Toward Sustainable Fashion Product Development: The use of 3D Virtual Prototyping Technologies in the Synchronous Remote Learning Classroom

Abstract

This study examined the use of 3D garment prototyping technology as a remote learning facilitator to create new instructional designs for a product development course. The new instructional designs in a flipped learning approach for the remote, synchronous computer-aided fashion product development course was created, implemented, and evaluated within the Addie framework at one of the largest fashion colleges in the U.S. The students’ submitted final semester projects demonstrated that the new instructional designs were effective for the students’ synchronous remote learning achievement at a high level. The students had an enormous experiential learning experience from the instructor-student collaborative 3D avatar fashion show promoted on the college website and social media. The outcomes of this research can be used as a toolkit to create a new instructional design using a 3D prototyping technology as a learning facilitation tool in a synchronous remote classroom. More research must be conducted to focus on challenges in helping all students adapt to novel online learning environments. The current study must be further expanded to determine the use of other 3D prototyping technologies in different remote courses across disciplines.

Keywords

3D virtual prototyping new product development synchronous remote learning flipped learning the addie framework and sustainability

Introduction

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the globe. Enormous amounts of water and fossil fuels consumed to produce fibers significantly contribute to environmental pollution (Nimon, 2021; Williams, 2019). In the late 1990s, to reduce physical material waste and the lead-time required for apparel product development, three-dimensional (3D) virtual prototyping technology, also known as 3D visualization and 3D modeling, was introduced to the fashion industry (Särmäkari, 2021). Since the early 2010s, propelled by accelerated speed-to-market and e-commerce market growth, 3D technology has been rapidly adopted by many fashion companies (Choi, 2022). Around the same time, in academia, in response to the fashion market changes mentioned above, many college fashion programs started offering courses teaching various 3D prototyping software programs as a part of their formal degree curricula (Bain, 2022; McQuillan, 2020).

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, both the fashion industry and academia have been forced to quickly adapt to new remote working conditions and come up with new ways to stay connected (Ho et al., 2021). Remote learning refers to the process of teaching and learning executed at a distance instead of having instructors and students meeting in person (Munoz-Najar et al., 2022). Synchronous remote learning means learning in real-time with an instructor who oversees the classroom, guiding class discussion, and encouraging student engagement in the course learning materials (Dang & Zhang, 2022; Karpa, 2021). As one of the most efficient solutions emerging as a result of the pandemic, 3D prototyping technology has become more and more popular with its outstanding capability of creating digital product samples (Bain, 2022; Forrest, 2022). The utilization of digital samples aids fashion company users to make quick decisions on new products instead of dealing with the limitations that COVID has brought to the world (Choi, 2022). Compared to traditional product development workflows, which heavily depend on physical samples, the reshaped workflow, using both digital samples and physical samples, can dramatically reduce physical materials and lead-time on product production (Forrest, 2022; McQuillan, 2020). In remote college classrooms amid the pandemic, teaching with 3D prototyping technology and digital garment samples provided a new avenue for educators and students to learn without using physical samples (Bain, 2022). In addition, 3D technology is a powerful tool for students to learn sustainable product development approaches (McQuillan, 2020).

Despite rapidly increasing demands of remote learning and 3D virtual prototyping technology in the fashion industry and higher education, there is a lack of research exploring how to use 3D virtual prototyping technology to facilitate students’ learning in synchronous remote learning environments. Furthermore, in the existing literature, there is limited research on the new instructional design for implementing 3D virtual prototyping technology in the classroom to teach fashion-related majors. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to create new instructional designs to examine the best use of 3D virtual prototyping technology in a remote, synchronous learning environment for a fashion business major. Specifically, the objectives of this research were to: (a) identify the advantages and challenges of synchronous remote learning, (b) create new instructional designs using 3D prototyping technology within the ADDIE framework for a remote synchronous course in a fashion business major, (c) implement the new instructional designs in the teaching of an actual remote, synchronous fashion business course, and (d) evaluate the new instructional designs. This study is important for filling a gap in the current literature by examining the use of 3D virtual prototyping technology for synchronous remote learning in higher education.

