When and where does the course take place?

You can do the course from any place and at any time you want—all you need is an internet connection. You can even take the course on your phone! All the material is on this site and it consists of text and links to other sites. To better understand the course structure, check the about section.

You simply need to pay attention to the registration dates and course deadline in Sisu.

Why do I need to create an account? How is the data I submit in the login page being used by this course?

Sign up is mandatory to access the course content. We need you to sign up to store your activities and be able to submit them at the end of the course. Name and Surname might be used for generating a certificate for those who complete the course successfully, that will happen as soon as we have that functionality on our website.

How do I create an account?

You can register by adding your information in this link.

How do I get credits?

Getting 2 ECTS credits as an Aalto student:

• You must register for the course via Sisu before the period starts. You can go to the registration page by clicking here.
• You must complete the course and submit the activities before the examination week in each period. The exact deadline is mentioned in MyCourses.
• An instructor will review your activities and grade you (pass/fail) by the end of the period. If you pass, the credits will be added to your Aalto University student records.

Getting 2 ECTS credits as a non-Aalto student:

• You must register for the course via Aalto Open University by clicking here. Please be aware that Aalto Open University charges a 30 euros fee.
• After registering at Aalto Open University, you must complete the course and submit the activities. When you finish, send an e-mail to designbits@aalto.fi. An official transcript of records will be issued.
• If you are a high-school student, you don’t need to register at Aalto Open University. You can take the course for free and send an e-mail to designbits@aalto.fi asking for a high-school certificate.

How do the exercises inside “Activities and Reflections” work? How can I submit my exercises for the teacher review?

Inside “Activities and Reflections” you will always find this sequence:

• Multiple choice questions: You will select your answers and submit them. You will immediately see the correct answers and check how much you scored.
• Activity with open questions. Here you should add your answers in the corresponding boxes. You should save your answers. If needed, you can change them later on and save them again.
• Reflections with open questions. The same as number 2 above, you must save your answers after going through all questions.

To get the credits you must submit all activities and reflections from the whole course. This happens when you click “submit all activities” in the “Activities and Reflections” section on Chapter 7 – Wrapping up.

How is the course graded?

This is a pass/fail course. Assessment is based on your written answers to the chapter activities and your learning reflections. Successful completion of the course requires at least 90% completed activities (including studying course content, completing multiple choice questions, and answering open questions) and a minimum of 50% accuracy. Both the activities and reflections are graded based on your demonstrated understanding of the course content.

I have a technical problem with the course platform—what can I do?

Try closing and opening your browser. Then, try logging in on a different browser. If you keep facing technical issues, please email the course instructor explaining your problem to designbits@aalto.fi.

I have a non-technical problem or a suggestion related to the course content, web design, site accessibility or another. How should I proceed?

If you have a problem that was not described here or any ideas to improve the website, please contact us. Your email will be confidential.

How do you address the EU digital accessibility standard?

All videos linked in this website were developed before September 2020 (please see the Aalto note on that subject in this link). Many of the course videos, images and external websites were not developed by Aalto University and this course just provides the link to them as they are being mentioned as examples. Please note that Aalto University doesn’t respond on their behalf.

How is the content licensed?

All course content (such as text, illustrations, interactive elements and layout) (C) 2020 Aalto University, all rights reserved. Such content may not be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Aalto University.
Some videos, images and external websites were not developed by Aalto University. Those were found in different platforms and linked to our course as illustrative examples, and are all being used solely for Educational purposes. The external sources are all being mentioned and they were found in public domain. In case you notice a problem with any of those, please contact us.

Can design be taught in one course?

Design is an ongoing professional practice, and even the most accomplished designers continue to develop their skills and expertise throughout their lives. Design learning is never done—but it has to begin somewhere! We created this course as a starting point, with enough information about the basics to help students understand how diverse design practice is, and where you might want to go from here as you learn more.

Who created the Design Bits course and why?

This course was created with the idea of boosting transdisciplinary education in Aalto. It was funded by Aalto Online Learning in 2020. This is the link to the pilot description: https://onlinelearning.aalto.fi/pilot/design-bits