Aspects and Technologies of E-learning in an Architectural Context

The Web is assigned an increasingly important role as a medium for information and presentation, also in architectural education. Course websites may present course materials, handouts, and manuals online. Students create their own website as a showcase of their work, complementing their portfolio. With support from a database, course websites are commonly extended to allow for electronic submission and immediate presentation of the students’ work. Such websites may be further developed to support student collaboration and communication within the context of the course. The same tools can be provided to students in order to set up their own information environments to support groupwork. We envision this technology to become commonplace in educational environments, extending the current set of electronic information and communication tools available to students. Technological advances enable practitioners and students to make the design process more information-intensive, both in their own activities and in collaboration with others. For this purpose, it is important that students familiarize themselves with such technology and adopt it in ways that meet their needs and requirements. A flexible environment that provides them with the tools and means to adapt and apply this technology throughout the curriculum, supported by course specific e-learning offerings, is our ultimate goal. In this paper, we elaborate on the efforts at the faculty of architecture in integrating current digital initiatives into an e-learning environment and on extending this environment to support the entire architecture curriculum.