Digital design and student learning through videoconference collaboration

Abstract

This paper reports on a pilot study involving a long distance learning experiment between the University of Adelaide and Penn State University through a six-week videoconference program. The program involved staff and students from digital media courses within each University, including Dr Dean Bruton, Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at The University of Adelaide, and Associate Professor Madis Pihlak, Director of The Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Penn State University.

Using Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for teaching digital design processes has many advantages and disadvantages. Instant communication between groups and individuals across the world, defies the barrier of distance. Interdisciplinary exploration and collaborative action allow the expansion of design curriculum possibilities and the sharing of information and experience, while technical skills and standards rise as students find new levels of potential in response to more diverse audiences. Disadvantages with such design experiments include time differences between two continents, technical constraints and the availability of technical assistance.

The project was largely successful, evident through positive feedback from staff and students, and the emergent relationship between the two schools. Through this pilot study, and the resulting research, new possibilities are now being explored, including cross- continental design collaboration with design schools in Canada, Malaysia and India. The University of Adelaide, has supported the project by supplying a AUS$48,000 grant to purchase the test equipment, used in the pilot study, and establish a dedicated videoconference facility.