Abstract
Having taught graphic design for 15 years (in private and public higher education) and being actively involved in curriculum development while keeping up with trends in the field, it has always fascinated me that, in general, little has been done to keep up with the changing world and what is currently on offer to develop courses online within the Graphic Design education space – especially when aspects such as collaboration, participation and feedback are perfect opportunities to explore considering the affordances of technology at our disposal.
In order to fully tackle this head-on it became imperative to understand the students’ perceptions of what it is like to find themselves in these spaces, especially over the past two years where they were forced online due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
In order to establish a foundation from which to work the following question was used to establish a basis of information through acquiring and analysing qualitative data:
How do students in a higher education graphic design course perceive the use of online tools for feedback, collaboration, and participation?
Through the qualitative research, data was gathered through semi-structured interviews within a narrative inquiry lens so as to capture the stories and emotions of the students and their experiences. The data gathered was then coded and analysed which led to six important categories of information – information that can help Design Educators improve the online education learning spaces for students in future:
• Graphic Design Pedagogy and how the following aspects are experienced in both an online and f2f environment:
o Collaboration
o Participation
o Feedback
o Engagement
• Affordances of Technology and how design students benefit or are hindered by career-based and common educational tools based on context.
• Psychosocial Issues faced when purely in an online environment, specifically within the following areas:
o Energy
o Trust
o Empathy
o Confidence
• Communication blocks and the importance of communication within the field of Graphic Design
• Support - physical, emotional, and mental.
• Equality in Educational Opportunities especially within a South African context.
Key words: collaboration, participation, feedback, remote online learning, graphic design, graphic design education, online tools, narrative research.