The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

Online environments such as Google’s 3D Warehouse allow students to invite collaborators to explore multiple alternatives to meet specific landscape design criteria and to individually edit and track the progression of a digital model as each collaborator contributes.  In Fall 2011, class participants in Hort 120, Introduction to Computer Applications, repeated a study conducted in 2010 to measure their perceptions of group projects and the value of online collaboration.  For the study, students were provided a SketchUp model consisting of an existing residential house and patio and a client design statement.  Prior to this course, 50% of class participants had previous experience with CAD applications, while 63% rated their proficiency with Google SketchUp as “very little experience.”  Students had one week to make a contribution to the evolving model.  At the end of the week, 33 revisions were submitted.  Course participants were surveyed to measure their perceptions of working as individuals within the virtual group dynamic.  While 66% of class participants preferred to work as individuals rather than in groups, 41% agreed that working with others on group projects was more beneficial than working alone.  53% agreed that the collaborative design project completed for the course was a worthwhile experience, and 47% felt that the project completed for the course had value for real-world applications.  Student responses in the 2011 study were similar to those received in 2010.