Virtual design studio within a social network

摘要

Online interactions, multimedia, mobile computing and face-to-face learning create blendedlearning environments to which some Virtual Design Studios (VDS) have reacted. Social Networks (SN), asinstruments for communication, have provided a potentially fruitful operative base for VDS. These technologiestransfer communication, leadership, democratic interaction, teamwork, social engagement and responsibilityaway from the design tutors to the participants. The implementation of a Social Network VDS (SNVDS) movedthe VDS beyond its conventional realm and enabled students to develop architectural design that is embeddedinto a community of learners and their expertise both online and offline. Problem-based learning (PBL) becomesan iterative and reflexive process facilitating deep learning. The paper discusses details of the SNVDS, itspedagogical implications to PBL, and presents how the SNVDS is successful in empowering architecturalstudents to collaborate and communicate design proposals that integrate a variety of skills, deep learning,knowledge and construction with a rich learning experience.