Research Method and Research Questions

In this study, within the ADDIE instructional design framework (Budoya et al., 2019; Parra et al., 2018), the new instructional design for the synchronous remote classroom was examined according to the ADDIE's five steps as follows: (a) Analyze, (b) Design, (c) Develop, (d) Implement, and (e) Evaluate. To identify and analyze the current state and challenges of the remote learning environment, a content-analysis-based review of literature was conducted. Based on the analysis results, the new instructional designs for the remote, synchronous fashion business course using 3D prototyping technology were designed, then the detailed digital learning materials were created. After that, in the actual remote, synchronous classroom of the fashion business course, the created digital learning materials were implemented in course instruction throughout the semester. Finally, the students’ learning achievement was evaluated based on the quality and earned scores from the students’ submitted final semester project, the class participation rate, and the on-time homework and final project completion rate (see Figure 1).

Figure 1.

The ADDIE instructional design framework (Budoya et al., 2019; Parra et al., 2018).

Results

From Spring 2020 to Fall 2020, this research was carried out with the students enrolled in the senior-level Computer-Aided Product Development course at one of the large fashion colleges in the U.S. Before the Covid 19 pandemic, the course was mostly taught in person. Amid the pandemic from Spring 2020 to Fall 2021, the course teaching mode was changed to a remote and synchronous format. To fit the changing learning environment of the course, the new remote synchronous version of the instructional designs structured in the ADDIE framework (Budoya et al., 2019; Parra et al., 2018) were created as follows.

Analyze

To identify and analyze the current state and challenges of the remote learning environment, a content-analysis-based review of literature was conducted. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the largest remote learning experiment in history, affecting approximately 1.6 billion students in over 150 countries thus far (Munoz-Najar et al., 2022). Amid the COVID pandemic, many countries adopted remote learning as an emergency alternative to in-person learning (Morgan, 2022). Currently, most academic institutions have partially or fully reopened for in-person learning, however, learning remotely is still widespread (Morgan, 2022; Pazzanese, 2021). In the remote classroom, students were not always successful at learning, with many students struggling in the virtual learning environment (Pazzanese, 2021). To create efficient, new instructional designs for a synchronous remote course, it is important to know what advantages and challenges of remote learning in higher education exist. From the existing research, the advantages and challenges of remote learning were identified as follows.

Advantages

In remote learning, students can have more control over their learning environment because they can access online learning materials from anywhere and return to any class without commuting or having their education dependent on one specific physical classroom (Ho et al., 2021; Moser et al., 2021). Remote learning provides students with the opportunity to become well-acquainted with different instructional technologies that are used in the class materials or activities (Morgan, 2022; Siliezar, 2021). Amid the pandemic, remote learning allows students to maintain continuity of education regardless of the geographical location in which a student will take the course (Munoz-Najar et al., 2022; Siliezar, 2021). To engage students in the remote classroom, online learning materials should be content-rich and in immersive formats such as videos, audios, live quizzes, gaming, and mobile apps (Diaz Redondo et al., 2020). Students have more freedom for self-paced learning using those materials, so they, do not need to move on from one topic to another in a certain amount of time, but rather can keep working on the same topic until they fully master it before moving on to the next (Munoz-Najar et al., 2022). A remote classroom can also benefit students with social anxiety because the classroom can be monitored when students are communicating with peers (Ho et al., 2021; Morgan, 2022; Siliezar, 2021). A synchronous remote classroom can enhance the dynamic qualities of learning because an instructor can present the course content, interact with students, and answer questions in real-time (Dang & Zhang, 2022). Remote classroom tools, such as breakout rooms, digital whiteboards, screen sharing, and technologies, can facilitate the simultaneous collaboration between the instructors and the students to improve learner outcomes (Karpa, 2021) (see Table 1).

Table 1.

Advantages of Remote Learning (in General and in Synchronous).

