Teaching design online - Does it work?
What is it about?
My research explores the dynamic changes in design education prompted by the major shift to online applications during the Covid pandemic when physical design studios closed. The reliance on communication platforms and virtual collaborative workspaces during the height of Covid resulted in a fundamental shift in the way design is taught and learned. The question explored in this paper is how online technology was adapted to approximate the informal interactions of the physical studio and its effectiveness in student assessments during the critiquing process. The method used to attain the data was an extensive survey of international design educators from various design disciplines along with follow-up interviews. The results provide important insights into attitudinal shifts among design educators who are largely more accepting of adopting online solutions to design's signature studio pedagogy.
Why is it important?
The research addresses the question of whether there has been a fundamental paradigm shift in design studio education spurred by the closure of physical studios during the Covid pandemic. The research clearly demonstrates that online technology has a role to play in re-shaping design studio education, particularly using communication and work sharing platforms, but falls short in important aspects of informal learning in physical studios.