Start Here: Course Information

1. Learn about the Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology Course

Prerequisites: You need to be comfortable using a web browser and the Internet. You need to be able to spend at least 20 minutes per week outside in a somewhat natural place (i.e., backyard, park, forest, garden, etc.,). You need to be able to write, listen and read in English (this is an English only course).

Costs: There is no tuition for this course and you are not required to purchase any books. You will need reliable Internet access. THIS IS A NON-CREDIT BEARING COURSE. NO GRADES WILL BE GIVEN THROUGHOUT THE COURSE NOR UPON COMPLETION. A BADGE IS AVAILABLE UPON COMPLETION.

Achievement Badges:  Students who complete all requirements of all four modules (as will be noted by a green check mark by each item (i.e., readings, lessons, assignments and quizzes) in each module) may choose to receive a "Badge" as an indication of their completion of the course and successful achievement of all the requirements. NOTE: to obtain the course badge, students will have to click on the badge link, choose to allow the app access to your profile and click on the check box to have your badge appear in your profile. The badge link is available at the end of the course. (Go to "Modules" and you'll find it at the very bottom of the list.) Be sure to complete the course and download your badge before the course closes on April 16 at midnight US Central Time. No badges will be available after the course closes.

Time Expectation: To complete all the readings, videos and activities (assignments, discussions and quizzes) in this course will take approximately 2-4 hours a week. Please schedule an extra 1-2 hours during the first week to get accustomed to the Canvas platform as well as to get used to the weekly course framework.

Questions? If you have questions about the course content or using Canvas, please post your questions in the appropriate discussion area.

Instructor Responsibilities: Consider me your tour guide for Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology. I have gathered, curated and organized the content so that you will learn about the most up-to-date and relevant biomimicry concepts each week, conduct a nature observation each week and apply the concepts to a human-centered design challenge. There are a large number of students in this course (with all levels of experience with biomimicry) and it will help everyone if you post questions in the Discussions area whenever possible (see above under 'Questions' section.) I will attempt to respond to your questions within 3 days on weekdays. I will skim posts in the Discussions myself, and comment when I think there is something that needs attending to but mostly this is a course where we will rely on peer-to-peer engagement due to the sheer volume of participants. You will get regular feedback on your individual ideas and activities from your classmates. Every week I will provide guidance about the week's topics through the Announcements area. Also, please note that all weeks are open for perusal and to work ahead, if students wish. However, I will be providing insights and making announcements related to the specific week we are engaged within, not for all weeks. If you decide to work ahead (great!), please know that I will not be responding to early posts until that week is reached.

Mentor Responsibilities: Mentors are involved in the course to provide more engagement and interaction with students. They are sustainability professionals from design fields and have learned about biomimicry through graduate courses. They are available to help, guide learning, answer questions and to have a good time engaging in biomimicry thinking with you.

Student Responsibilities: Announcements will be very important for keeping you on track - make sure that you have opted to receive announcements immediately or daily in the Notification Preferences. Each week, you should plan to do the following:

  1. Complete the readings and videos assigned for each of the lessons found in the weekly Module (there will be 3 lessons each week).
  2. Share your work with the class as directed in assignments via the Discussions area.
  3. Complete assigned activities (quizzes, discussions and assignments).
  4. Complete surveys, when assigned.

Code of Conduct: Canvas Network has a Code of Conduct Links to an external site. that you agreed to when you signed up for the course. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and all participants in this course must be civil and RESPECTFUL in all course communications. This is a SAFE, OPEN and COMMUNITY-CENTERED learning environment. No derogatory or hurtful remarks will be tolerated.

Accessibility: Canvas Network requires that course videos have subtitles/closed captioning capability and/or that a text-based transcript of videos is provided to allow access to the course content for all students. You'll see that the majority of the videos embedded in this course have a subtitles/closed captioning feature. To enable this feature, simply click on the CC ICON shown on the video file (where available). Otherwise, you'll find links to text-based transcripts located beneath each video file whereever possible.

2. Course Framework

A typical lesson:

  • Introduction: a brief introduction to the topic, often by video.
  • Readings: key readings on the topic
  • Assignment: an UNGRADED assignment (quiz or mini-assignment) related to the topic with detailed instructions as to how to complete and submit the assignment.

Within a typical weekly Module:
Each week you'll find 3 lessons that will follow these main themes:

  1. Biomimicry Basics: Each week we'll investigate at least one key concept and/or tool to build your foundational knowledge of biomimicry and to apply them to design. You may be asked to complete a short, multiple choice quiz at the end of the lesson.
  2. Observing Nature: Each week you'll be asked to venture into the "School of the Wild" to hone your observation skills and to learn how to glean patterns and principles from nature that may be applied to design. For your assignment, you'll be asked to post an image of your explorations to the discussion board. These can be photographs taken in nature or images of sketched that you made during your visits into nature. You'll be asked to comment on at least 2 other students' posts.
  3. Biomimic's Design Studio: This is the place where we'll have a lot of fun! You'll be given design tasks to accomplish by applying the tools and concepts you'll learn from the topic of the week. Your design studio work assignments will be submitted to the discussion board.

3. Student Survey

We would like to learn more about the students in this class so that we have a better idea what kinds of articles and activities might be interesting to you. In particular, we'd like to know more about your goals in taking this course. Take the Student Survey.

4. Learn to Use Canvas

Next up, you'll find everything you need to know about how to use Canvas on the Canvas Student Orientation page.

5. Learn How to Embed Photos and Links into Discussion Board Posts

I created this short video (~3mins) to quickly walk you through how to embed images and make your URLs hyperlinked in your discussion board posts. You'll need to to this many time throughout the course so it may save you a bit of time and struggle to watch this quick how-to video. PLEASE NOTE: the icons have recently changed in Canvas. NOTE: The TREE ICON (referred to in the video) is now a MOUNTAIN ICON in Canvas.

Download Transcript for this video.

6. Learn How to Embed Your Own Images into Discussion Board Posts

Read the short Canvas articles about embedding your own images into a discussion board post.

 

7. Copyright

Copyright © 2017 by Minneapolis College of Art and Design
All rights reserved. No part of this course or its materials may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.