Author(s)	Advantages of remote learning (In General)
Moser et al. (2021) Munoz-Najar et al. (2022) Siliezar (2021)	Education continuity during the pandemic No commuting, No geographic limitations for learning
Ho et al. (2021) Moser et al. (2021) Munoz-Najar et al. (2022)	Easy and unlimited access to remote learning materials Self-paced class learning
Diaz Redondo et al. (2020)	Content-rich learning materials in different formats
Morgan (2022) Siliezar (2021)	Opportunity to be familiar with different instructional technologies
Ho et al. (2021) Morgan (2022) Siliezar (2021)	Ease of students’ social anxiety
Author(s)	Advantages of Remote Learning (In Synchronous)
Dang & Zhang (2022) Goodwin et al. (2022)	Real-time interaction of students and instructors
Karpa (2021)	Simultaneous collaboration between students and instructors

Challenges

In a remote learning environment, students often experience difficulties to engaging in the class without having an instructor physically facilitate the learning process and not being surrounded by other learners during class time (Morgan, 2020). A lack of motivation and engagement of students in the coursework can negatively impact learning outcomes and achievements (Morgan, 2022; Munoz-Najar et al., 2022). Even though some of the cloud-based digital learning platforms offer features that can enhance student motivation and engagement (e.g., collaborative whiteboard, pop-quiz, real-time poll), students can still passively sit and watch others’ presentations and videos while being alone in front of a monitor screen (Morgan, 2022; Siliezar, 2021). Students are required to pay undivided attention to the lesson and have a quiet workspace during class time. Oftentimes, students take classes remotely from their personal physical spaces, such as bedrooms and living rooms in their homes, which can be distractive to students’ focus and can challenge the mindset of the learners (Munoz-Najar et al., 2022; Siliezar, 2021). In the remote classroom, feedback from an instructor or peers regarding a learner's question or input may not always be prompt because of technical issues or other reasons associated with virtual learning environments (Ho et al., 2021). Difficulties of instant communication and feedback in the remote classroom can jeopardize a student's learning performance while she or he is being left behind (Moser et al., 2021). Depending on students’ technology usage skills, the integration of different instructional technologies to into remote classroom learning can be challenging (Abdullah et al., 2022). Some learning software programs may require students to have specific computer knowledge or skills (Abdullah et al., 2022). To effectively deliver the learning content to students using software, an instructor must have enough technological experience and knowledge to provide detailed learning materials in different formats such as videos, PowerPoint presentations, and learning resources (Morgan, 2022).

In the synchronous remote learning mode, there is a lack of flexibility, because the students and instructors must attend the class at a specific, designated time (Raes et al., 2019). Live lectures can hold some students back since the entire learning group is expected to follow the same learning speed set by the instructor (Bonk, 2020; Raes et al., 2019). Synchronous remote learning heavily depends on students’ high-speed internet accessibility to stay connected throughout the live sessions (Vale et al., 2020) (see Table 2).

Table 2.

Challenges of Remote Learning (in General and in Synchronous).

Author(s)	Challenges of remote learning (In General)
Morgan (2022) Munoz-Najar et al. (2022) Siliezar (2021)	A lack of student engagement and motivation in class Students’ passive-learning instead of active-learning
Munoz-Najar et al. (2022) Siliezar (2021)	Distractions when taking a remote course from a student's personal physical space
Ho et al. (2021) Moser et al. (2021)	Limitations to provide an instructor's instant communications with or feedback for students
Abdullah et al. (2022) Morgan (2022)	A lack of instructors’ and/or students’ prior instructional technology experience and skills
Author(s)	Challenges of Remote Learning (In Synchronous)
Bonk (2020) Raes et al. (2019)	A lack of flexibility of class time and learning pace
Vale et al. (2020)	Technological issues associated with internet access

