Beopen+ed

When people talk about education, they often stress the formal side of learning like delivering knowledge, getting high scores on exams, etc. But animation-based education is here to up the game, with animation you can get fun, practical, and informative learning all at the same time!

While it sounds like it, animation-based learning is not all about visual materials. Rather, resources such as videos, infographics, and GIFs are used in tandem with existing resources when employing this method. This can be applied to many different fields, from scientific visualizations to corporate training schemes; from motion-graphic narratives used in primary courses to university-level demonstrations.

The Advantages Of Animation-Based Learning:

• Making Abstract Concepts Palpable. It doesn’t matter what you study, there are always going to be some concepts in a subject that are topics of the mind and are not actually visible. If you think about it, even something as concrete as math is highly theoretical and intangible for someone who’s never done multiplication and division before. And when you can’t see what you’re dealing with, sometimes it’s difficult to understand and remember the knowledge. In this case animation can be used to visualize complex concepts, for example, the “invisible hands” of supply and demand in economics, or chemical reactions in the brain during everyday
• Alleviating Pressure on Learners’ Imaginations. Animation can also demonstrate visible phenomena too, especially those that are not available in the classroom at that moment. This applies particularly well to scenario-based teaching and training and usually focuses on practical and social skills. Think nurse training, for example. A major part of it is learning about the medicines and internal conditions, but they should also be aware of external symptoms and how to deal with them as well. To better prepare nurses for such situations, animated segments can be provided during their training so that they can see the procedures rather than imagine them in their heads. And when the time comes for them to apply their training, it’s much easier to carry things out.
• Engaging The Learners. When thinking of studying, many of us will probably think about long hours of staring at textbooks, wondering if there’s a faster, more entertaining way to learn. Well, there actually is, in most cases, a learning method that’s more fun, and that’s using visual aid tools like animation. Take TedEd videos—they’re designed to fit our attention spans and they provide useful information in colorful ways. These animations are optimal for learning since they draw the eyes and bring to life the issue at hand. They pique learners’ interests, and if they’re really successful, then the learner will go on to do some more research about the subject themselves!
• Is Affordable and Can Be Watched Anywhere. Contrary to popular belief, quality animation can be produced on a budget. Perhaps you opt for whiteboard or 2D animation rather than the 3D style, but that doesn’t have to mean that the quality will be bad. And what’s good is that once made, you can use that animation again and again, so the investment pays with time. It’s always available to you, and you can make it so even for your learners by putting it online. Learners can access the video through their phone or their computers—they can even download it!

How To Produce Animation-Based Learning. Of course, by no means are you expected to create animations by yourself, although you can if you’re particularly artistic and can maneuver editing software. Oftentimes, educators find animation studios to collaborate with in order to add life to their courses. Once you’ve found your preferred studio, the process goes as follows:

1. Briefing

This is going to be the basis of your partnership. You set out these terms from the very beginning: your objective and your target audience. These help both sides research the best way to present information as you go on.

If you’re working on your own, you’ll be researching your audience at this point and potentially picking out a suitable type of animation. If you’re working with a partner, they might have some industrial insight that can help you better decide, so maintain good and clear communication.

2. Writing A script

Once you’ve found a preferred style, it’s time to settle down and write your script. This depends a lot on the kind of video you’re producing. If, for instance, it’s a highly descriptive video (e.g. demonstrating Earth’s sediments’ formation), then the script will be quite short and straightforward. Consider adding some voice-over to provide extra information and a human touch.

For narrative videos, scripts may be more complex, with characters and dialogue. Always keep your audience in mind when you write the script so that you create the right content (not too easy, not too difficult) for them.

3. Storyboarding

This is where you hand the script over to the animator unless the animator is you. Animators will have specific insights about how the video should progress, how the background should be, and what visual effects can be used. Since this is the skeleton of your video, you should be able to check how well your final result will flow. Again, check also that whatever you have planned matches the abilities and expectations of your target audience.

4. Illustrating the Elements

Now we get into the fun bit of the process, where your imagination starts to come to life. From character design to the settings and background, the still models are first needed before vectors can be added and combined to make a video.

If you’re working with a studio, make sure that they run the designs through you so that their products match the images you have in mind. Be open and constructive when communicating and you should be fine!

If you’re working alone and are wary of this, don’t worry, there are plenty of stock vectors and designs available online for you. Take a look at Vecteezy, for instance.

5. Animating

This final step is when the stars align and things come together. From ideation to storylining to design, it’s finally time to harvest the fruits of your labor! To bring the elements together, remember to stick closely to your approved storyboard and use a good tool to make your video if you’re doing it on your own. If you’re not so invested in mastering Adobe After Effects, programs like PowToon, Vyond, and Moovly can make your life as an animator a little easier!

The beginning of the fall semester is quickly approaching, and prospective architecture students are gearing up for the beginning of their future careers. While the next step may seem daunting, the first year of your architecture education helps set the pace for the remaining four to five years. So it’s important to get started on the right foot.

Architecture studios are notorious for long nights, intensive model-making and desks overflowing with trace paper and parti diagrams. But there is one important aspect of studio life that is too often neglected: the student-professor relationship.

Read on for the four steps to start investing in this unique relationship to set yourself up for success.

1. Be Present and On Time

As a first-year architecture student, you are not only starting the arduous journey to become an architect, you are also making the transition to student life in general. First and foremost, it is important to understand the commitment associated with making that transition successfully. The freedom that comes with being in college is difficult for some to handle. The only thing standing between you and your attendance in class is you. It should go without saying, but studio professors notice the effort that comes with being in class (and being in class on time). It may seem simple, but punctuality is the first step in fostering a positive relationship with your instructors.

2. Take the Initiative

After you make sure you’ve fine-tuned your schedule and attendance, the next step is a conversation. For most, it can be intimidating as a young student to talk with teachers and professors. But if you take the initiative and step out of your comfort zone and do something as simple as introducing yourself, it will go a long way in earning the respect of your professors. In architecture studios, design crits happen nearly daily, so there are opportunities to talk with your studio instructor. But in order to take that relationship a step further, it will require you to take the initiative.

