From sharing screens to sharing spaces

Moriarty, Sarah, Spruce, Jon and Thomas, Pete (2021) From sharing screens to sharing spaces. Design and Technology Education, 26 (4). pp. 96-111. ISSN 1360-1431

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Abstract

The enforced move to remote teaching delivery over the last year has brought many challenges to studio-based courses and the traditional modes of delivery that are often associated with UK Art Schools. Central to these challenges has been the loss of the design studio as a focal point for engagement and learning within a community of practice. However, the conviction that design is a subject that can be taught not just learnt through communal experience has propelled alternative remote modes of engagement to be explored through this period of separation from our on-campus environments. This study details the use of the on-line application Miro as an analog to the traditional ‘physical’ design studio in facilitating remote delivery to studio based undergraduate design and craft students. Reflecting on the delivery of five projects between November 2020 and April 2021 the authors describe how Miro was used as a platform to structure teaching delivery, share creative content and as an environment to foster remote dialogue amongst students. Through an evaluation of each project's delivery within digital spaces the authors identify the emergence of new behaviours and new opportunities that can support students working in digital studios to move beyond sharing screens to sharing spaces.