AN EVALUATION OF EXISTING ONLINE LEARNING AND TEACHING RESOURCES FOR THE SOCIO-CENTRIC ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

This paper fits into the topic of eco-design education and explores questions related to the modern student’s perspective on design education and how we should consider the curricula from a future perspective. This paper first confirms the state of the art by reviewing the literature on the socio-centric dimension of sustainable design. This will determine the component sections required of a learning and teaching resource which focuses on the implications of human expectations and aspirations for the development of solutions to sustainable design problems. The paper then presents an evaluation of the existing learning and teaching resources, including well regarded resources such as the ‘Toolbox for Sustainable Design’, part of the larger Information Inspiration Ecodesign web based resource at www.informationinspiration.org.uk. The paper also considers the outputs of groups such as the Product Life Spans Network, based at Sheffield Hallam University and the Sustainable Design Network, based at Loughborough University. The paper concludes with some suggestions for a new learning and teaching resource which is specifically aimed at assisting with the socio-centric aspects of sustainable product design