Supporting online collaboration for design

2: How students perform in online synchronous environments

Mark Childs

Senior Researcher, Loughborough University

BIM-Hub project

• Based on a project funded by HP Catalyst 2011 – 2012,

• Funded by HEA, runs 2013 to 2014• Loughborough University, Coventry University,

Ryerson University (Canada)• Teams of students architecture, structural engineers

and construction managers • Design a building (sem. 1 and submit report (sem. 2)• Use GoToMeeting for synchronous and students’

choice for asynchronous

Also …

Of appeal to students because• Motivating• Authentic experience• Transferable skills• Perception of improved employability

IPO – Transactional Distance

(Source: Soetanto et al. 2012, 2014)

IV. Skills for online

collaboration

III. Skills for collaborationII. Support for collaboration

I. Design of learning activities for subject discipline

0. Professional and institutional/ pedagogical requirements.

V. Skills for online synchronous collaboration

Lessons students learn from working online …

… that we thought were self-evident• Not breaking off for private conversations. • Effectively supplementing face-to-face behaviours to

compensate for less physical presence. • Chairing meetings formally so that only one person speaks at

the same time. • Planning and structuring meetings. • Ensuring everyone is included. • Eliminating echo. • Taking into account students with disabilities.• Don’t work in unsuitable areas.

Developing ability in online meetings

Improved over time (but correlation not causation)• Applying meeting management techniques; scheduling,

agendas, action points.• Improvement in IT skills.• Developing a greater understanding of the task.• Reification through creation of models.• Developing presence in online meetings.However …• Inauthenticity of virtual connections.• Lack of socialisation.

Developing Presence in GoToMeeting

• Early stages; talk offline, limited use of applications, (also note echo)– demo of stage 1.wmv

• Ah-ha moments, groups choose to clarify by showing on screen– demo of stage 2.wmv

• Experienced users, gesture, switch between applications, modify in realtime– demo of stage 3.wmv

Example of GoToMeeting

Creating presence

Developing presence in meetings

• Getting the technology right. • Fluency with software.• Online etiquette.• Don’t tell, show. • Keep the conversation on screen not offline. • Doodle• Modify each others’ work• Make an appearance• Socialise

Next step in analysis

• Loughborough students were two cohorts, one for semester one, a different set for semester two.

• We anticipate seeing difficulties specific to new users entering an existing dynamic of competent users.

• Was hoping to present that here too, but ran out of time.

BIM-Hub team

Loughborough: Robby Soetanto (PI), Mark Childs, Jacqui Glass, Zulfikar Adamu, Chinwe Isiadinso

Coventry: Stephen AustinRyerson : Paul Poh, Dmitri KnyazevProject evaluators: Harry Tolley, Helen MacKenzie

Thanks to Hewlett Packard and UK Higher Education Academy for funding this initiative

http://bim-hub.lboro.ac.uk/

Further information http://bim-hub.lboro.ac.uk/ Twitter: @oc4d1 LinkedIn: http://

www.linkedin.com/groups/Online-Collaborative-Design-7469178

Email cvmc@lboro.ac.uk Reference: Soetanto, R., Childs, M., Poh, P., Austin, S and Hao,

J. (2014) Virtual collaborative learning for building design, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law 167 February 2014 Issue MP1, Pages 25–34