Asynchronous critiques via video to enable studio collaboration for employability skills in distance education

Abstract

Studio courses have become a key way in which professional skills, especially those involving collaboration and design, are taught in several fields. Studios typically involve students working on a design problem (individually or in groups), periodically presenting their work, and critiquing the work of others. They support 'productive inquiry', teamwork, communication, and reflection. They also enable students to apply their knowledge to more realistic, multifaceted problems, and to learn from each other's project experiences, not just their own. However, this culture of collaboration and critique of work in progress is typically offered in on-campus modes and can be difficult to achieve for online and distributed classes. This project examined the dynamics of using an asynchronous video-based approach to critiques, in classes that predominantly comprise distance education students. In this approach, students are asked to submit video presentations of their work in progress, and then to record video critiques of each other's work.