Learning Virtually: A Paradigm Shift in Design Education

Abstract

We still think of architectural design education in terms of a "classroom" paradigm, that is, of an instructor teaching design skills to a class of students in a face-to-face format. However, emerging communication and collaboration technologies have created tremendous new opportunities to distribute students and faculty, while maintaining a close personal contact. This paper discusses and characterizes several aspects of the evolving paradigm of teaching design made possible by the ability to work in shared virtual environments.