Lötter, Tracey Jane

Profile

Current Institution: 

Tracey is passionate about skills development and creating equal opportunity through education. After 8 years of teaching computer aided design (CAD) to students in the jewellery programme at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, Tracey identified a need to address the unique challenges faced by her students, regarding the lack of resources and exposure to technology upon entering the tertiary education system. She hopes that her research will provide relevant information to educators and possible investors looking to improve CAD training in South Africa, one that is aligned and influenced, by student needs and abilities.

Determining jewellery students’ CAD competencies as a means to incorporate a student-led teaching strategy: A case study

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Fashion, Jewellery & Textile Design

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many changes to educators’ teaching approaches. The pandemic has also highlighted the role that technology and the fourth industrial revolution play in the future of tertiary education. Many educators have to adapt to these changes and adopt strategies to benefit the students’ prospective positions in various industries. Computer-aided design (CAD) has revolutionised the jewellery industry, mainly through decreasing production timelines, increasing the accuracy of the pieces, and creating production-ready designs. Initially, the industry was slow to integrate the technology, but it is now widely used in jewellery manufacturing.

DEFSA conferences

DEFSA promotes relevant research with the focus on design + education through its biennial conferences, to promote professionalism, accountability and ethics in the education of young designers. Our next conference is a hybrid event. See above for details.

Critical skills endorsement

Professional Members in good standing can receive a certificate of membership, but DEFSA cannot provide confirmation or endorsement of skills whatsoever. DEFSA only confirm membership of DEFSA which is a NPO for Design Education in South Africa (https://www.defsa.org.za/imagine).