Design

Based on the analysis results in the previous step, the new instructional design for the remote synchronous version of the senior-level Computer-Aided Product Development course was created in Spring 2020. According to the college's course catalog, the course teaches how to use web-based content and computer applications that are required for fashion product development based on the creative content from a junior-level Computer-Aided Product Development course. Instructional design is the creation of a framework for developing learning experiences and materials to achieve students’ knowledge and skills (Bodily et al., 2019). In contrast to the instructor-led learning approach when an instructor is a class facilitator for students, student-centered learning allows students to have opportunities to actively learn their course materials and methods as self-facilitators of their own learning (Reuell, 2019). To reduce risks regarding students’ poor engagement and motivation in remote learning, it is important for educators to establish strong student-centered active learning strategies to be reflected in the new instructional design for the course. Therefore, focusing on experiential learning experiences, the senior-level course's weekly, project-based, student-centered weekly learning materials, and activities were created. The original in-person version of the senior-level course content already included the learning of multiple industry software programs to complete the final semester projects. The purpose of the senior-level final project was to further develop each student's creative new product development ideas for their selected private-label fashion brands based on the completed final semester project from the junior-level course. The outcomes of the senior level course's final semester project contain a total of eight new styles’ production-ready technical packages (tech packs) built into the Gerber PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system, a line assortment plan, and a costing sheet in Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel. In the new remote learning materials, each week's lesson was fine-tuned with more visual images, video resources, and class activities.

For students’ diverse learning achievement, interdisciplinary industry 3D virtual-reality product prototyping software programs, such as CLO, Rhino, Blender, and Sketchup, will be used to explain the key learning contents throughout the course. CLO is one of the most frequently used 3D garment modeling software programs (CLO-SET Connect, n.d.) in the fashion industry. Rhino and Blender are free and open-source 3D modeling tools that enable virtual product prototyping across different industry sectors such as consumer product design, retail fixture design, and automobile design (Blender, n.d.; Rhino, n.d.). Sketchup is a 3D spatial design tool mostly used for architectural design and interior design (Sketchup, n.d.). In the synchronous remote classroom, the use of the 3D prototyping technologies would be also powerful and sustainable substituting tools in the use of the physical product and material samples for achieving each week's learning objectives. For enhancing student engagement and motivation in the course, students would have an opportunity to collaborate with an instructor to create a 3D virtual-reality avatar fashion show video, which would present the students’ 3D (three-dimensional) virtual garments fitted to the avatars transformed from their completed 2D (two-dimensional) product sketch images. The completed fashion show video and presentation slides were planned to be showcased to on-campus and off-campus audiences via the college's website. To foster students’ active learning, a flipped learning approach was adopted to create the new instructional design for the course. Flipped learning allows students to view weekly learning materials and presentations at home prior to each week's class time (Chang & Hwang, 2018). In this way, students can come prepared to the class, are ready to apply the new knowledge and skills in the classroom, and be able to ask questions if there is anything unclear about a new concept in the class (van Alten et al., 2020). In the remote, synchronous classroom, flipped learning is an efficient tool for managing class time more productively because an instructor can spend less time covering learning materials and, instead, spend more time supporting students in better understanding the concepts (van Alten et al., 2020).

Develop

The weekly digital lesson plan for the remote synchronous classroom was created to cover the five key learning components of the course listed below.

Colorways

A colorway refers to an arrangement of colors in which a style or design is available (Brannon, 2022; Wear, 2021). Color is often the main reason why a consumer is attracted to and purchases a specific product (Brannon, 2022; White et al., 2021). Therefore, it is important for students across disciplines to learn about how to forecast and select the best sellable colorways for them to create products. During the synchronous remote sessions, in real-time, the instructor can collaborate with the students to visualize their selected color combinations in various 3D forms with shapes and textures such as a blank fabric-draped object using 3D prototyping technologies (e.g., CLO, Blender, Rhino, Sketchup). This way, students can efficiently finalize their colorways before moving on to the next product development stage. From the colorway lesson in 3D, students can start experiencing how virtual prototyping technologies contribute to sustainable product development by reducing the use of physical materials (see Figure 2).

Figure 2.

The 3D virtual colorway visualization example.

Bill of Material (BOM)

A bill of materials (BOM) refers to the complete list of the raw materials and components that are required to build a product across industries (Bubonia, 2021; Parkman & Malkewitz, 2019).

