Teaching digital natives : integrating blended learning in creative design for fashion

Abstract

Research suggests that current generation students are high-end users of emerging technologies, such as mobile devices and other new communication tools. The generation has been described as being “digital natives”, since their lives revolve around sophisticated modern technology. As a young educator appointed by the Department of Higher Education as a New Generation Academic Lecturer within the Department of Fashion and Textiles at Durban University of Technology (DUT), how do I harness the digital competencies within these “digital natives” in the teaching and learning context of Creative Design (I) for Fashion? In this report, I therefore present a conceptualisation of how blended learning could possibly be integrated into a Creative Design (I) classroom. This study has been developed through an action research methodology whereby the conceptualisation of the first stage of the action research was influenced by my observations as a lecturer, student feedback, theoretical frameworks and the reviewed literature. In this conceptualisation, Blackboard as a digital learning platform was integrated within the teaching and learning process of Creative Design (I) as a method for enhancing the cognitive, social and teaching presence within a Garrison Community of Enquiry and Problem Based Learning framework. This study therefore contributes towards innovations in teaching and learning using digital media in the Creative Design classroom at first year level within the Department of Fashion and Textiles.