3. Get Involved

Once you’ve laid the proper foundation, this step is perhaps the most important. Many professors throughout their tenure at a university must complete one (or sometimes multiple) research project within their specialized field. Getting involved in their research projects affords you valuable experience, one-on-one mentorship and even the possibility for grant or university funding. Find a professor specializing in a design field you find interesting (computational design, housing, sustainability, acoustics, biomimicry, etc.) and offer your assistance. Completing research can result in awards, publication and other resume-boosting accolades. But most importantly, being involved in this process will undoubtedly improve your student-professor relationship.

4. Network

Lastly, this step proves the old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Yes, design software and construction knowledge are notable and important in the job search, but even more important is the network you develop within the building industry. Many students miss the fact that the closest connections they have in the professional world are their professors. There are a number of instructors that maintain a practice while teaching, and as part of their investment in your success, they are prepared to share their connections. Internships are a vital part of your education, and if you take the time to help out your professors, they will undoubtedly return the fav

Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally acclaimed expert on creativity and innovation, and the author of several bestsellers on creativity in education, passed away this August at the age of 70 after a battle with cancer. His TED Talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” is the most watched in history, with 66 million views by people in over 150 countries. We are sure that his influence on the thinking of educators around the world will have a lasting and profound impact for decades to come. We offer everyone in the field of education to honor Sir Ken by reflecting on his ideas of ‘learning revolution’.

According to Sir Ken Robinson, reforming education is rightly seen as one of the biggest challenges of our times. He argued that the challenge is to transform education from a 19th century industrial model into a 21st century process based on different principles.

“Universities have important roles in bringing about the changes that are now needed in education as a whole. Some universities have long been centers of innovation and radical thinking.  The cultural and economic circumstances we’re now living in require a radical rethink of how universities work as a sector and of what they’re really for.”

End of industrial system of education

Mass systems of education mainly came about in the 19th century in the context of the Industrial Revolution. Designed to meet the social and economic needs of industrialism, these systems are rooted in a relatively narrow conception of subjects, and consequently, narrow view of intelligence.

The industrial character of these educational systems is expressed through two main principles. First, they emphasize conformity and standardization, which s rooted in the need to inculcate certain skills in the people who were destined to take on certain roles in the industrial economies. At the same time, they are linear: they are designed around various ‘gateways’, which students need to get through to progress to the next stage. Within this approach, vocational programs are generally seen as a lesser species than academic degrees, which is why going to college to do an art course or a dance program is commonly seen as less demanding than studying for academic degrees in universities.

Despite the fact that such systems based on the manufacturing principles of linearity, conformity and standardization have long been out of date, they still exist, even in universities. However, human development is not linear and standardized, it is organic and diverse. “People, as opposed to products, have hopes and aspirations, feelings and purposes.” That is why the existing system often fails both students and teachers. “We have created artificial learning environments for the kids,” Robinson wrote. “We have them in classrooms, in desks, day after day and hour after hour, and then we wonder why they fidget and why they get bored. Because (school is) boring.” He believed education in the classroom should shift away from this kind of an environment to a more diverse one, which would accommodate all types of student learning.

Moving away from the standardized to the personalized

“Education is a personal process,” Sir Ken insisted. Addressing the 2010 TED Conference, he delivered a funny and refreshing look at education today, making a reference to fast food.

According to him, there are two main methods of quality assurance in the catering business.  The first is standardizing. If you have a favorite fast food brand, you can go to any outlet anywhere and know exactly what you will find: same burger, fries, cola, décor, and attitudes. Everything is standardized and guaranteed.

Another quality assurance method is the star ratings guides, like Michelin. They set out criteria of excellence and each restaurant is free to meet them in their own way. Institutions can be French, Mexican, Italian, Indian, American, they can open when they choose, and hire anyone they want. Customized to local markets and personalized to the people they serve, such restaurants appear to be much better than cheap impersonal fast food and they surely offer a higher standard of service.

Sir Ken offered educators to address the reform in education system in the following way. “We have built our education system on the model of fast food,” he said – that is, on standardization and conformity.  In his opinion, what needs to be done is not to take a single model to scale but to offer a much higher standard of provision based on the principle of personalized learning and to encourage schools and universities to develop their own approaches to the unique challenges they face in their own communities. Robinson said he believes every school should be different because the world is a community of learners, and diversity is an important base to facilitate learning.

“Standardization tends to emphasize the lowest common denominator. Human aspirations reach much higher and if the conditions are right, they succeed. Understanding those conditions is the real key to transforming education for all our children.”

Agile teacher

Robinson saw the main task in facilitating the learning process. Education should be ‘active, nimble and responsive’, while the teacher in it should be an example of vitality rather than passivity. Many forms of understanding that education has to cultivate include factual information, practical skills, and knowledge about the nature of human experience. These all require different strategies in teaching and learning. For example, to learn a foreign language, it would be better to practice with a native speaker rather than just doing grammar exercises. If you are learning to repair an engine, reading the manual is not enough; it needs to be supplemented with stripping an engine down and putting it back together again.

So, what does it mean to be an agile teacher? “People learn in different ways and at different rates… Good teachers are sensitive to those differences and tack and weave accordingly. They draw from a wide repertoire of activities, techniques, and strategies, and adapt them to the needs of the learners and the material.”

The challenge is in knowing how to use the tools

Robinson considered technology as ‘the design and use of tools’. “A pencil is technology. So is a piece of paper or a book or a laptop.” He believed, that good tools can do two things – just like they extend our physical abilities enabling us to do things that would be physically difficult or impossible, they aim to extend our mind: they enable us to think things that might otherwise be inconceivable. The bow and arrow enabled early hunters to capture prey which they couldn’t have done unassisted, while the telescope helped astronomers rethink our place in the cosmos.

“Technology has always gone hand in hand with human culture and innovation. The challenge is in knowing how to use the tools. Faced with the immense capacities of a desktop computer, some people just use it as a fancy typewriter. Others compose symphonies and elaborate works of visual art. The machine doesn’t have the ideas – at least not yet – the users do.” Notwithstanding the fact that digital tools today offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance education in ways that we could not before, they do not replace the need for teachers to understand how learning works and what their roles as teachers are.

Teaching is a conversation, not a monologue

When asked what one quick change that an instructor or professor could make to the way that they teach could be, Robinson opted for turning teaching and learning into “a dynamic process, rather than a one-way channel of transmission.”

Learning is a social and a cultural process, he believed: we learn with and from each other. It can be immensely valuable to stand in front of the class delivering the knowledge to students, but even more important is to engage their minds and hearts in the ideas and materials delivered.

