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

Abstract
Being a rapidly developing country the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has
realised the need for highly qualified and properly skilled manpower to cope
with the country‟s ambitious development plans. This has resulted in high
investments in education and training in the UAE. The government facilitated
high technological tools for education. These tools suffered from
underutilisation and a failure to be properly integrated in the curricula. The
literature review indicates that today‟s knowledge-driven economy demands a
workforce equipped with complex skills such as creativity and collaboration.
Universities must not only teach the necessary technical skills and knowledge,
but also the culture of creativity and teamwork. The learning theories
emphasise the importance of learning by doing and collaboration processes to
achieve effective learning. Learning theories also emphasise the importance
of teaching creative skills to the students. These approaches are congruent
with use of technologies, such as visual design studio (VDS), for the purpose
of architecture education in design courses, but such use is lacking in the UAE.
The present research focuses on implementing and evaluating technologies
such as the VDS in architecture education in an attempt to formulate a
framework for implementing technologies combined by creative and
collaborative skills in the UAE.
Since implementing a new technology into education practice is complex task,
this work will formulate a framework that will help in shifting from the traditional
learning to learning with technology. This work will take into consideration
factors such as pedagogical issues, collaboration creative work and
architecture practice and industrial needs in the UAE.
The aim of the current research is to formulate a framework for implementing
VDS at the conceptual end of the architecture design education in the UAE.
This research will apply an action research method framework. The action
research will be generated into three phases. Each phase will consist of three
stages, the descriptive stage which will analyse the need and criteria of the
method, the constructive stage which will include the process involved in
constructing the framework and the evaluative stage which will include the
testing and evaluation. The resulting framework should satisfy the UAE‟s need
of advanced technological tools for enhancing design education taking in
consideration the socio-cultural dimension of the UAE.
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