The Digital Desk Crit

I have been experimenting with different ways to give my design studio feedback.  Here is what today's effort looked like.



And here is the process I used.



The next step is to figure out a way to do all of this live, with the students virtually present. Because the down side to this process is the delay.  The students send me their work.  I mark it up, save it, and send it back.  And then we need to meet to discuss it.

Pre Covid-19 I just used trace paper in real time.  Where a 10 minute desk crit would take 10 minutes - this process is taking multiple days.

April 13th Update:

Over the past few classes I have tried several different techniques.

First, as described in the video above, I have been using adobe acrobat on the ipad, using the markup tools to give drawing feedback to my students.  This process has been fairly effective, although there are drawbacks mostly related to the time delay, as discussed above.  It has held the students accountable for getting work to me in a timely manner, and then forces them to meet with me to discuss the markup drawings, which has been an interesting positive outcome of this experiment.

Today I began playing with the ipad and MAC app "notability".  I have found the drawing controls to be more responsive in "notability" than with the basic ipad pdf editing tools.  Notability is not a free app, but it has been worth the cost so far.

I also successfully experimented with using notability on my MacBook, and sharing (screen mirroring) the app screen in BlackBoard Collaborate.  This allowed me to draw and critique in real time with the student's work. I could also save a record of the conversation and send it to the students after the "live" critique.  This was quite effective, and has real promise for a more seamless studio critique.  It is still, however, a one way conversation.  I can draw on my students work in real time, but they cannot draw back and have a two way conversation through drawings. (Yet)

Here are a few "live" critique images using Notability from today's studio class.

Model Markup Using "Notability" App

Digital Desk Crits Using "Notability" App

Rendering Markup Using "Notability" App

I have also been exploring screen mirroring.  The hope use this to link my ipad screen to the learning management system and draw in real time.  Tonight I got it to work!

Using this method I can share my ipad screen directly into a BlackBoard collaborate session and draw (using the ipad and pencil) in real time for students in a collaborate session.  The connection "hack" is to mirror the ipad through quicktime (google it).  It's kind of clunky, but it works.  If I had a newer MacBook there might be more efficient ways to bridge these two devices.   

Screen Mirroring Ipad into the Learning Management System

This gives me some fun "live critique" tools to experiment with now. 

A warning though.  As effective as this has been in the short term to triage my studio classes, it does not replace the effectiveness of the face to face studio desk crit.  I am NOT advocating for this as a replacement for FTF studios in the future.  But as a tool, to supplement communication within a traditional face to face environment, these tools offer some real potential.  I am glad to have been forced to learn these techniques.

I do believe that I will be a better teacher in the future because of this experience, and I will have a few new tools and techniques to lean on now.