Passion is essential in education. What and how young people are taught has to engage their energies, imaginations and their different ways of learning. “If you are doing something you love, an hour feels like five minutes. If you are doing something that doesn’t resonate with your spirit, five minutes feels like an hour,” Sir Ken said.

Creativity now is as important in education as literacy

This year, the top in-demand soft skill according to LinkedIn, is creativity. It has been at the top of the list for the last few years in terms of what employers are seeking most, and it is understandable. The world’s most pressing problems are not likely to be solved by applying a fixed set of rules to arrive at a single correct answer. They will rather be solved through creativity and divergent thinking with our imaginations running unfettered and any number of potential solutions generated.

The current system of education teaches us that there is always one correct answer, which instills in children the fear of taking risks. Robinson warned us against that. “We stigmatize mistakes. And we’re now running national educational systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make – and the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities.” However, “if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you are not prepared to think of something original.”

“Creativity is about new ideas. New ideas are challenging,” Sir Ken said. “They can disrupt the status quo; they can involve taking risks; they can make people nervous.’

“Creativity, and its good friend innovation, depend on collaboration,” he went on. Innovation usually results from people working across disciplines or connecting with people in different fields. “We live in highly complicated urban settings and our global systems are deeply intricate, and they all work through collaboration,” Robinson said. Collaboration is at the very heart of the sustainability and nature of human societies and we should have these practices being cultivated in our education systems.

The luminary passed away but his call for creativity caught on, as many educators around the globe start on their long and winding road to the personalized learning environment, with its diversity and collaboration, divergent thinking and agility in the classroom, teaching the people of tomorrow to shape the world they live in.

For those considering their study options, university rankings might seem to be the best way to find the course that gives them the highest chance at a bright professional and personal future. Whether it’s international university rankings like THE – World University Rankings by Times Higher Education, ARWU – Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai University, QS Rankings by TopUniversities, or local ones, these lists of the most prestigious institutions have their place in the education world, but they have their limitations as well.

If you take some top universities and see how they score on various rankings, you will be surprised. The difference can be huge, the rank given to the same university in different lists can vary between the 25^th place and a 100-something. Who are you supposed to trust?

The truth is that each university ranking uses its own criteria. If you know how to interpret them, you can really benefit from the significantly differing outcomes of these tops.

Among the aspects considered by the major rankings to come up with the final score of a university there are academic reputation, graduation rates, research citations and papers published, internationality of faculty and students, and employer reputation. Student to faculty ratio, industry income, award winners among academia and alumni and funding offered to students also count. However, no ranking includes all the markers mentioned above. This suggests some rankings may be more appropriate for certain types of students. Based on the categories each ranking prefers, you can find out if what you are interested in is better represented by a certain ranking.

ARWU, also known as the Shanghai ranking, originated in 2003 with Chinese government backing to provide a global benchmark against which Chinese universities could assess their progress. As the ranking relies on long-term factors such as the number of staff affiliated with an institution who have won Nobel Prizes, number of highly cited researchers, as well as number of articles published in influential Nature and Science journals, it is a rather stable list. High-achievers and Ph.D. students may find the ranking useful, given the emphasis it puts on institution reputation and “raw research power.”

Those interested in teaching quality, however, could benefit more from the THE and QS rankings that have their peculiarities too. Before THE broke away to form its own table, the two ranking were one and the same. The reason for the separation lies in the preferred methodology and the ways the two metrics collect their data. Although both target students interested in an international environment, QS ranking is largely based on a global survey of academics, who are asked to identify the leading institutions in their field, while THE ‘stand up to more academic scrutiny’.

“We produce high-end rankings which are used by governments around the world,” says THE rankings editor Phil Baty. “And we’re the only global rankings that take teaching seriously.” All in all, THE has five different measures of teaching quality – a reputation survey, staff-to-student ratio, doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio, doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio, and institutional income.

According to the Telegraph, both rankings use surveys to collect data, but while THE does some reputation surveying, sending invitation-only questionnaires to a limited number of institutions around the world, QS opts for quantity to achieve reliability, mass-mailing some 46,000 academics before weighting the results to preclude regional bias.

Reputation factors can be rather subjective, as academics participating in the surveys the rankings are derived from are asked to identify what university they consider being leading in their field. The answers they give may just reflect what institutions are already considered famous. Moreover, differences between ranked universities are not always obvious. In rankings, many universities have very similar scores, with only minor differences. That is why institutions that are ranked lower shouldn’t be immediately dismissed, for the difference is more likely just a perceived one.

However, higher education is not only about the best reputation, research, salaries, and internationality. Some important factors appear not to be taken into consideration by the major rankings, and some of them cannot even be measured. For rankings to be meaningful, it should incorporate factors like student experience, says the University of British Columbia’s professor Michelle Stack, who does not believe rankings to be the best barometer to use selecting a university. She points it out that many of the rankings are owned by businesses, thus their aim is on profits, not education. Stack finds methodology behind such rankings as THE, QS and ARWU problematic as well – in her opinion, the way they collect data changes too frequently.

Stack explains that most university leaders agree that the rankings are flawed, however, they know they need to be visible in order to attract international students, which the institutions need to make up for the state funds that have been on the decline for years. They cannot afford to lose international students.

Still, more and more international students set aside rankings to look and rely on more representative indicators instead. A survey by student recruitment company Hobsons shows they are now placing top priority on teaching quality, staff qualification and student satisfaction instead of rankings.

The experiences you gather during your study years, finding and connecting with people you share passions with, peers and academics who inspire you to continue on the path you have chosen, emotional support and campus diversity – all this results in a mix that is very personal, and often unique for each prospective student. An all these subtle elements are impossible for any ranking to capture.

“It really depends on what the student wants, and what kind of experience they want. That’s more important than a ranking,” Stack adds.

This is echoed by educators Richard Ashford, Shampa Biswas and Mohan J. Dutta. They point out that the popularity of alternative rankings such as Forbes’s America’s Best Value Colleges or the existence of metrics such as Princeton Review’s “Happiest College Students List” suggest that such tables operate like market signals. In a context of rising tuition fees, they communicate to potential customers – parents and prospective students – within an increasingly corporatized academy a very different vision of a higher education.