An accurate BOM allows manufacturers to perform the product assembly process efficiently and without delays and waste (Bubonia, 2021), thus, it is essential for students to learn how to break down the specific raw materials and components for the construction of different types of products. For the synchronous remote classroom, to replace the use of physical BOM material samples, the collection of basic transformable 3D digital BOM samples such as fabrics and trims was prepared by using the various 3D prototyping technologies like CLO and Blender, so the students can see the immediate result of the BOM material customization. For the class material libraries, multiple royalty-free, interdisciplinary online 3D digital asset resources, including Adobe Substance 3D Asset, CLO-SET Connect, Cgtrader, and Sketchfab, were used (Adobe Substance 3D, n.d.; Cgtrader, n.d.; CLO-SET Connect, n.d.; Sketchfab, n.d.). These resources provide various free 3D models that can be used across disciplines. The use of environmentally sustainable material resources such as digital natural cotton fabrics and vegan leathers available in Cottonworks (Cottonworks, n.d.) and Adobe Substance 3D (Adobe Substance 3D, n.d.) in the class will contribute to students’ learning about identifying the practical solutions for sustainability in the industry (see Figures 3 –5).

Figure 3.

The environmentally sustainable digital fabric samples (Adobe Substance 3D, n.d.; Cottonworks, n.d.).

Figure 4.

The 3D digital model examples for fashion industry in CLO (CLO, n.d.).

Measurement and Size

The measurement specification sheet is an essential part of product development in all disciplines because it provides structured measurement details for different parts of a product, so a product can be created with a correct measurement specification (Alvarado, 2018; Lee et al., 2018). In the in-person version of the course, a physical standard-sized body form (dummy), garment samples, and a measuring tape were used to learn how to measure different parts of a garment. For the synchronous remote version of the course, the 3D digital dummies fitting various standard-sized sample garments were prepared for an instructor to explain the particular measurement points of the garment such as bust/chest, waist, hip, and inseam for students.

Instead of depending on physical materials, students can clearly see how to measure product specifications through an instructor's real-time, live demonstrations on the prepared 3D digital models (see Figure 6).

Figure 5.

The 3D digital model examples for retail industry and Interior design industry in rhino and blender (Cgtrader, n.d.; Sketchfab, n.d.).

Figure 6.

The measurement on the 3D digital product samples in CLO.

Construction Details

Construction details demonstrate the specific applications of product details that would decide the quality of a product (Bubonia, 2017; Lee & Steen, 2018). For example, in apparel products, the important construction details include stitches, seams, darts, gathers, pleats, decorating trims, and edge finishing (Bubonia, 2017; Lee & Steen, 2018). To help students understand technical processes and details of product construction, different 3D virtual construction detail examples were prepared in simple 3D digital garment formats using CLO. Some of the construction details, such as sequinning or beading, are expensive to physically execute (Bubonia, 2021; Parkman & Malkewitz, 2019), thus, the use of 3D digital construction detail samples is a sustainable and cost-effective approach in product development (see Figure 7).

Figure 7.

The 3D virtual construction detail examples in CLO.

Student Motivation and Engagement

To engage and motivate students in the synchronous remote version of the course, students have an opportunity to collaborate with an instructor to transform their completed 2D product development ideas into 3D digital garment formats. To showcase the students’ learning achievement, the finished 3D garments are showcased in a 3D avatar fashion runway show video. The finalized fashion show video is promoted to on-campus and off-campus audiences via the college's website and social media (see Figures 8 and 9).

Figure 8.

The student's new product development ideas in 2D.

Figure 9.

The 3D digital garments transformed from the student's 2D product development idea sketches.

Implement

In Fall 2020, the created learning materials including the weekly lesson plans and activities, were implemented in one of the course's remote synchronous sections with 20 students. Blackboard^® was used as a cloud-based learning management platform. The Blackboard® Collaborate, a web conferencing tool was used for the synchronous remote session. In the flipped learning approach, each week's learning materials were shared with students one week prior to the actual class time.

Each week's lesson was customized to use the students’ unique product development ideas for the entire class, so the students were able to learn about product development not only from their own ideas but from their peers’ ideas as well. All students were allowed observation of their own and their peers’ real-time digital product development processes in 2D and 3D environments through the shared screen in Blackboard^®. In addition, The use of the whiteboard feature of Blackboard® was efficient for instantaneous communication between the students and the instructor.

