DigiPedia – Gateway to computational methods and tools

News - 06 November 2024 - Communication BK

DigiPedia is a new digital platform designed to offer comprehensive tutorials on software and computational methods to students and life-long learners around the globe. All conveniently housed in one location for easy access. 

With a strong emphasis on enhancing digital literacy, DigiPedia aims to complement the academic curriculum at TU Delft. The site offers instructions and tutorials to help students refine their software skills, ensuring they are better equipped for their coursework and their future professional endeavours. The side also provides educational material on computational methods and techniques to foster a deeper understanding of their purpose and significance, facilitating students to grasp objectives and rationale. 

The platform is an excellent resource for educators too. Since teachers can direct students to DigiPedia for essential software training, class time can focus on specific course content.

From TOI-pedia to DigiPedia: Expanding the Vision

DigiPedia is the evolution of TOI-pedia, a longstanding digital repository of course materials, tutorials, and software documentation focused on the application of ICT in Architecture, Design, and Education, initiated and curated by the Design Informatics group. Student feedback highlighted the growing need for more comprehensive digital learning recourses. In agreement with both students and educators, the updated and expanded platform, DigiPedia was created to meet the evolving needs of students at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE).

DigiPedia’s structure and mission provide a wider range of tutorials to support the entire faculty, all conveniently housed in one location for easy access. Additionally, DigiPedia has adopted Open Education principles, ensuring learning materials published on DigiPedia are reusable and widely accessible. The platform itself is also available for other educational institutions.

A Collaborative Initiative

DigiPedia’s success is the result of a collective effort from the faculty and the TU Delft Library, with support of the TU Delft Quality Agreements and Open Science. The continued success of the platform also relies on the involvement and support of educators at the faculty. 

To make it easier for educators to contribute, DigiPedia has a custom-designed interface for uploading tutorials that focuses on providing a user-friendly experience. This ensures that teachers can easily create, upload, and share their tutorials, helping to build a collaborative knowledge base that benefits both undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, educators can reference existing tutorials. By contributing tutorials to the platform, teachers enhance their students’ learning experience and strengthen their digital literacy skills.

Launch Event and Teacher Workshops

To celebrate the launch of DigiPedia, and event will be held Thursday 21 November at 17:30 in the Oostserre. Students and staff are invited to attend, and details for registration can be found on the flyers around the faculty. In addition, workshops to support teachers with creating and uploading their tutorials will be advertised throughout the academic year.

More information

Register here for the launch event of DigiPedia on Thursday 21 November

DigiPedia is funded by the Bouwkunde (BK) Quality Agreement Kwaliteitsafspraken Projecten (WSV) from the Faculty of Architectue and the Built Environment and by the Open Science Funding from the TU Delft Library. 

A large team of people helped to make DigiPedia a reality. The TU Delft Team members who led the development of the DigiPedia Platform are project leader Michela Turin (BK-AE&T), Atefeh Aghaee (Teamlead Blended Learning), Michiel Munnik (co-leader) and Marcel Varkonyi (TU Delft Library), Lotte Kat, Lisa-Marie Mueller, and Anna Maria Koniari (BK-AE&T) among many others – in close collaboration with students’ representatives, Open Science and BK education managers and directors, where a special acknowledgement goes to Nathalie Levelt and Frank van der Hoeven. The TOI-Pedia team remained key, with special acknowledgement to Sevil Sariyildiz and Paul de Ruiter.