With the novel coronavirus epidemic spreading worldwide, online teaching has become a special anti-epidemic measure. How should information technology be used to transform design education to meet the challenges under the epidemic situation while pioneering the new trend of online design teaching in the future? The Department of Visual Communication of Tsinghua Academy of Arts & Design has made proactive attempts.

Layout Design

Instructor: Wang Hongwei

Target students: optional for undergraduates in the whole academy

Time: 13:30-16:55, Tuesday

Book Design

Instructor: Wang Hongwei

Target students: optional for graduate students in the whole academy

Time: 13:30-16:55, Wednesday and Friday

"Online teaching, very different from traditional teaching, requires teachers and students to adapt gradually," observed Associated Professor Wang Hongwei. This was his first attempt at online teaching. After several simulated online classroom experiments, Wang successfully entered the "cloud classroom". During the class, he asked all the students to turn on the cameras so that he could observe their class performance and get timely feedback. Wang Hongwei also adjusted the teaching time and took a break every 25 minutes to maintain the students' concentration.

Wang Hongwei in class

Online teaching can inspire students’ thinking and participation by having more interaction in the classroom. Wang Hongwei believes that the increase in interaction can stimulate students’ interest in the course, and this practice has yielded initial results in online teaching. Wang has sent the entire curriculum plans for this semester to students in advance, and released the discussion topics of each course before class, so that students can prepare in advance, and express their opinions independently, thus improving the efficiency of online teaching.

Online class

According to the characteristics of online teaching, Wang has also strengthened classroom guidance specifically. Each student can display his/her own project in the classroom by way of screen casting, put forward their own opinions, and obtain instant and efficient communication and guidance. It is also a key part of teaching to connect experts and scholars in the industry to discuss relevant topics in class. Wang hopes to expand students' knowledge and lay a solid foundation for their future social practice.

Students attending class

Advertising Design

Instructors: Ma Quan and Gu Xin

Target students: 2017 undergraduates of the Department of Visual Communication Design

Time: 8:00-12:00, Monday, Wednesday, Friday

This course enables students to experience the practical process of advertising design, thus mastering the basic methods of advertising design and understanding the relevant links and knowledge of advertising communication activities. In the teaching stage of professional theory and basic knowledge in the early stage of the course, the two classes have lessons together. After the assignment, Prof. Ma Quan and Asso. Prof. Gu Xin lead one class each to discuss the course and give advice on design projects. The final reports of the two classes are once again "combined into one", for the purpose of improving teaching efficiency and letting each student have personal practice and guidance.

Ma Quan in class

Prof. Ma Quan adopts a mixed teaching mode of "Lotus Pond Rain Classroom" check-in, "zoom" graphic teaching and WeChat question raising. The advantage of online teaching lies in that students are basically all online, and can share their different thoughts on propositions in real time, and then find unique perspectives and expressions. Additionally, due to the limited time online, everyone speaks as accurately as possible. Therefore, each sharing and telling exercise students' problem consciousness and expressive skills.

Students attending class

Professor Ma Quan concludes that one knowledge point is taught about every 20 minutes on average, so that it is easy to remember and review, and to prevent students from becoming fatigued. An important part of practical courses is the process of design tutoring, which is relatively easy to operate offline but becomes difficult online. Professor Ma Quan assigns specific topics for students’ creative work to ensure the relative concentration of discussion.

Students' homework commenting and sharing

The two instructors, Ma Quan and Gu Xin, set up a graphic advertisement design for public service with design experience as the topic, and ask the students to create on the theme of fighting the epidemic. According to Prof. Ma Quan, this topic combines one's own experience and thinking, and encourages students to participate in public activities to combat the epidemic by means of public advertisements, so as to achieve the linkage effect of academic courses, events, personal experience, public service intervention and social participation.

Asso. Prof. Gu Xin uses "Rain Classroom" to publish curriculum materials and record attendance. He also combines "Tencent Conference", "zoom" and WeChat group to give lectures and tutorials. While making it convenient for students to preview and review, he holds one-to-one close discussions with students according to their needs and the requirements of a large amount of communication and discussion in teaching design.

Gu Xin in class

On the basis of traditional teaching methods, Gu Xin has made some minor adjustments, such as adding pauses and repetitions in key places. The comparison and analysis of cases are interspersed during the tutoring discussion. During the break, a relaxed atmosphere is also created in the class by showing works and cases.

Students attending class

Students' homework commenting and sharing

In the practice of online teaching, Gu Xin has also gradually explored and accumulated some experience in online classes. When speaking, as the teacher faces the screen alone, unable to see the image of the students, the speed of his/her speech tends to become faster. Attention should be paid to appropriately slow down the speed of speech and adjust the classroom rhythm in real time.

3-D Modeling Basics -2

Instructor: Zhou Yue

Target students: 2019 undergraduates of the Department of Visual Communication

Time: 8:00-11:30, Monday, Wednesday and Friday

This course mainly trains students' ability to combine 3-D space design with graphic language expression. Because it is designed as a freshmen' practical operation course, instant communication is very important. Associated Professor Zhou Yue concludes that at present, there is little difference between online class and traditional teaching in explaining basic knowledge. Students can also ask questions and communicate online anytime. The teaching is proceeding smoothly.

Zhou Yue in class

However, this course pays special attention to hands-on practice. According to the characteristics of online teaching, Zhou Yue leads students to flexibly deal with the problem of drawing materials for design practice. He uses paper and other easily available materials in his homework assignment. Students can also transform and redesign some household articles and wastes available at home and solve the problem of insufficient materials.

Students attending class and homework sharing

In the absence of a visual and timely understanding of students' design practice through video, Zhou Yue communicates with each student continuously and individually. "The purpose of art and design is to seek a better life. Even with the challenges posed by the epidemic, we will not give up our perception and creation of beauty every day." Zhou said.

Comprehensive Design Basics

Instructor: Chen Nan

Target students: 2018 undergraduates of the Department of Visual Communication

Time: 8:00-11:40, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

"Comprehensive Design Foundation" is a comprehensive professional foundation course for students majoring in visual communication design. It aims to teach students the relevant thoughts and methods on design, professional concepts, definitions, relevant historical heritages, knowledge points of professional terminology, evaluation systems and standards, and development trends, among others, and to train students’ creative ability, sketch ability and other visual communication language skills.

Chen Nan in class

Prof. Chen Nan has adjusted the traditional teaching methods. First of all, teaching courseware such as pictures, videos and blackboard writing has been adjusted; second, the teaching rhythm has been adjusted. Teachers in the Academy of Arts & Design usually have only one break in order to teach coherently, Prof. Chen has increased the break frequency and shortened the course unit time for online lessons. Third, Prof. Chen has increased the design training to one assignment per week, as well as sharing comments online and summarizing and answering professional questions each week, so as to ensure that every student whom he cannot can meet face to face concentrate on the lecture.

Student project sharing and classroom feedback

To enable students to concentrate and keep up with the teaching progress, he never opens a barrage during the teaching. Instead, he interacts with the students through video dialogues, personal assignment sharing and speech, teacher's comment, and classmates' mutual evaluation. The classroom atmosphere is lively. Over the two weeks since the start of the semester, the students have achieved good results in the group survey and analysis of the history and development trend of category logo design and the training of 50 sketch design schemes assigned by Prof. Chen Nan.

Students attending class