Colorways

In Blackboard^®, the students’ prepared 3D-draped digital colorway visualization results were posted a week before the scheduled class time. Thus, the students came to the class after they already reviewed their colorways in 3D and were prepared with specific questions about their colorways. At the beginning of the class, the prepared students’ 3D draped colorways were quickly explained to the class, then students participated in the discussions on how their colorways visualized in 3D look the same as or different from their imaginations and 2D garment sketch images and why their colorways are critical for buyers’ order decision-making process.

After that, students asked the instructor about their prepared questions for their colorways. The instructor could efficiently provide the targeted answers to each student's specific questions; in this way, more individual students’ one-on-one lab time with the instructor was preserved during class time. Over the one-on-one sessions in the Blackboard^® Collaborate, each student worked with the instructor to fix or change their flat sketches’ colorways referring to the instructor's real-time 3D color visualization results. Approximately 30% of the students partially changed their previous colorways in the 2D sketch images based on the 3D results (see Figure 10).

Figure 10.

The student's 3D virtual colorway visualization example.

BOM

Prior to the class, the students reviewed the prepared 3D digital BOM material sample collection lookbook shared in Blackboard^®. The digital lookbook contained the 3D visualization of the students’ frequently used BOM materials and the basic industry standard BOM material options, including fabrics, buttons, hardware, and zippers executed on the 3D digital fabric layers. In addition to the lookbook, the information for the free, royalty-free online 3D digital asset websites, such as Adobe Stock 3D Asset and Sketchfab (Adobe Stock, N.D.; Sketchfab, N.D.), were shared with the students. To measure the students’ understanding and knowledge of the different BOM materials from the look book, a short, on-online review quiz was given to the students to complete before class. In the class, each 3D digital BOM item in the lookbook was overviewed and compared with the BOM materials’ photo images in 2D. The importance of the industry's minimum quality requirements for different BOM materials was also discussed.

During the instructor-student one-on-one lab time in the Blackboard^® Collaborate, the students had an opportunity to request that the instructor 3D-visualize additional BOM material options and different surface texture-finishing techniques (e.g., matt, shiny, metallic) that are not listed in the look book and asked individual questions about their product ideas. In the Whiteboard in Blackboard^®, the students instantly posted the BOM material reference images, website links, and detailed information about their interesting materials, so the instructor could quickly understand to which BOM materials exactly the students referred. The students presented a strong interest in learning additional BOM options available on the shared 3D digital asset websites (see Figure 11).

Figure 11.

The student's 3D virtual BOM asset examples visualized in CLO.

Measurement

Prior to the class, video tutorials that demonstrated how to measure the particular measurement points of the 3D garment (e.g., bust, waist, hip, inseam) in CLO were posted in Blackboard^®. After watching the videos, the students filled in the measurement specification sheet templates in the Gerber PLM system by measuring their own clothing items at home. Most of the students came to the live class with questions on certain measurement techniques for their unique product ideas. In the Blackboard^® Collaborate live session, the instructor explained the concept of the sample size and the tolerance (the amount of spec variation) while demonstrating how to measure in the prepared 3D digital garment samples. Based on the learned content, the students corrected the previously completed garment spec sheet by re-measuring their physical garment samples at home (see Figure 12).

Figure 12.

The student's 3D garment size variation in CLO.

Construction Details

To quickly preview the frequently used construction detail examples of different garment styles, the prepared 3D digital garment detail examples, such as stitches, seams, and decorating trims, were shared in Blackboard^® before class. To assure the students’ basic knowledge of the construction details, a short, on-online review quiz was given to the students to complete before the class. In the Blackboard^® Collaborate live session, in CLO, each construction detail's inside and outside view of the digital garments were demonstrated. During the one-on-one lab time, the students worked with the instructor on their individual garment styles to express the finalized construction details in a 2D flat sketch format (see Figure 13).

Figure 13.

The student's construction detail example in CLO.

The Completed Product Development

Based on the previous weeks’ instructed learning objectives listed above, the students completed their product development projects. To engage and motivate students in the synchronous remote classroom, the students collaborated with the instructor to transform their products’ 2D flat sketches into 3D digital garments fitted to virtual avatars. To extend the learning opportunity for 3D product development, some of the students from other instructors’ course sections were also invited to create their 3D digital garments. A total of 24 3D digital garments were recorded in animation with different runway catwalk motions of the avatars and 3D virtual background images. A total of 33 students from three sections of the course participated in the 3D avatar fashion show. To showcase the students’ learning achievement the finalized 3D avatar fashion show video was promoted to on-campus and off-campus audiences via the college website and social media from November to December 2020 (see Figures 14–16).

