Abstract:

E-project is an online platform tailored for teaching design methodologies for architecture, business, social policies, etc. The peculiarity of e-project approach are twofold: the great relevance given to cooperation in the problem analysis and in the solution design and the focus on a document-centered communication. The main components of the platform are a set of tools built in order to allow users to visually discuss on documents.
The core of the e-project methodology is the online discussion phase based on a rich set of tool that allow users to add comments on documents and to enrich them with suggestions, handmade image modifications, etc. Our technique allow one to maintain both the original materials and the modifications in a very simple manner. The result is very similar to a distributed design laboratory for creative materials.
Shoutbox, Forum, Private messages and Post-it complete the framework.
This approach is successfully used in the online laboratory of the course “IAOL: Interior Architecture OnLine” and of “Executive MBA”. In both of them the methodology demonstrates to be very effective and contributes to create a design environment that allow students to produce high quality projects.

Keywords:

elearning, distance learning, virtual projects.