Design 21: Social Design Network

Hello, Well last wednesday night I presented the idea of using design to fix the dilemma teachers face between good pedagogy and teaching content. It was well received. There were some interesting presentations, some closely related to what I was saying. I really enjoyed the experience. The venue SuperDeluxe, in Roppongi was really cool, and we missed the last train back to Yokohama, so we decided to pass some time at Maduro a really cool Spanish bar in the Hyatt. SO I guess I'm saying is look for a Pecha Kucha night near you and miss the last train.

As far as I can tell, from limited and admittedly superficial research designers try to design things that solve problems, do things in an easier, and ideally more responsible way. Designers may be concerned with the aesthetic nature of things in our world. Designers look at issues and decide which aspects of the solution/design are negotiable and which aspects are non-negotiable. I'm wondering if you can help me define design and the role of designers. I'd like to put students in the role of designers. We do this occasionally: designing a product for sale in the school store that brands/promotes the teams. Sooo what is design? and what do designers do?

Hi,

I'm a teacher who has stumbled upon the world of design by accident. I picked up a copy of 'GOOD' magazine in an airport in Vancouver and was hooked. What struck me most was the obvious link between what designers do and what teachers know their students should be learning to do; solve real world problems. We call this kind of project an authentic assessment. I've been looking at ways that the design process is related to critical thinking and authentic assessment and I'm excited by what I've found. what do you think?