Figure 14.

The student's 3D digital fashion product example in CLO.

Figure 15.

The student's 3D digital runway example in sketchup (Spatial Experience Design Department at the College, 2020).

Figure 16.

The students’ 3D digital product development outcomes in CLO and blender.

Evaluate

After the completion of the Fall 2022 semester, to evaluate students’ experiential learning achievement from the course, the students’ earned scores from the final semester project (the completed eight-style tech packs), were analyzed in the key learning components including colorways, BOM, measurement specification, size, and construction details. Over 70% of the students earned excellent scores (between 100 and 94) on their submitted final semester project. The average scores from the colorways and BOM were the most outstanding and the average scores of the measurement specification were at a high level (between 93 and 89), but were somewhat lower than the rest of the graded learning components. The overall students’ participation rates in the class discussions and activities were high (95%). The on-time submission rate of the homework and the final project was high (96%).

Conclusion

The results of the literature review confirmed a lack of scholarly research on instructional design for synchronous remote learning. Specifically, the use of 3D prototyping technology as a remote learning facilitator needs to be further examined across disciplines. According to the advantages and challenges of remote learning in general and in synchronous mode revealed in the existing literature, five factors were focused on in the creation of the new instructional designs for the senior-level remote synchronous fashion product development course: (a) enhance students’ engagement and motivation by collaboration with an experiential learning project, (b) reinforce an instructor's instant communications with or feedbacks for students, (c) using various 3D prototyping technologies as immersive remote learning facilitation tools, (d) adopting a flipped learning approach to help students’ preparation prior to the live class, and (e) creating a promotional opportunity to showcase the students’ remote learning achievement. The implementation of the flipped learning approaches adopted to the new instructional design efficiently worked for the students, who came prepared to the class and for increasing their learning performance. Most of the students actively participated in the Blackboard^® Collaborate live sessions’ discussions and activities. Furthermore, the flipped learning approaches aided the synchronous class to be proceeded with smooth transitions. It was also helpful to save sufficient time for students to have real-time one-on-one collaboration with the instructor during the lab session of the class. The use of various industry 3D prototyping technologies, such as CLO, Blender, and Sketchup, had strong, positive impacts on the students’ active engagement and motivation in the synchronous remote course. These technologies’ comprehensive implementation across different industries promoted class discussion on current and future computer-aided product development from an interdisciplinary perspective. For example, the use of Sketchup's 3D models in class informed the students about the widespread adoption of 3D spatial prototyping technologies in diverse industry sectors such as retail, architecture, and interior design. The course content, explained by using various industry 3D prototyping technologies, was effective in enhancing the students’ knowledge of sustainable product development aims to reduce physical material consumption.

The limitation of the current research was its inability to examine how to foster the students’ different learning paces in the synchronous remote classroom. During the Blackboard^® Collaborate. Live class, some students may fall behind or struggle to keep up with the learning pace established by the instructor. On the other hand, some students may want to move forward at a faster pace than the instructor's set pace. The current study assumed that the students already had enough online instructional technology experience and knowledge prior to taking the remote course. Therefore, the implemented new instructional designs might not be efficient for those students who needed more training on the use of the instructional technologies. The use of 3D prototyping technology to replace the physical materials itself was helpful for the students to learn about sustainable fashion product development; however, the course learning contents of the current study were designed to learn about overall computer-aided product development processes not targeted on sustainability. Further research is needed to identify how to use 3D prototyping technology for teaching sustainable, computer-aided product development. The outcomes of this research can be used as a toolkit to create a new instructional design for synchronous remote learning and for the use of 3D prototyping technology as a course learning and performance facilitation tool in the synchronous remote class.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Jennifer Lee

Author Biography

Jennifer Lee is a full-time faculty member at Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. Her research focus is on 3D garment visualization technology and sustainability. Lee presented her 3D avatar fashion show project at the Digital Fashion Week New York in 2022.

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