Copyright (c) 2009 Sheffield Hallam University All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session4/track_e Recent Events in Learning en-us Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:28:08 PDT 3600 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session4/track_e/3 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session4/track_e/3 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:30:00 PDT In a wired world even the most physically embodied craft skills are affected by computer facilitated communication. To consider how different sorts of space - both real and virtual - influence the learning of craft skills this paper presents three types of space - the 'real' space of a jewellery workshop, an online 'wiki' space for learning how to make a folding knife mediated by face to face interaction and an online discussion group about French Horn making. Some features common to the learning of any craft skill are discussed as well as some current ideas about the influence of networked communication on the way people relate to each other. Conclusions are drawn about the relationships between different types of learner, different types of skill and different types of learning space which demonstrate that while there may be no substitute for face to face contact in learning the most embodied craft skills, even in real-world settings a significant proportion of learning depends on social interaction which may be reproduced online. Keywords: Craft learning; Apprenticeship; Communities of Practice; Online Networks Tom Fisher http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session4/track_e/2 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session4/track_e/2 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:00:00 PDT Virtual teamwork and long distance collaboration is an increasingly attractive option in design education especially when students and other participants, (for example, industry guests or sponsors) cannot meet in the same physical place or classroom. The constant improvement in technology allows this type of electronic communication to be increasingly accepted as an appropriate format for collaboration and evaluation of student projects. This paper discusses the collaboration between members of a company in Germany and a group of industrial design students in California. It will present the work flow, the evaluation tools and the formats introduced during the process. Since the participants of this project could not meet physically to discuss and evaluate ideas, it was imperative for the teams to develop standard visual formats that were easy to understand and re-utilize. These formats had to be flexible enough for the purpose of adding comments from the evaluators. Because the physical presence of the presenter is missing, it is necessary to adjust the content and layout of the messages in order to make them more relevant and self-explanatory. The message has to be easy to understand without the help of a presenter or lecturer. One of the most significant questions in this project was how to present multiple "layers of information" in one single image at the same time (for example, how to depict work flow, time sequence and object hierarchy in one single frame). In a normal situation (where the presenter is physically present in front of an audience) he/she can verbally add secondary information that would not be visually included but it is necessary in order to understand the relevance of the image being presented. This additional verbal information could be related to time, hierarchy, etc. This paper will discuss the development and evaluation of visual formats that present multiple layers of information in one single image. It describes the methods used and reports the solutions. Ultimately, this paper explains the relevance of using storytelling in the context of long-distance design collaboration. Keywords: Virtual Teamwork; Long-Distance Collaboration; Storytelling; Infographics Jose Rivera-Chang http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session4/track_e/1 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session4/track_e/1 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:30:00 PDT Learning strategies can be described as behaviours and thoughts a learner engages in during learning that are aimed at gaining knowledge. Learners are, to use Mayer's (1996) constructivist definition, 'sense makers'. We can therefore position this to mean that, if learners are sense makers, then learning strategies are essentially cognitive processes used when learners are striving to make sense out of newly presented material. This paper intends to demonstrate that such thoughts and behaviours can be made explicit and that students can co-ordinate the basic cognitive processes of selecting, organising and integrating. I will discuss two learning strategies which were developed during three cycles of an action research enquiry with a group of illustration students. While each cycle had its own particular structure and aims, the main task, that of illustrating a passage of expository text into an illustration was a constant factor. The first learning strategy involved assisting students develop 'macropropositions'--personal understandings of the gist or essence of a text (Louwerse and Graesser, 2006; Armbruster, Anderson and Ostertag, 1987; Van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983). The second learning strategy used a form of induction categorised as analogical reasoning (Holyoak, 2005; Sloman and Lagnado, 2005). Both strategies were combined to illustrate the expository text extract. The data suggests that design students benefit from a structured approach to learning, where thinking processes and approaches can be identified and accessible for other learning situations. The research methodology is based on semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, developmental design (including student notes) and final design output. All student names used are pseudonyms. The text extract from 'Through the Magic Door' an essay Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (1907) has been included as it provides context to analysis outcomes, student comments and design outputs. Keywords: Action Research; Illustration; Macrostructures; Analogical Reasoning; Learning Strategies Mike McAuley