Design thinking with MURAL
Design thinking is a mindset and approach that empowers people to think innovatively and critically. In teaching and learning, design thinking is increasingly used by instructors to design educational programs and curricula collaboratively. It also equips students with a range of skills such as problem-solving and collaborative skills that are critical in the workplace. MURAL is one digital tool used by educators supports the design thinking approach.
MURAL provides shareable, collaborative, digital canvases, and a large selection of pre-built templates for real-time and asynchronous collaboration making it a perfect design thinking tool. MURAL has been expanding its capabilities for use in teaching and learning and currently offers free education licences for academic staff.
Although MURAL is not a Deakin-supported tool, it is starting to be more widely used. The availability of vendor support, its wide range of features and the affordances of the free education licence position it as a good tool for design thinking.
MURAL can also be used for a range of other learning activities such as icebreakers, reflections, and project-related activities such as group problem-solving. We recommend using MURAL yourself and developing your knowledge before using it in your units with students.
Take a look at the MURAL training resource developed by Deakin’s Digital Innovations team to learn more. This resource covers the applications and benefits of using MURAL along with a downloadable guide and instructional video.