The authors are concerned that none of the major university lists includes academic freedom considerations in calculations of rankings, while free inquiry, creative practice and innovative thinking that are implied by this important educational aspect are “the hallmarks of sound education on any campus.”

A truly rewarding study experience is difficult to rank. Some lesser-known universities that do not have a budget to promote themselves or do not meet all the criteria set by the major rankings can be equally satisfying as far as the study experience is concerned. Educators warn students not to be misguided by the global rankings, for they are certainly not the only way to choose a university. Comparing study options, checking subject-specific rankings targeting a discipline you are interested in, and asking questions on forums and other platforms can also help.

“Rankings are a useful source of information that wouldn’t otherwise be available – but they don’t make your decision for you,” says Danny Byrne of QS. “It’s about knowing what they do, and applying them intelligently. More is more.

Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the education sector by providing a secure, transparent, and tamperproof platform for storing and sharing academic records. As blockchain adoption continues to grow, we will see new and innovative use cases emerging in the education sector.

How Blockchain Is Poised to Disrupt the Education Sector

Education has undergone tremendous changes, from traditional classroom settings to eLearning, and now we have progressed to blended learning. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital learning, and schools worldwide began using online platforms and Learning Management Systems (LMSs) to teach students. Blockchain technology is also poised to revolutionize the education industry. Blockchain has the potential to transform how academic data is managed, and how teachers and students interact. Let’s look into how blockchain technology might affect education in the future.

6 Ways Blockchain May Affect Education

1. Smart Contracts for Courses and Assignments

Smart contracts on blockchains could also make educators’ jobs easier. A smart contract comprises lines of code that are programmed into a blockchain and executed automatically when certain conditions are met. Smart contracts can also be used to manage course content and distribution. They can automate the delivery of course materials, such as readings, videos, and quizzes, and track student progress and completion of assignments. This can help to reduce administrative workload and improve the overall organization of courses.

2. Student Record Keeping

The market for fake degrees (certificates) is increasing along with online learning. This is becoming a major concern for many businesses and educational institutions worldwide. So, a blockchain can easily solve this problem with certification management, where the universities can store the certificates on the blocks as immutable entries. Students may readily share these credentials using exact URLs in their email signatures, social media profiles, and resumes. Many blockchain development companies provide such certificate and identity management services. Since blockchain is decentralized, all the documents are stored in the blockchain and are immutable and verifiable since it is transparent.

3. Cryptocurrency for Rewards

Transferring documents and having them verified when a student changes schools is a laborious procedure that takes a lot of time for the student, the teacher, and the administration. Blockchain technology can be used to streamline the verification process in schools and universities. We are awarded scholarships, trophies, and rewards for our outstanding performance in extracurricular and academic activities, but blockchain technology also enables us to provide kids with tangible prizes in the form of cryptocurrencies like bitcoins. Teachers can use gamification to reward their students in online learning environments for finishing modules or other assignments. Learning Management Systems’ gamification features aid in tokenizing all rewards as a digital currency.

4. Digital Badges and Credentials

One of the most important applications of blockchain in eLearning is the creation of secure digital badges and certificates that can be easily verified and displayed on one’s digital portfolios. Smart contracts can be used to incentivize and facilitate peer-to-peer learning and collaboration. They can be programmed to reward students for contributing to online discussions, or for providing feedback on their peers’ work. This can help create a more engaged and interactive learning environment, and help students develop their critical thinking and communication skills.

5. Ease of Certification Authenticity

Blockchain’s distributed ledger technology can enhance transparency and accountability in the educational field. It can create an immutable record of educational data, including transcripts, degrees, and certifications, that is verifiable and tamperproof. This means that academic achievements can be validated with complete accuracy, and employers can be confident in the skills and knowledge of job applicants.

When a student transfers from one school to another, the transfer of documents and their verification is a time-consuming process. The verification process can be streamlined by introducing blockchain technology into schools and colleges. When a student transfers from one institute to another, the student records can be easily transferred to the new institute by granting access to the blockchain. Some blockchain development companies develop and issue certificates that are immutable and non-forgeable, but easily verifiable for authenticity.

6. Reduced Cost

This can also be extended to situations in which the grades of students, who travel to other institutes as part of exchange programs, can be easily shared across institutes by providing necessary access, which reduces the administrative costs.

Conclusion

The convergence of the physical world with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality has accelerated, causing disruptions in various economic sectors worldwide. Blockchains, a newer technology when compared to traditional centralized databases, provide increased efficiency and storage capacity. Cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and metaverse initiatives are already changing the financial industry. Thus, incorporating these into an academic curriculum will not only provide more opportunities to the youth, but will also establish a framework that is effective, economical, and easily serves all strata and provides more outreach for all students. while making learning a pleasant journey. Overall, a blockchain development company can help education institutions streamline their processes, reduce costs, and enhance the quality of education through blockchain technology.

This spring universities all over the world were forced to close their campus doors because of coronavirus outbreak.  Life has changed considerably since, and the coming academic year brings with it a new set of obstacles for educators to surmount. The universities and colleges are working hard mapping out their plans of actions that would ensure that students stay safe in the coming academic year, but also gain the maximum experience from their time at university.

The pandemic has changed the way that universities function, replacing on-campus lectures with online ones, introducing social distancing measures in classroom-based seminars and going virtual with students social activities. Although the measures will vary across universities and countries, notable changes expect students when classes start again in September.

Some students acknowledge they find it hard to figure out what classes will be like in the coming academic year. According to a recent survey, more than one in five students applying for undergraduate places are even considering deferring for a year if their university will not be operating as it usually would.

New realities of campus life

As universities work to adapt to the ‘new normality’, the changes will touch all aspects of life on college campuses. With slight variations, default measures will include enhanced hygiene and cleaning protocols, reduced density of classrooms, consistent signage across campus, and various “physical aids”, like perspex screens, to ensure distancing. Students will need to wear face masks when on campus, and those of them who travel outside the local area will be asked to self-isolate upon their return.

Notwithstanding the fact that teaching will be mostly carried out remotely, many campuses are still planning to offer housing to students. In California, according to the guidance released by the state, housing should be limited to one student per room whenever possible. University of California, Berkeley, plans to house about 3,200 students, especially those who have disabilities or are low-income, although the university is planning to start the year with no in-person classes. Accommodation in Loughborough University, UK will be open and if for any reason lockdown measures are reintroduced, students will not be charged for any weeks that they have to return home while the lockdown is in place.

