MOOC ZERO LIVING - FIRST IN-PERSON MEETING AT LOW3

After the start of our course last week, our MOOC students met the first time at the LOW3 solar house at our campus in order to get known to the housing prototype, explore and discuss its concepts, materials and technologies, as well as discuss about our MOOC online platform, the course structure and content as well as the opportunities and threats of this innovative form of teaching and learning.

Students showed to be very satisfied with the possibility to learn on their own pace, in the moments they decide, and in the place they feel comfortable. On the other side they agree on the importance of in-person meetings with the opportunity to discuss about the topics of the course. 

According to them, sustainable architecture in its widest interpretation, from construction and technology to energy performance and urban transformation, is still a pending lesson at ETSAV with much more subjects needed in order to acquire knowledge they consider essential for their professional future.

On the other side students are happy benefitting from a "2 in 1" course offer, learning about sustainable architecture and lifestyle and by the way improving their professional English. Erasmus students from Brasil, Finnland and Sweden agreed on the advantage of this combination.

After the first Learning Module about Sustainable Lifestyle, now Module 2 about Sustainable Housing Concepts will start.

https://mooc.upc.edu/

MOOC LOW3-ZERO LIVING officially started

Our MOOC - Massive Open Online Course LOW3-ZERO LIVING has officially started these days.
After 2 years of preparation, we start our innovative teaching activity as elective course of the Department of Architectural Technology fully booked with 25 students.

Main objective of this MOOC course is to introduce into basic concepts of sustainability and to disseminate the generated knowledge of the LOW3 prototype in the field of housing and a more sustainable lifestyle.

We have developed a concept which combines an online course with 3 in-person meetings at our Living Lab LOW3 in order to enrich online teaching with personal exchange, exploration of our solar house and person-to-person discussions about the topics of the course.

The LOW3 ZERO LIVING MOOC works like a virtual Living Lab. Every module is based on a virtual guided visit and exploration of LOW3 enriched with so-called knowledge capsules about specific important topics which contain interviews with experts, short documentaries or presentations.

Each module is structured into 3 main sections: Guided Visit with corresponding knowledge capsules, Self-Assessment and a Practical Exercise.

The six learning modules of the course are focusing on Sustainable lifestyle, Sustainable housing concepts, Photovoltaic technology, Thermal technology, Materials and Water. Due to the modular concept or the course further modules might get integrated in future editions.

The first module, currently running, introduces into basic concepts of sustainability like biocapacity, the relation between consumption, environmental impact and economy, or the resources that we need to satisfy our habitational needs according to our lifestyle and type of housing we are living in.

With this first edition we will test our MOOC and receive valuable feedback by students for improvements before opening the course to the general public.
https://mooc.upc.edu