Virtual World Classroom (2)

Computer Instruction and the Virtual World Classroom

With the arrival of advanced technologies, such as high-speed networks and real-time animation software, there will be a corresponding evolution in the teaching and the learning of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and in its relationship to architectural design studio.

A new generation of powerful 3D modeling, rendering and animation software, with intuitive graphical-user-interfaces (GUIs), is making it possible for architects to master complex procedures which, previously, only the mathematician or computer scientist could grasp. Furthermore, the processing speed of an advanced 3D-visualization system is such that design feedback is improved; mistakes are visible in "real-time." A faster feedback loop means a faster learning cycle. It is not surprising, then, that students are learning sophisticated animation software faster, on powerful 3D workstations, than they did relatively simple CAD programs on slow PCs.

Just as important as fast feedback is the quality of the teaching materials. We are finally seeing professionally polished manuals, self-teaching tutorials and explanatory videos for much of the advanced software. For those students who operate well on their own, learning CAD has become a more private, personal experience, conducted at whatever pace is comfortable. This trend will inevitably bring up a startling question for architecture schools: Does one needs to teach computers at all?

Despite the polished tutorial guides and the well-designed GUIs, the depth and complexity of the new digital tools are daunting, and most architects need to be carefully introduced to them. Each high-end 3D modeling, rendering, animation and video editing package represents millions of man-hours of computer code-writing, and for most people, learning these tools in depth will be a long and tedious affair. There is no way to fully absorb such a vast body of technical material in the context of a single semester 3-credit CAD class. Weekly lecture and tutorial formats can just scratch the surface; real mastery of these tools requires an investment of many hundreds of hours of intense mental and physical concentration. As in language learning, where one also has to put in the time, the advantages of "total immersion"are readily apparent.

The Paperless Design Studio (PDS) concept was based on the conviction that to integrate digital technologies into design in an academic setting, total immersion was the best solution. For the PDS student, the design environment is no longer a drafting table in a 5-ft cubicle, but rather a web of electronic facilities delivering digital services that range from special-effects animation software to video editing equipment and high-resolution projection at "paperless" reviews. The network also makes possible access to library and other on-line university resources, video conferencing to remote labs, and multiple simultaneous connections to the Internet and the World Wide Web. Macintosh Power PCs are linked with Silicon Graphics workstations providing "industrial-strength" software such as Softimage and Alias. With the "magic" computer-to-person ratio of one-to-one, plus the additional incentive of 9 studio credits, the PDS is an unequaled opportunity to learn and experiment.

After 2 semesters of operation, design results from the PDS are still being debated, but there is no denying that with those hundreds of solitary hours spent in front of workstations over the course of the semester, some dramatic learning experiences occurred. Proof has been delivered this summer, as many recent graduates have beaten out the competition for jobs in demanding (and lucrative) 3D digital design fields.

The School's CAD curriculum is being readjusted so that advanced classes in architectural animation will be available to a larger number of students before and during their PDS semester. The role of the CAD course, is to consistently impart the basics to the entire group, recognizing that in an unlimited digital design environment, especially one where individuality and creativity are prized, individuals will quickly go off on their own tangents; within weeks some will be doing character animation, procedural texture design or lighting studies, other will focus on inverse kinematics, modeling by Booleans, splines and deformation, or video editing and compositing, while others will gravitate toward Virtual Reality, Web experiments with HTML and VRML, or interactive multimedia documents with Director or QuickTimeVR.

However, in the process of mastering the tools and culture of digital design there is something more important than any particular skill. That is the ability and "attitude" for learning new computer interfaces quickly. As 3D products leapfrog each other to the forefront, the challenge is to quickly learn the GUI well enough to become productive. In an era of advanced visual computing, that is the key to being prepared to hit that difficult moving target, the state of the art of digital technology.

Furthermore, students must know enough products well enough to recognize which is the appropriate tool; when, for example to use a spline-based modeler instead of a solid modeler, when, and when not, to use motion blurr, raytracing, or rotoscoping. To develop and boost this level of expertise, and to encourage the kind of digital facility and attitude that makes a new interface a challenge instead of a nightmare, within the hothouse culture of the academic semester, we need to dramatically increase the flow of information and exchange of ideas. Students should be constantly able to see how they are doing in relation to others, and to see who has specialized knowledge that they lack. They need instantaneous mutual feedback and easy access to relevant online information from outside sources. The Virtual World Classroom at (http://www.arch.columbia.edu) is being designed to address this need.

The Virtual World Classroom is an experiment to accelerate the rate of learning, communication and interaction in CAD classes, by means of instantaneous technologies such as email, high-speed file transfer, video-conferencing and the World Wide Web. In particular, the graphical capabilities of the Web, and the non-linear linkages inherent in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), make it possible to create a structure for efficiently sorting and viewing thousands of images. These electronic "galleries" provides an ever-changing feedback loop, and act as a supplement to the traditional lectures and tutorials of the CAD class. The Virtual World Classroom provides instant links to course material and allows everyone in the class to see how the individual's and the group's skill level is improving. The Virtual World Classroom also raises the issue of the the emerging field of "virtual world" design and connects the class to outside sources and other groups and institutions that are addressing similar issues.

by Eden Muir, 1995