Global Interaction into the Traditional Design Studios through Blogs

Special teaching methods used in an advanced design course, looks to enrich a student's experience by increasing the number of contact hours between student and online reviewers located around the world. In this design studio we try to bring global interaction into the traditional classroom through blogs. A blog is a chronological discussion or publication on the world-wide web. During the entire semester the students are required to keep all their research and design process on their own blog. Their research and work is shown on their blog through diagrams, drawings, sketches, images of models and text. Each student follows one another’s blogs to see their work and give comments. The blogs create a virtual studio culture that connects the students to the professional world. All of the work of the students from research to design is posted on a biweekly basis online. Each student is assigned one to three online reviewers to follow their work on their blogs for the entire semester. Each online reviewer is a professional architect or designer with specialties that align with the projects of our students. They are located all around the world bringing a variety of ideas, projects, and cultural experiences. A formal dialogue is setup between each student and the online reviewer who acts as a critic throughout the semester. This connection of the students and the professional world rarely occurs. This is a unique and innovative way of connecting a design studio with professionals from all over the world. We have found blogs to be an important part of our studio environment. Blogs: ? Present, organize and protect students’ work as a digital portfolio. ? Are a chronological arrangement of information and research. ? Create a dialog between the students and critics. ? Introduce a new skill of being part of global society. ? Expose student to alternative ways of thinking. ? Reinforce writing and promote discussion. ? Allow fellow students and professors to see work even when not in the studio. ? Allow students accessibility to a design critique twenty four hours a day. ? Create a studio at virtually anytime, at any place as long as there is internet access. ? Extend the classroom beyond the boundaries of the campus.