Design and Principles Conference Summary

The Design & Principles Conference

The Design and Principles conference, which was held in January at UCLA, Los Angeles presented an invaluable opportunity for me to present and to network with a wide variety of audiences on the basics of Design Principles and Thinking on a genre of topics. Particularly relevant to my position is getting creative ideas on how-to engage faculty in design thinking when creating their learning contracts (basic principles of intent, audiences, users) and to also match the level of technological expertise with their pedagogical objectives.  The interdisciplinary nature of the conference richly enhances my experience. Below, I am going to highlight several sessions that I attended and present ideas relevant to my position as a Faculty Instructional Technologist.

Graphic Design III – A Case Study: The transition from Face-to-Face to an Online Format
A mentor talked about how she converted a completely face-to-face course to Blackboard and shared tips, strategies, and successes on what/how-to.  She mentioned using Skype as a complement to Blackboard in hosting office hours/one-on-one/discussion with students. I found her presentation to be useful in assisting faculty to meet with our students virtually or via web conferencing alternatives (especially for students who cannot commute or if we experience severe weather conditions) that might prohibit meetings/study groups.

Building a 3D Game in Multiple Environments
The presenter talked about his experience with using 3D Studio Max and Blender, laid out the pros and cons of each and concluded with Blender as the better alternatives for game design and development because of its simplicity, openness, and ease of integration into gaming platforms. This might be useful as we move forward towards thinking about the concept of Openness and how the AAOS of SM&T/Grad School might be thinking of such usage or adoption in the near future.

Instructional Design in Higher Education: No Country for Young Divas
The presenters examined the quality of instructional designers and the role of LMS in course design and strategies. Presenters talked about the difficulties and challenges of hiring quality instructional designers, suggested that designers with experience should be trained in the workforce or the design department before taking on the role. They also talked about the future role of instructional Designers/Technologists in higher education. The session focused on the demands of quality Instructional Designers/Technologist, particularly the ability to work with interdisciplinary groups of faculty members and the importance of understanding design principles and practices.

The Role of a Graphic Design Student in Conflict
The presenter talked about how the elements of design in the city of Monterrey, Mexico shifted within the political change and riots as well as how a group of students transformed the messages of people through photography (capturing elements and subtle images of messages on the streets and throughout the city) to empower the people of Monterrey to strive for social change and justice. From an instructional technologist standpoint, the presenter’s session highlighted several design principles that could be derived from architectural building and that could potentially assist mentors in thinking about CHS from an artist’s perspective.

Design and Implementation of a Software-Designed Encryption Algorithm for RFID Applications
The presenter talked about the steps he is taking in using enhanced encryption algorithm (VLSI technology) to increase the security of RFID data. The session was professionally relevant because the presenter approached the design from a systemic perspective. For a field like ours, it is useful to have such knowledge to build from because every design element is dependent upon a procedure or protocol that ought to be followed in order to test the usefulness of a particular action or product. In this case, the presenter used the design principle of “Product, Function, Solution, and Value” that I thought could be applied to higher education.

If you are interested in possibly attending or presenting at future “Design and Principles Conference”, check out the site at Design and Principles Conference.
http://designprinciplesandpractices.com/conference-2012/