The use of an Intranet System to Enhance Student Learning in an Eco-House Design Project

This paper describes the development of a web-based support environment for students undertaking the first year Eco-House design project as part of the Environmental Building Degree Programme at the University of Plymouth in the UK. This resource provides students with a flexible and extendable search structure that allows them to obtain deeper information on specific systems they can apply in their designs, or on fundamental issues that the project raises. The resource links into websites of manufacturers and product data as well as giving access to serious academic papers. It will be developed further over future years to provide an expanding source of information and inspiration for subsequent generations of students. This paper describes how the intranet environment was developed using an action research cycle, which included using critical reflection and feedback from different stakeholders. It presents the current form of the environment, an estimate of the impact on the Eco-House design projects, and areas identified for further development and improvements.