A case study on online design workshop experience: gamification and space

Abstract

Design schools consist of three main axes; courses that provide knowledge in various fields of design, studio courses and internships. Besides, the indisputable fact is the importance of design competitions and informal workshops that feed the designer candidate to gain experience in different fields of the discipline. In addition, another importance of informal workshops is the contribution of researchers in this field to the development of design education. The effects and potentials of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are also another area of research on design education, in particular design studio courses. The use of ICTs in the field of design education has led gamification to come to the fore as an ascending concept. A series of methodologies and tools have been developed, such as gamification, as well as the different kinds of Virtual Learning Environments to ensure the motivation of students and avoid the lack of attention in online courses. In this study, an online workshop, "Gamification and Space", is investigated as a case study. The contribution of the concept of gamification to design education has been evaluated in line with the observations and experiences gained. The data was gathered from the workshop presentations held on the last day and the final manuscripts of the workshops. The collected data was analyzed by the workshop coordination team, and classifications were made regarding the aspects of the gamification used during the workshop. In addition, it is aimed to discuss the potentials of ICTs in design courses. The observations show that the use of gamified elements has the potential to enrich instructional methods, especially when we consider online education, virtual learning environments and visual collaboration tools.