Overview

You have the opportunity to engage in an optional live “Design Slam” online event on Saturday, April 15th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern. See the time conversion for your area (Links to an external site.). Those who complete the required pre-work during the first three weeks of the course (e.g., completing all materials in Modules 0-2) will be invited to participate in this bonus hands-on collaborative online event to share and compare their evaluation findings and design adaptations with other course participants and facilitators. Your participation in this live online event is optional and conditional upon your completion of the pre-work in Modules 0-2 prior to the Design Slam.

To help us prepare for our live Design Slam event on Saturday, April 15th, please complete this brief application survey application prior to April 13th. The Design Slam will be a highly interactive session (i.e. NOT a lecture) mixing both small group and whole group discussion. In order to qualify for the live session, we ask that you confirm you will: (1) attend the entire 4-hour live event and (2) complete all course materials through Module 2 prior to April 15th, including the Reflect | M2 | Learning Experience Map assignment that will frame our initial discussion during the live event.a

How to Access Design Slam Live Session

You will join the live Design Slam using the Adobe Connect web conference system. As shown in the figure below, the following summarizes how to access the live session:

Link to access web conference*: https://connect.odu.edu/designslam/
To connect to the session, select "Enter as a Guest" [1], type your name [2], and click "Enter Room [3].

Adobe Connect How to Login

*Please note: The first time you click on the link to access the web conference, you will likely get a prompt to download and install a small Adobe Connect plugin file to access the session. It takes a few minutes to download/install this plugin. Therefore, we ask that you test the link before the session starts.

What to Expect

Our aim for the Design Slam is a conversation among designers to share and compare design approaches. When you first log in, we will all be together in a "Main Room". Once we see that everyone has arrived, we'll take a few minutes to run through logistics, and then spend the majority of our time in small breakout groups facilitated by one of the course facilitators. We'll conclude the day coming back together into the "Main Room" where some designers (depending on time) will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas, ask questions, and get feedback from the whole group. Ultimately, we're striving for a collegial and open sharing and comparing of ideas.

How to Prepare

Our primary focus is on getting good audio connections for all the participants, so we recommend finding a quiet place with a solid internet connection, and please use a headset with microphone (I use the earbuds from my iPhone) rather than relying on your laptop's internal microphone that often results in a wonky echo for others. Setting up your webcam is optional.

Don't make any plans to make a formal presentation! Just bring your design notes and the Learning Experience Map you completed in Module 2. The facilitators will lead each breakout to encourage an informal discussion among designers versus a formal presentation. If you have design representations you want to share, we will have the ability to share screens, but that is purely optional.