Student response to an Internet-mediated industrial design studio course Wenzhi Chen Æ Manlai You Published online: 12 August 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate student attitudes towards and per- ceptions of using the Internet and information technology to mediate a design studio course and to propose guidelines and suggestions for developing Internet-mediated design studio courses. Two classes of third-year undergraduate industrial design students in two col- laborating universities in Taiwan—Chang Gung University and National Yunlin University of Science and Technology—participated in an experimental design studio course mediated with an online design learning environment. Surveys and focus group interviews were conducted at the end of the course to record students’ attitudes and perceptions. The students thought that the approach used had a positive influence on design teaching and learning and expressed acceptance of using the Internet to support design education. Finally, suggestions were proposed to help design educators in adopting, modifying, and developing systems for using the Internet to mediate design studio courses. Keywords Design education  Design students  Design studio  Industrial design  Internet  Online design learning environment Introduction With the rapid development of the Internet and of information technology (IT) and the globalization of business and product development, design practices have changed. The W. Chen (&) Department of Industrial Design, Chang Gung University, 259 Wunhua 1st Rd., Gueishan, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan e-mail: wenzhi@mail.cgu.edu.tw W. Chen  M. You Graduate School of Design, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, 123 University Rd., Sec. 3, Douliou, Yunlin 64002, Taiwan M. You e-mail: youm@yuntech.edu.tw 123 Int J Technol Des Educ (2010) 20:151–174 DOI 10.1007/s10798-008-9068-2