Limitations on gatherings would change the approach to students social activities, as social interaction will be mostly carried out through a wide range of virtual events.

All university are working hard to support their students both financially and psychologically. For example, Simon Fraser University in Canada are planning to have an additional mental health care manager to support students who are struggling during this time. They have also created a website aiming to help students find work and learn about financial aid available to them.

Blended learning in the new norm

According to Times Higher Education, who has prepared a breakdown of how some universities will be implementing social distancing this year, blended learning will be the norm in most of them, which means some content will be delivered online, while other lessons will be taught in person.

University of Surrey, UK, will use a hybrid teaching model, which involves face-to-face teaching with reduced venue capacities to ensure the maintenance of social distancing protocols for most seminars, workshops and practical sessions, supported by online lectures and assessments. Aiming to maximize learning from all available learning modes, teaching in Loughborough University, UK, will be delivered in person where it can be done safely, while additional learning will be provided online through a combination of real-time interactive sessions and materials for students to study in their own time. University of Toronto, Canada, is also planning to prioritise in-person classes where possible, mixing smaller, on-campus seminars, labs and experiential learning with larger online and remote lectures.

Though most of the undergraduate teaching in Stanford University, USA, will be carried out online, the university is looking at ways to better replicate features of in-person teaching, such as small group interactions, academic support and peer-to-peer learning. It is expected that all classes larger than 50 students will be taught online (the limits could be even smaller depending on local health conditions), and, since some classes can only be held in person, they may need to be offered multiple times as different populations return to campus throughout the year.

UC Berkley will offer classes virtually except for limited hands-on courses that will require physical distancing and other protocols to limit contact between students. Some institutions, however, will transition to a virtual campus completely cancelling all their on-campus classes – for at least the first term of the academic year. University of Melbourne is one such example. Any physical attendance requirements for seminars will be waived, and classes will be delivered remotely. There will be specific arrangements for specialist and practical classes, performances and design studios.

The Royal College of Art, UK, ranked as the best art and design school in the world, will forgo all classroom-based teaching either. According to Ashley Hall, professor of design innovation at the RCA, one of the reasons for this is the institution’s distinctly international cohort, which means some students may have to go into quarantine if they come back to the UK. “Students in these circumstances would lose quite a significant block of time out of the academic year,” he explains.

Recreating studio model online

However, as far as art and design education is concerned, the challenges of blended learning go beyond providing rigorous hygiene measures and learning new technologies. One of the issues is reduced access to institutional resources, as not every design student has access to the latest programmes, 3D printers and tools at home.

“As a creative institution, having access to our facilities and workshops, as well as the expertise of academic and technical staff, is very important,” assistant vice-chancellor of University for the Creative Arts, UK, Terry Perk tells Design Week. UCA are attempting to address the problem by providing students with free licenses to software like the Adobe Creative Suite. Additionally, improvements are being made to the university’s online infrastructure.

What is even of more importance is ensuring ‘studio culture’ and environment of ‘practical collaborative work among students and staff’ remain intact. “I think now the project has really become more of a social and cultural mission – how can we maintain the ethos and feel of belonging to a group, especially when that group are dispersed globally?” says Ashley Hall.

Aiming to “reproduce the kind of physical interactions, as simple as knocking on a professor’s door, that we all miss”, the Royal College of Art has introduced an ‘open office’ approach that creates a kind of virtual studio space, beyond just online teaching. The approach involves teachers leaving open their Zoom channels for a specific time period, so that students are able to “drop in” to ask questions, or simply talk to their peers.

Although 2020/21 university experience won’t be what you normally expect it to be, Graham Baldwin, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, stresses that “a degree that has been achieved through online or blended learning will have the same value in the job market as one that has been achieved through face-to-face learning alone.”

As we move into the 21st century, we see a growing interest in the role of eLearning and online education in the world of education. This is not a new phenomenon, as we have seen this idea come and go several times throughout history.

However, it is not just an idea that is gaining traction, but one that is gaining strength in popularity. For this reason, many institutions are finding ways to embrace the idea of eLearning and online education to their benefit.

However, while there are many institutions that are using this approach to their advantage, there might be others that still believe that this concept should be left in the past where it belongs. With all of these different opinions on eLearning and online education, it is important to take a closer look at the issue at hand so that we can better understand what makes eLearning so appealing to students today.

It is also important for us to take a closer look at how online education truly helps individuals by exploring its benefits and drawbacks.

What Makes Online Education So Popular? Online education has become very popular due to several reasons, including:

1. An increased level of accessibility
2. Better learning environments
3. Greater convenience
4. More efficient processes
5. Less expensive education
6. Greater focus on personal development
7. More personalized learning
8. More flexibility in choosing classes
9. Faster course completion time
10. Less stress

These are just a few of the benefits that online education offers. However, it is important to note that online education can offer these same benefits, but also has its drawbacks as well:

1. Less personal interaction
2. Limited support services
3. Difficult to track progress
4. Difficult to collaborate with others
5. Lack of control over course content

With all of these different benefits and drawbacks, it is important to understand how online education truly helps individuals by exploring its benefits and drawbacks.

Usually, a student can learn at their own pace as opposed to being forced to complete a certain amount of work within a specific timeframe. In addition, this type of education also allows students to choose the topics that they would like to learn about. This type of education also allows students to easily create their own learning schedule without having to be limited by other people’s schedules.

This means that a student can focus on the things that they want rather than being forced into doing work that they do not want or care about. With this type of freedom, many students are able to concentrate on what they enjoy most, which allows them to improve their skills at a faster rate.

This is not to say that online education is perfect. However, it is important to understand that many students are able to succeed in this type of education because they are able to find the best online education course that suits their needs.

How eLearning Affects The Education System And Society? One of the most interesting aspects of eLearning is that it can benefit both the education system and society as a whole. One of the main reasons why we see this happening is because eLearning makes it possible for students to access courses and programs from anywhere they want. This means that students can choose to access these programs from their homes, workplaces, or anywhere else they would like. The main benefit of this approach is that it provides students with the opportunity to learn at their own pace and whenever they want to.

