1. Design and materiality: collaborative learning at a distance
Iestyn Jowers, Design Group, Dept. of Engineering and Innovation
Mark Gaved, Institute of Educational Technology

2. Some history
Prats and Garner (2009): “with the increase in distance education worldwide we need to explore new ways for students to create and manipulate form remotely” “giving students access to three-dimensional models is vital to their design learning. This is not because such models help students communicate their proposals for form and shape but that they assist students in the very act of thinking about form and shape.”

3. “Manufacturing is no longer just about ‘production’ – making a product and then selling it. Manufacturers are increasingly using a wider ‘value chain’ to generate new and additional revenue from pre and post production activities, with production playing a critical role in allowing these other activities to occur. ”
(Foresight, 2013)

4. RE:FORM
Reimagining Education for the Future Of Redistributed Manufacturing
What is the capacity for collaborations between makespaces and educators to fulfil the education and training requirements for effective distributed manufacturing in the UK?
project team:
Mark Gaved (IET) Delphine Dallison (MAKLab)
Gary Elliott-Cirigottis (IET) Alan Rochead (MAKLab)
Iestyn Jowers (E&I) Mark Craig (MAKLab)
funded by:

5. MAKLab Glasgow
MAKLab are an innovative Scottish charity focused on providing resources for people from all backgrounds, of all ages and all abilities to use physical making as a tool for social empowerment, regeneration, economic growth and social capital.

6. Made in MAKLab Posted to designer
Collaborative making
Two groups of learners collaborating at a distance to design and make a chair
Designer:
Formal Learner
Maker:
Informal Learner
Forum
Online Communication
Supported by Tutors
Made in MAKLab Posted to designer

7. Case Study
A 12 week design-make project, with a brief to design a chair made from plywood sheets, no fixings
OU design students and MAKLab trainees work collaboratively, sharing expertise
Replicates a real-world distributed manufacturing scenario
8 designer-maker pairs, design tutor, making tutor
Three iterations of the design-make cycle, to encourage learning through reflection and communication
Forum

8. A Student’s Story Background:
A banker, with no design or making experience outside the OU studies
Wanted to work collaboratively online and to learn about reality of manufacturing and designer-maker relationship
Aiming for a career change to get into design of design teaching
Initial research:
“Another thing I did was to get a piece of plywood for myself. I thought it was a good idea to hold it and touch it, to try and understand the material a little more”

9. A Student’s Story Cycle 1:
Achievement: “I turned a blank sheet of paper into a chair design”
Material Learning: “I have been kindly sent a mini laser cut version of my chair. Immediately I put it together and could see the errors of my design”

10. A Student’s Story
Cycle 2:
Learning: “I have learnt;
how to strengthen my chair using supporting ‘spars’/ bars, joints, etc
how that continual work & communication is needed to produce many iterations before pushing it over to the maker to produce ”
Cycle 3:
Reflection: “getting that [design] into a ‘language’ at the manufacturer can understand and can work with is an issue that needs to be addressed and overcome”
Confidence: “I have designed a bench for a local barbers”

11. Other Perspectives
Materiality: “Seeing the actual chair helped me to realised how it really presents itself and adjust its dimensions”
Communication: “the project has given me a great insight into what it is like working with someone remotely”
Employability: “I actually tried to avoid Sketchup… Now I am so confident in it I am actually applying for a job as an interior designer where they are asking for Sketchup”
Learning: “this activity is a great idea, it would be a valuable experience for every student”
Submitted for
A’Design award

12. Case Study - Summary
18 full-size prototype chairs were made and posted to OU design students
designs were developed through communication, collaboration, and reflection
participants developed traditional and digital technical skills
the realities of communication in design/making were identified:
- “collaboration and understanding of both parties is crucial”
- “words are a horrible way to communicate design concepts”

13. What did we learn? MAKLab:
Authentic experiences are useful for supporting learning
Digital networks have potential to support collaborative projects
OU:
Managing distance learning is difficult!
Materiality can be part of design at OU
The role of barriers in learning networks; do they hinder learning, or is overcoming barriers the route to learning?
Both:
Collaborative learning develops ‘soft’ skills
Forum
Barrier?

14. What next?
Extending the network with multiple makespaces, and industry:
What is the potential for networked makespaces, where skills and expertise are distributed across multiple sites but shared online?
Can an online environment, such as OpenStudio, support distributed makespaces, and interaction with external agents, including industry and educators?

15. Thank you for listening!