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Online courses have been on the rise in the last few decades and recently with the pandemic across the world, many traditional design schools have transitioned to the virtual realm to continue learning seamlessly. This study has focussed on understanding the perspective of students from various design schools in India about their experience with online courses and their perceived social connectedness. This paper reports findings from a combination of quantitative and qualitative study, wherein sixty four students from five design schools across India responded anonymously to the online survey. This study assesses the level of social connectedness that students perceived with their instructors and fellow students in online classes. This paper also discusses some of the reasons for this perception, as articulated by the participants and reports a significant correlation found between felt connectedness and various factors in online learning. It was observed that while the given student populace seemed adept in online communication and exchange of information, their feedback on online classes revealed deeper insights into the aspects that affect their overall experience of design education. In addition, we submit some of the features or elements of traditional face-to-face (F2F) classrooms that students miss the most in the current online setting.

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Social media has penetrated all strata of society and educational levels and spheres, making it an important channel of communication and knowledge transfer. Even as the Covid-19 pandemic changed the education scenario across the globe, with the medium of instruction majorly shifting to online, things are slowly returning to 'normalcy'. Albeit the use of social media as a conduit for instruction, feedback and learning, which increased during the lockdowns, continues to grow and evolve. This study aims to trace and understand the relationships between online social networking, social connectedness and learning in design education, in online, offline and blended set-ups. This paper reports findings from quantitative studies, done across various design schools in India. Participants responded anonymously to the online survey using the Google Forms platform. This study assesses the amount of course material shared, discussed, and engaged with on various social media. Respondents also marked the amount of connectedness they perceived with peers through social media and whether it impacted their class interaction with each other. It was found that students used various platforms for online communication and exchange of information, though their feedback on online interactions revealed deeper insights into factors that affect their overall experience of design education and learning. Further analysis of data found significant correlation between felt connectedness and interaction on social media with peers and design creativity and learning.