various groups canvassed of what instruction in traditional manual technical drafting contributes towards learning. Themes emerge such as problem solving, visualisation, accuracy, co-ordination, use of standard conventions, personal discipline and artistry. In contrast to the assumptions of Prensky's thesis (2001a&b) of digital natives, the study reported in this paper indicate that the school students apparently appreciate the experience of traditional drafting. In conclusion, the paper illustrates the perceived value of such learning in terms of transferable skills, personal achievement and enjoyment

Evaluation of interior designers\u27 and interior design students\u27 perceptions of CAD (computer aided design)

This research project used quantitative research method to evaluate interior designers\u27 and interior design students\u27 perceptions about CAD (computer aided design) in interior design. Survey method was used to collect data about demographics, perceptions regarding CAD use, difficulties with its use, and expectations of CAD in near future. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize data from self-administered questionnaires for students and interior designers. The outcome ofthe study provided an explanation for co-relation of the use of CAD among interior designers and students of interior design. It also provided understanding of practitioners\u27 and students\u27 expectations regarding the use of CAD in near future

EXPLORING THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF IT IN CONSULTING OFFICES

The design and construction industry has suffered during the last decade from the low quality information produced and exchanged between design and construction professionals involved in the design processes. Research shows that the information deficiencies were found to center around data sharing between these professionals and the coordination of project information in construction documents. The development of information technology (IT) offers the potential for significant improvements in the efficiency of communication and data exchange in the production process, if effectively employed. Despite this fact, and although IT has been extensively used in the architecture design industry, the literature shows that the way this technology has been used has not improved the quality of information or facilitated the coordination and information exchange process to the ultimate potential of the technology. This study investigates the potential factors that may lead the inefficient utilization of IT in architectural consulting office

Experimental Applications of Virtual Reality in Design Education

By introducing rapid reproduction, algorithms, and complex formal configurations, the digital era of architecture began a revolution. Architects incorporated the computational capacity of the computer into the design process both as a tool and as a critical component of the theories and practice of architecture as a whole. As we move into what has been coined “the second digital turn,” a period in which digital integration is considered ubiquitous, how can we consider, prepare, and propel towards the next technological innovation to significantly inform design thinking, representation, and manifestation? What tools are available to investigate this speculative design future and how can they be implemented? If the integration of technology in architecture is now a given, perhaps the next digital design era is not just digital but virtual. As new technologies emerge the potential for integrating the virtual design world with our physical senses affords novel possibilities for interactive design, simulation, analysis and construction. Hybrid reality technologies, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), embody the potential to supersede conventional representation methodologies such as drawing, rendering, physical modeling, and animation. As they become increasingly pervasive, they will transform how we communicate ideas and data as spatial concepts. Further, they will reform the construct of the built environment when applied to both materiality and fabrication. This paper will describe the incorporation of VR as a tool in various classroom and laboratory settings, recognize the educational outcomes of this incorporation, and identify the potential relationship of these technologies to future academic exploration and application to practice

Separating the knowledge layers: Cognitive analysis of search knowledge through hierarchical goal decompositions

Hierarchical goal decompositions have proved to be a useful method to make explicit the knowledge required by users to perform tasks in a wide range of applications such as computer-aided drafting (CAD) systems. This analysis method progressively decomposes a given task starting from the task layer on the top of the decomposition, to the keystroke layer at the bottom. The analysis enables a close inspection of the knowledge required to perform the task at each layer of the decomposition. In this paper we show how the method of hierarchical goal decomposition can be used to understand more precisely the knowledge that is required to perform information search tasks. The analysis pinpoints: (1) the critical strategies in the intermediate layers of knowledge that are known by experts searchers; (2) why such knowledge is difficult to acquire by novice searchers; (3) how the analysis provides testable predictions of behavior based on the acquisition of different types of knowledge. We conclude by discussing the advantages provided by hierarchical goal decompositions, and how such an approach can lead to the design of systems and training.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34559/1/1450390122_ftp.pd

Emerging Trends: Scenic Design Beyond The Stage

The role of a scenic designer is so exciting but opportunities to design can fluctuate a bit. While the work is rewarding, the career itself can be much like a gig at times. Then when you factor in a major event such as a global pandemic, where does this leave a scenic designer in terms of employment and livelihood? Are there other possibilities for work with a Master of Fine Arts in Scenic Design? How do we continue to tell stories while providing for ourselves? Have artists considered how these skills are transferrable to other allied fields? As a scenic design graduate student, I’m approaching graduation during a pandemic. These are some of the many critical questions that come to mind as I prepare to enter the workforce. It encouraged me to question if new coursework could be offered to explore job opportunities and training beyond the stage. Because if nothing else, the pandemic has taught us to adapt and evolve so that we can continue to thrive. Perhaps Scenic Design course offerings could evolve to encompass targeted training where designers unpack their toolboxes and explore the application of skills beyond the theater. Diversifying the scenic design curriculum to incorporate training in allied design areas would expand who we tell stories to. It would also serve a higher purpose in that it would broaden scenic designers range of viable job opportunities

Defining Expertise in the Use of Constraint-based CAD Tools by Examining Practicing Professionals

Academic engineering graphics curricula are facing a rapidly changing knowledge base and current teaching and assessment methods are struggling to keep pace.  This paper is the second in a two-part series which examines practicing engineering graphics professionals to discover their experiences in developing expertise in the use of constraint-based CAD tools.  It presents the results of a knowledge-mapping task and think-aloud modeling task used with five practicing product designers to examine their solid modeling strategies used when creating a 3D model and their organization of the concepts surrounding the knowledge domain of constraint-based CAD tools.  The results of the think-aloud modeling task yielded five specific modeling procedures which were distilled into one common modeling procedure for the given object.  The results of the knowledge mapping task revealed five separate knowledge maps, and the common elements from each one were combined to form a generic knowledge map related to the use of constraint-based CAD tools.  These two sets of results comprised the initial elements used to define expertise in the use of constraint-based CAD tools based on these five participants.  This article provides an initial look at an approach to creating geometry with constraint-based CAD tools, as well as specific topics to be included in a curriculum that includes constraint-based CAD tools.  There conclusions also suggest potential teaching and assessment methodologies

The Urban Morphology of a New Town: Milton Keynes, the 'Forest City'

Research into the design cultures of unrealised schemes for Milton Keynes New Town in the United Kingdom yields essential information on the morphology of places. MK strategic development ideas were levied to realise a 'Forest City'. The agency of these designs, particularly in the works of Neil Higson, Andrew Mahaddie and John Csáky, provide artefacts of the ideological underpinning to create a 'sense of place' in MK urban grids. These design schemes project possible solutions to community formation and form a critical totality of urban landscape unaccounted for in MK studies