Program Overview

Co-Design Facemooc

The Co-Design Facemooc was an innovative, online course in co-design that utilized Facebook as a platform for open online learning. The course was delivered over five weeks in November and December 2014.

Course Overview

The course introduced participants to the landscape of co-design through the use of videos from lead thinkers in the field, such as Liz Sanders and Charles Leadbeater. The course team interviewed co-design experts to produce a series of short films that aimed to provoke debate and discussion about co-design.

Course Structure

• The course consisted of five weeks of online learning.
• Homework tasks were set each week, including assigning each person an academic paper on co-design to read and asking them to create and upload a creative, visual synopsis of the learning within the paper.
• After watching and reading co-design case studies, participants were asked to upload their own co-design case study to share knowledge and learning around how co-design was being used.
• At the end of week three, group work was assigned using real-life co-design scenarios that members of the course had submitted.
• Groups self-formed using a Facebook poll and worked collaboratively using online tools such as Hackpad, Murally, Skype, and real-life meetings to create their group work projects.

Course Outcomes

• Participants received a unique illustrated certificate upon successful completion of the course.
• A group of 'super users' formed who consistently posted on the course and exchanged learning and resources amongst themselves, ultimately taking ownership of the group.
• The course aimed to create a lasting creative community around a strong shared interest in co-design.

Team

• The course team included:
  • Gemma Coupe
  • Leon Cruickshank
  • Hayley Alter, who was the lead facilitator for the course.

Evaluation

The course team plans to write a detailed reflection and evaluation of the process as a journal paper, with the aim of transferring the learning from this innovative project to others who may wish to take a similar approach.