When a student uses online education in this way, they are able to take advantage of a number of different benefits that come with this approach. For example, there are many people who have been able to use online education to increase their job skills as well as improve their performance at work. In addition, many people have been able to utilize online education for other purposes as well, such as improving their personal life or raising a family.

Using eLearning can help students become more independent and more responsible members of society as well. It should be noted that students are no longer dependent on the teachers in their schools or on their institutions for access to courses and programs. They can now use these programs to improve their skills and become more responsible members of society if all resources are used properly.

What The Shift To Virtual Learning Could Mean For The Future Of Higher Ed? While many people see the shift to online education as a positive change, there are others who believe that this change could negatively affect the future of higher education. In particular, there might be those who believe that online education will eventually replace traditional education as we know it. This means that students will no longer be interested in attending school and college, as they would rather spend their time learning from home.

It is important to note that the use of online education is not going to completely replace traditional education as we know it. Instead, it will become a more popular alternative for students who want to learn at their own pace and on their own terms. In addition, this can be seen as a positive change because it allows students to have more control over their educational experience, which allows them to focus on what they want instead of having someone else dictate what they should learn.

The strength of animation holds up when brought to the test of corporate training. It helps break down complex concepts into digestible content pieces and keeps learners engaged while making sure that the information is absorbed fully. Compared to videos with a “talking head,” which looks like a sci-fi villain, or plain slides with black text on a white background, animation can do wonders. And last but not least, don’t think animation is unfitting for a professional environment because it will certainly boost your audience’s learning and productivity.

Before going into more detail on animation’s benefits, we should clarify the conditions of a successful training session. The end goal is for employees to learn to train themselves and get actively involved in something new and more challenging. That leads to two key elements that a corporate training session needs: knowledge and motivation.

Animations Can Help Boost Engagement and Motivation:

Creates A New Learning Atmosphere

One big strength of animation is that it makes way for storytelling, a powerful tool for triggering emotions. Storytelling can make the content much more relatable and interesting to learn than a PowerPoint slideshow with dull bullet points. It’s simply a “dressing” to make the information more digestible, but you have to be careful. Understand your audience first and utilize what makes them tick. Success in this aspect will make employees much more willing to learn just because they’re interested in your training session.

Shortens Learning Time

Employees are busy and stressed enough without training sessions, so they probably don’t have much mental strength to spare for them. Animations succeed in doing them a favor by saving their time by making the content compact and easy to memorize. Shorter learning time conveniently fits our shorter attention span, meaning more engagement, and employees don’t have to constantly ask themselves, “How long is this going to take?”

Not only employees benefit from animation-based training, but the company does as well. Less time spent on training means less money spent, and companies can use this money on more practical matters.

Choosing The Right Animation Type in Corporate Training

Animations are super diverse, but don’t worry, making choices won’t be too difficult. In essence, animation comes down to 3 types that are most commonly used: whiteboard animation, 2D/motion graphics, and 3D animation.

Whiteboard Animation

Whiteboard animation is the combination of hand-drawn elements on a white background and a timely voiceover. Some videos feature a hand quickly drawing on the whiteboard to add a sense of live action.

This style of animation is particularly popular, and you can easily find examples of it after a few minutes of browsing YouTube. Audiences love to watch whiteboard videos because they are clean and academic looking, making it suitable for multiple purposes. It’s also the most digestible of all as it contains no distractions. Here is a typical example of a whiteboard MOA (Mechanism of Action) animation.

An MOA animation is one that typically explains the working of a drug or processes in your body that take place on a microscopic level. It perfectly wraps up the information into a bite-sized lesson, while also being budget-friendly and visually pleasing.

2D Animation/Motion Graphics

This is essentially a glow-up version of whiteboard animation. For this style, animators add in 2D characters or motion graphics to spice things up. It’s more colorful than whiteboard animation and usually presented as a story. Here is a typical demonstration of a 2D animation.

The animation is from a Permaculture Design online course that specializes in knowledge and practical solutions to develop sustainable ecosystems. If you watch it, you will notice a lot of motions and movements bringing the images to life, and this is a strong suit for 2D animation, something whiteboard animation cannot do.

3D Animation

This is a very popular choice in the medical field, but not favored by corporations because they are costly and unnecessary. 3D animation is usually used to depict extremely difficult concepts that are invisible to our naked eyes, thus the common use in medicine. 3D animation is extremely good for depicting real processes and phenomena, as well as storytelling. This will bring new life to corporate training, provided that you have resources to spare. That said, here’s a perfect example of 3D animation.

And that is all about animation-based corporate training. Considering the benefits it brings, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t deploy this magnificent piece of technology. And if you’re interested, start by choosing the right animation for your company. There is no particular rule identifying what types of animation you should use in corporate training. We hope our introduction to animation types can give you an overall look at the advantages each type brings and how to apply these benefits. Moreover, you can definitely combine several styles at the same time to make the most out of them.

The crisis brought about by the COVID-19 has forced education – just like many other aspects of social and economic life  – to shift online. This makes educators wonder if a practical subject like art can be taught online at all. Though particular challenges posed by the shift vary widely across disciplines and institutions, the question provides much food for reflection on the fundamentals of how art is taught.

Unlike, text-based subjects, teaching practical art courses online has always been a challenge for both teacher and student. In her recent article Teaching Art Online Under COVID-19 artist and educator Kaitlin Pomerantz has even compared teaching art online to teaching people in a land-locked town to swim without a swimming pool. She points it out that during the period of art school closings caused by the pandemic, educators faced the challenge of trying to “figure out how they could switch their materials, tools, and techniques-dependent, in-person, community-reliant, hands-on teaching of studio-based art to virtual platforms.”

The problems outlined by Pomerantz are echoed by many educators across art institutions. One of the challenges that first come to mind in relation with teaching art by distance learning is unavailability of physical resources—studios, kilns, editing software, darkrooms, woodshops, and peers— which in the online realm are replaced with on-screen communication. While certain screen-based mediums only need the technology to work perfectly, which is not always the case in remote rural areas, there is a fundamental problem concerning spatial mediums like sculpture that need comprehensive video instructions as well as a well-equipped studio, also not so often found in every home. For these mediums, a question arises of what remains of art-making when the institutional resources are not accessible. Is that possible to keep the studio practice standards high?

The same can be said about teaching materials and instructions. The ones previously used in the classroom appear not to be so simple to adapt for online teaching. Delivering practical activities online requires a radical rethinking of lesson content.

