Getting design students to give and receive critical feedback in the age of Internet trolls

Description

This session’s content relates most closely with the theme of Digital Presence and Professionalization. In this session, we will present on preparing students to navigate within an entirely online space for giving and receiving critical feedback and critique of creative works, an often uncomfortable process for many students new to creative production. In addition, we will talk about ways of cultivating a professional online identity around the production of their studio projects and creative work.

Takeaway

The main takeaways from this session includes knowledge of how open-source tools and methods are leveraged for creating productive online studio critique. We will show examples and talk through instructional scaffolding strategies for faculty to facilitate effective critique and discussion between students, show how we are supporting students in establishing professional online identities, and show how we are creating spaces for communities of practice to emerge.

Abstract

If you have ever read Youtube video comments, been party to a forum flame war, or witnessed harassment by trolls on Twitter, then you are keenly aware of the challenges surrounding critical conversations in online environments. The session will focus on the ongoing development of design project critique tools and teaching methods infused in a wholly online Bachelor’s of Design program. This program, which is being developed at Penn State University, helps students to establish a professional online presence and encourages participation in mindful design critique and discourse. Online courses, situated in an open-source learning environment, guide students of diverse disciplines and backgrounds to produce collaborative or self-directed design projects around contemporary local and global issues culminating in online exhibitions and critiques – essential components to any design program. Student work showcased in online exhibitions is included in their online portfolios and discussed in structured asynchronous critique sessions.

The design critique is a particularly vulnerable event for most students. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the benefits of open-source tools and describe the instructional scaffolding used by faculty to prepare students for participation in constructive critiques and conversations in an online environment. In addition, we will show examples of how projects and peer critiques are structured to facilitate the use of professional language, discuss how emergent communities of practice can affect student work, and demonstrate how online exhibitions of work can be compelling and exciting.