Collaborative Design Across The United States

Abstract

How Community College design programs have linked up in developing curriculum and student projects in using collaborative design methods in the classroom. Project / presentation overview www.designcollaborative.org The design of manufactured parts at times requires a team effort. This team effort may also require having to work with other design teams that are separated by a great distance. Getting design and drafting programs to simulate this type of commercial interaction has been traditionally difficult. Our Design program at Sinclair Community College and the Design programs at Ventura College, and College of the Redwoods have teamed up to develop modular curriculum in collaborative design and created a design “out of the box” style project that can be used by any design or drafting course /program to get started in using collaborative design and working with other design programs. The presentation will focus on the development of the original collaborative design curriculum integration concept, how the concept has been implemented into our curriculum, the tools that are involved and how it can easily be placed into any curriculum of a drawing or design class. This presentation will also provide information on our National Science Foundation funded grant for faculty development on collaborative design and rapid prototyping /tooling. Community college and undergraduate faculty will have the opportunity to receive an immersive “hands on” look at applying this “out of the box” collaborative design or rapid prototyping curriculum beginning August 2005 at the campuses of Sinclair community College and Ventura College. This weeklong training program will provide an in depth look at how to integrate collaborative design into a curriculum, provide training in parametric design software and collaborative tools, and participate in a collaborative design process during the weeklong event. There is also a stipend available to help offset travel expenses. Beginning in the summer of 2005 a network of community college design programs will start a design resource bartering network focused on sharing resources that are used in design curriculum. As educational budgets get slashed across the United States every program cannot have the absolute latest tools used in design and rapid prototyping. Team up with other colleges from around the nation to participate in a barter of tools and resources with other design programs.