Another obvious disadvantage to working online is the lack of face-to-face contact between tutors and students, and further, the loss of the interaction between peers that forms a vital part of any classroom-based experience. Design critiques that generally provide art education with a structured means for intensifying the learning process may have certain detriments too, when performed online. According to Brad Hokanson, professor in Graphic Design at the University of Minnesota and author of papers on design critiques, online crits provide less opportunity for the informal, spur-of-the moment critique. The difficulty with text-mediated online critique, he explains, is that while written comments are recorded for later use, they take significantly more time to review and process by the critic, while online time and involvement is all defined, conscious, metered, and, hence, limited.

However, there are still media, such as synchronous video conference software or shared desktops that quite closely replicate the direct connection of the in-person design crit.  As explained by Hokanson, the key thing in this case is to replicate the fluidity of conversation inherent to face-to-face art education, as it adds much to a critique, even if done through sharing screens and talking synchronously. Speaking of hands-on media, he gives an example of online music lessons connecting a violin player in Japan with an instructor in Finland. Asynchronous critique may be less effective as it cannot ensure the same interaction as an in-class conversation, but it can still provide direction and formative assessment through mark-up and annotation.

Authenticity issue is yet another common criticism of any form of distance learning. On top of that, there are numerous pain points connected with validity of online assessments and cheat prevention in art education.

All these issues that remain to be resolved make many higher education professionals believe that art and design education with its visually or interactionally intensive pedagogical models such as the studio model is impossible to do effectively online. However, there are some successful examples that demonstrate how art education can effectively exist in the online realm.

Many potential disadvantages are outweighed by the advantages. Accessibility is certainly one of these. From the very beginning, distance learning’s target student groups include those in rural communities, those with irregular patterns of employment, single and working parents, and adult returnees to education and careers. Often, these students are frustrated by the lack of viable alternatives to attendance-based courses and feel isolated and excluded by their circumstances.

In his article Can You Teach Art Online? Kyle Dancewicz, Director of Exhibitions and Programs at SculptureCenter, New York, describes the strategy used by Constantina Zavitsanos, who teaches art at the New School. Her approach underscores the common paradigm of equating physically showing up in the classroom with learning.  According to Dancewicz, Zavitsanos has always allowed students to attend class using Zoom, an option often necessary for those who cannot attend in person because they are disabled or sick, or because the work they create is best presented outside of traditional classroom critique. In addition, Zavitsanos sometimes offers instruction via Zoom or accepts students’ prerecorded performances for group critique. This access-driven approach elevates distance learning from its perceived status of a disruption to the norm, while also opening deeper questions about the presumed defaults of art-making as a whole: When a student has a reason not to use the physical classroom to display their work, it reveals the physical and conceptual limits the classroom imposes.

Modern students often seek the same degree of flexibility they are accustomed to in other spheres of life. “Like it or not, we live in an age where consumers want what they want, when they want it; that’s why we have the 24-hour supermarket and the all-night garage,” says Michael Stewart, founder director at Interactive Design Institute, UK.

With their Studio Art School that is the only institution in the UK approved to offer the Level 3 Diploma in Art and Design by distance learning, everything is online. Each student is given access to their personal online studio where they can download learning materials and communicate with their tutors at any time, by simply logging on. Lessons are presented as a series of step-by-step demonstrations that  do not require specialized software or bandwidth.

Stewart recalls that the criticism he and his colleagues faced when they first suggested delivering practical art and design courses online came from two distinct fronts: the “technically, it can’t be done” crowd, and the “aesthetically, it shouldn’t be done” crowd. “Each side seemed determined to believe I was claiming e-learning to be superior to classroom learning; I never have and never will,” he explains.

Recognizing the limitations of teaching art online, Stewart provides a number of arguments for the model. While lacking the amount of peer-to-peer communication that class-based education has to offer, the online studio can give students as much time as is necessary letting them proceed at a pace which is best suited to each of them. The advantages also include the fact that online art students do not have to compete against their peers for tutor attention, or endure the distractions that can sometimes be part of the group experience.

All conversations with tutors, including advice, guidance, and comments on works-in-progress, are recorded and stored for future reference within the student’s personal studio area, providing both student and tutor with a complete history of their interaction. Similarly, with the use of the stored images, specific points in the creation of the student work can be referred to at each stage. Unlike traditional forms of learning in the visual arts, where once completed, the piece of work only exists in its final manifestation, within the online studio, the piece exists as an ongoing process, recorded at every stage of its development. At the same time, this method provides little opportunity for cheating. Not only dozens of images for each piece are stored in the system documenting all stages of the process, but also sketchbook notes and other supportive materials can be requested at any time.

As Studio Art School team is aware that many students may not have access to dedicated studio facilities, specialized equipment or unlimited budget for materials, all demonstrations are conducted and photographed on a standard kitchen table.

Some institutions attempt at re-creating the studio-based model in online design education courses. One of them is Minneapolis College of Art and Design, USA, with its Distance Learning Initiative, intended to appeal to a diverse audience – degree seeking students, high school students interested in attending art school, arts professionals, arts educators, and other life-long learners. The program maintains the role of the instructor in the studio model using well-formed, guided, direct questions and instructions and features online sketchbooks and portfolios providing a complete documentation of students’ work throughout a course, as well as visual examples of past student work that are used to set standards for work level expectations. The online format also allows bringing in guest artists from remote locations to some of its online courses whom students otherwise could not access. The team admits that the program is still small and evolving – e.g. online design critique still remains a “special challenge”.

The existing examples prove that in certain circumstances e-learning could be as effective as classroom-based teaching. It would be irrational to deny that  there is quite a number of challenges related to delivering practical art and design courses online – rewriting syllabi, redesigning courses and teaching materials, reinventing assessment and critique approaches, and learning new technologies, just to name a few. Still, the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that shift in this direction from traditional classroom-based education should not be perceived as a departure from normal, but quite on the contrary, as a way to expand the kinds of places where art school happens and where art is made.

Sad but true: Design is dominated by white, able-bodied men. Reports on the design economy demographics make for rather depressing reading in this regard. The analysis reveals that the industry is mostly white, male and from “more advantaged groups”. A whole list of challenges – from inaccessible mentoring schemes for graduates to 20% gender pay gap – results in the fact that even in such economies as the UK, where design is thriving, the profession is 78% male and 87% white. The research finds that women are less likely than men to be in senior roles; while 88% of design managers are white, compared to 7% from an Asian background, 2% from Black, Asian and ethnic minorities, and 3% from other ethnic groups.

