A Distributed Virtual Learning Environment (DVLE) for a Constructively Aligned Architectural Design Studio

In the last 30 years there has been extensive research about online teaching, outlining the importance of the interaction modes and the constructive alignment of the intended learning outcomes (ILO) and the teaching and learning activities (TLA) (Shuell, 1986), (Houghton, 2004), (Laurillard, 2012), (Biggs and Tang, 2011). Nevertheless, the literature about online teaching for architectural design is quite scarce and seems to ignore the recent findings of pedagogy (Rongrong, Gu, Skates and Feast, 2021), (Quintelli. Maretto, Prandi and Gandolfi, 2020), (Bologna and Trisciuoglio 2020). In order to update our syllabi for online teaching during the pandemics we established a dedicated research unit, named “Online Architecture”, at Özyeğin University, (Camiz, Verdiani, Özkuvancı and Alak, 2020). Therein we tested several online tools that could be used to constructively align the teaching and learning activities (TLA) and the intended learning outcomes (ILO) of our online architectural studios. After selecting the proper tools, we aligned them with the ILO and deployed them within a Distributed Virtual Learning Environment (DVLE). This paper illustrates the finding of such a research unit and describes the applications of the DVLE in the architectural design studios for the years 2020-2021.