framework for the implementation of a virtual design studio model in ...

information required or to look for models that can inspire or motivate
the learning, the students in VDS 3 were encouraged to surf the net and
look for information that had not been available or models that they
could imitate or find inspiration from. Activities on the workbook referred
the students to the Internet very often to look for information or to
browse similar situations such as the Cardiff Chimera workshop. The
students were also encouraged to use YouTube and the VDS main web
site as source of information.
The active learning, on the other hand, was based on the idea of using
activities and making the students in control of their own learning.
Researchers also went further in saying that learning can be done at the
students own pace, time and location (see pedagogical layer in chapter
6). In VDS 3 the active learning was used with its basic function to give
the students a chance to work independently and introduce them to a
new way of leaning. The workbook was written based on the standard
of open-learning material that supports active learning (see chapter 3).
The activities in the workbook were designed to keep the students
engaged in their learning, motivated, and give them the chance to take
control of their own learning.
The whole environment of VDS 3 was circulated around the concept of
problem-based learning, where the problem was presented to the
student and they had to work in collaboration to solve it. The problem to
tackle was the redesigning of Sharjah, taking into consideration the
issues surrounding this city and its challenges as a modern city. The
lecturers worked with this idea, prompting the students in this sense,
when the issues of Sharjah were raised and the student had to think
creatively and metaphorically to pinpoint and resolve these issues. The
breakdown of the VDS also contained the idea of problem-based
learning with which large scale problems were narrowed down to
smaller cases and tackled accordingly. The workbook contained some
activities that helped the students to see the problems and to help in
tackling them in the right way. The workbook also contained activities
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