The design industry is lacking diversity and it is obvious that one of the biggest reasons to that is education with its high tuitions, unbalanced curriculum focusing mainly on Western design tradition and “mostly white, mostly male” staff. Notwithstanding the fact that creative arts and design are often thought as disciplines of expression and liberal thinking, it appears that it is the pedagogies themselves that are contributing to a crisis of diversity, leaving women and Black, Asian and ethnic minority students feeling excluded of the practice.

There are many areas of art and design pedagogical practice in which inclusivity, equality and diversity can be enhanced. Education systems rarely connect with students outside of the Eurocentric narrative. In the academic year 2018/2019, 108,965 white students were enrolled in creative arts and design-related undergraduate degrees, compared with just 5,855 and 5,155 from Black and Asian backgrounds respectively.

However, the diversity problem in design education is not only in the numbers, but also in the lack of diverse role models. Students and educators point out that most design courses taught in the higher education institutions focus on “Anglocentric and Eurocentric ways of seeing”, just as most publications focus on Western design tradition. Movements such as Swiss Modernism, Bauhaus, Dada, De Stijl, and Art Deco are all heavily emphasized in design education, leaving non-Western tradition (such as design from Latin America, South America, Africa, and all of Asia) under-represented.

Danah Abdulla, designer, researcher, current programme director of graphic design at the Camberwell and Chelsea colleges, University of the Arts (UAL), explains, “Students are aware of the histories they’re being shown, and not shown. How often does a student of Indian origin gets to hear about a good Indian designer? What effect do you think that eventually has on how they perceive the profession?”

“Diversity in design means diversity of experience, perspective and creativity”

That is the position supported by Harriet Harriss, dean of the Pratt School of Architecture and former architecture and interior design research lead at the Royal College of Art. “You can’t be what you can’t see,” she says. ”And if marginalised students don’t see themselves represented on their reading lists and in their curriculum, this in turn leads to a feeling of being marginalised in the discipline”.

Here, we come across another term often being used interchangeably with “diversity” – “decolonization.” Though the terms are linked, diversity is about bringing more people to the table, while decolonization is about changing the way we think. For many decades, design values and history have been taught through a canon, the accepted pantheon of work by predominantly European and American male designers, that sets the basis for what is “good” or “bad.” The sad truth is that authority of the canon has undermined the work produced by non-Western cultures and those from poorer backgrounds so that Ghanaian textiles, for example, get classified as craft rather than design.

Abdulla is a part of the founding team of the Decolonising Design initiative, collectively curated online platform that looks to put design pedagogies under a lens, touching on issues such as post-colonialism and decolonialism, feminism, queerness and activism and exploring how these fit in to modern understandings and teachings of design by way of articles, resources and events. She points it out that we often consider design and design education as “neutral”, where we should go further into the politics of design practice. “For far too long, designers have remained married to the concept that what we do is neutral, universal, that politics has no place in design,” says Abdulla. Yet the choices we make as designers are intrinsically political: With every design choice we make, there’s the potential to not just exclude but to oppress; every design subtly persuades its audience one way or another and every design vocabulary has history and context. Learning about the history of colonialism will open our eyes to how power structures have formed society today, and how they dominate our understanding of design.”

Both Abdulla and Harriss suggest that radical curriculum changes should be a necessary approach to diversifying design education. Another direction in this work is propose by Aisha Richards, a MA tutor in applied imagination in the creative industries in University of Arts, London, and director of the Shades of Noir (SoN) programme, supporting race equality and its presence in art, design and communication higher education.

In her “Embedding equality and diversity in the curriculum: an art and design practitioner’s guide” co-authored with Terry Finnigan, Head of Widening Participation at London College of Fashion, UAL, she highlights that although an increasing number of students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are choosing to study creative subjects, the large majority of staff employed to teach the subject remain mainly white. Although this area has been researched for over fifteen years, however, only recently some concrete actions have been taken. “When you don’t have the diversity of staff to offer the diversity of perspectives to the diversity of students, this is where a big part of the problem lies,” she says.

Richards insists that the higher education institutions should focus on ensuring whether or not minority students are “valued in a way that means they complete their education successfully,” rather than just seeking out ways to enroll more such students. She sees solutions for this challenge in curriculum design, staff training, establishment of safe spaces and community support. These are, according to Richards, an important part of levelling a historically and systematically uneven playing field.

At UAL, Richards and Finnigan created a unit entitled ‘Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education’ (ILTHE), that encourages students (academic members of staff) to reflect on themselves and their practice. They are required to discuss a range of diversity and equality issues through a blog, study literature and write an essay illustrating their understanding of these topics, and then undertake a curriculum innovation linked to their professional teaching context, which has proved to be the most transformational component. It has created some very interesting and proactive outcomes, such as the support of critical thinking including critical race theory, creation of pedagogical interventions, and support of innovation through collaborative working practices.

At the same time, in her work with Shades of Noir, Richards has begun to implement change at UAL with the final goal of equal representation throughout all levels of the institution. Lobbying with UAL’s Group for the Equality of Minority Staff (GEMS) for equal representation on interview panels and committees. The next target is to get equal representation on all committee co-chairs.

SoN has recently begun working with other institutions and is actively seeking to share its expertise and collaborate nationally and internationally. SoN offers higher education a range of activities that support change in behaviour and practice, through an online resource database, debates, exhibitions, workshops, curriculum design, audits, validation and reviews. Described as art schools’ critical friend and movement for change, SoN aims to address a lack of embedded representation, cultural currency and accessible knowledge in the creative curriculum and pedagogy within art, design and communication higher education.

It is crucial that race and gender are only part of the picture. According to American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the largest professional association of designers in the world, diversity in design means diversity of experience, perspective and creativity—otherwise known as diversity of thought—and these can be shaped by multiple factors including race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual identity, ability/disability and location, among others. Lack of diversity – both in education and in profession – leads to apathy, insensitivity and even discrimination. On the contrary, from a practical (not to mention ethical) standpoint, diversity and inclusion within the field of design lead to more innovation through problem-solving, whether in service to business or society. And that’s what design is all about.