What, who, and when? How social networking achieves online digital engagement in an architectural design studio

Abstract

Engagement is integral to design education; thus, the purpose of this work is to examine how engagement can be maintained digitally, using prevalent social networking tools, to support architectural education in the post-pandemic narrative. This study utilizes a quantitative methodology using inferential statistics to analyze observable online digital engagement on a social networking platform, used as part of a hybrid architectural design studio. The platform’s purpose was to overcome time and distance limitations impinged onto traditional studio set-ups. This research aimed at deciphering the intricacies of “how” digital engagement manifested on the platform, by analyzing engagement from the “what,” “who,” and “when” dimensions, throughout a 16-week semester. Digital engagement manifested in two forms: pro-active and re-active. Pro-actively creating posts evoking emotions or soliciting responses was likely to garner re-active engagement. Attachment inclusion was likely to yield engagement in the form of likes, particularly when the attachment was an image. Increased instructor involvement was associated with greater digital engagement. Findings also illustrate how the platform extended the studio’s temporal boundaries, while aligning with its design activities. Results underline best practices to be adopted in design studio teaching as architecture school transition to online and/or hybrid design education, while acclimatizing to realities of the post-pandemic era. The proposition of a 12-point classification for analyses of interactions occurring on social networking platforms in architectural contexts also adds value, as it may be adopted in future research.