Don’t Look Back: The Paradoxical Role of Recording in the Fashion Design Process

Although there is little systematic research in academia or industry examining design processes in Fashion, anecdotal evidence, based on self- reports and observations, suggests that designers very rarely record the process of designing. Conversely, benefits and requirements of recording the design process within other domains, such as Engineering and Architecture, are well supported in the literature. This paper attempts to explore the dichotomy of recording and non-recording practice across these fields through a review of the literature, semi-structured interviews and a report on one case study in particular, drawing out further detail. Commonalities and differences are identified and new directions for research proposed

Enhancing design learning using groupware

Project work is increasingly used to help engineering students integrate, apply and expand on knowledge gained from theoretical classes in their curriculum and expose students to 'real world' tasks [1]. To help facilitate this process, the department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management at the University of Strathclyde has developed a web±based groupware product called LauLima to help students store, share, structure and apply information when they are working in design teams. This paper describes a distributed design project class in which LauLima has been deployed in accordance with a Design Knowledge Framework that describes how design knowledge is generated and acquired in industry, suggesting modes of design teaching and learning. Alterations to the presentation, delivery and format of the class are discussed, and primarily relate to embedding a more rigorous form of project-based learning. The key educational changes introduced to the project were: the linking of information concepts to support the design process; a multidisciplinary team approach to coaching; and a distinction between formal and informal resource collections. The result was a marked improvement in student learning and ideation

Experimenting with Realism in Software Engineering Team Projects: An Experience Report

Over Several years, we observed that our students were sceptical of Software Engineering practices, because we did not convey the experience and demands of production quality software development. Assessment focused on features delivered, rather than imposing responsibility for longer term `technical debt'. Academics acting as 'uncertain' customers were rejected as malevolent and implausible. Student teams composed of novices lacked the benefits of leadership provided by more experienced engineers. To address these shortcomings, real customers were introduced, exposing students to real requirements uncertainty. Flipped classroom teaching was adopted, giving teams one day each week to work on their project in a redesigned laboratory. Software process and quality were emphasised in the course assessment, imposing technical debt. Finally, we introduced a leadership course for senior students, who acted as mentors to the project team students. This paper reports on the experience of these changes, from the perspective of different stakeholders

Observations of a software engineering studio:reflecting with the studio framework

Studio-based learning for software engineering is a well-received concept, despite its apparent lack of uptake across institutions worldwide. Studio education affords a variety of highly desirable benefits, and is also popular amongst its students. This paper presents Lancaster University’s software engineering studio, details of its implementation, observations made throughout its first year, evidence of its successes, and reflections against the recently defined studio framework . This paper aims to provide useful information for anyone that is considering utilizing a studio-based approach

Towards an industry-collaborative, reflective software learning and development environment

A significant mismatch (88%) has been found between what employers and graduates perceived as important abilities and how universities had prepared graduates for employment. Conventional Teaching and Learning approaches fall short of providing the kind of learning experiences needed to prepare graduates for the realities of professional practice in industry. On the other hand, current students have very different learning styles than their forebears. Their learning preferences are experiential, working in teams, and using technology for learning. One solution to address this mismatch issue is the software development studio. Our aim is to provide an industry-collaborative, reflective learning environment that will effect the students development of holistic skills, such as teamwork, collaboration and communication, together with technical skills, in a discipline context. This paper further describes the design and validation via prototyping for our software development studio, the progress that we have made so far, and presents the preliminary insights gleaned from our studio prototyping. The prototypes raised issues of attitudinal change, communication, reflection, sharing, mentoring, use of process, `doing time, relationships and innovation

Facilitating social constructivist learning environments for product design Students using social software (Web2) and wireless mobile device.

It is well understood and has been well documented that there is much to gain by using social software in creating collaborative learning communities. However little is known about using a context independent interactive collaborative environment with an emphasis upon sharing, ease of use, customization and personal publishing (MobileWeb2). This paper describes an innovative and integrated MobileWeb2 technology in a product design live project setting, that assists product designers to solve a real problem to serve a real client. Students and teaching staff use a smartphone to capture design decisions and prototypes and collate and share these via an online eportfolio. From the data collected from staff/students surveys it was found that this method provided a stimulating collaborative environment that develops personal skill to bring out their latent creativity in such a way that these will become part of their project. Opportunities for mobile web2 product design projects are outlined. The logistics of providing access to appropriate hardware and software for all students are also discussed

Global Teamwork: A Study of Design Learning in Collaborative Virtual Environments

With the recent developments in communication and information technologies, using Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) in design activity has experienced a remarkable increase. In this paper we present a collaborative learning activity between the University of Sydney (USYD), and the Istanbul Technical University (ITU). This paper shares our teaching experience and discusses the principles of collaborative design learning in virtual environments. Followed by a study on students’ perception on the courses and collaborative learning in both universities, this paper also suggests future refinements on the course structure and the main areas of collaborative design learning. Keywords: Collaborative Design; Collaborative Virtual Environments; Design Teaching And Learning</p