Critiquing systems of critiques

In the MGD Studio this semester we have been using different modes of critiques for our projects. I find it really interesting to see the different responses that each method yields. We’ve got our traditional crit where we sit in our seats and students show their presentations on the projector one by one, our round robin critique where we set up our computers to loop our presentations while we go around the room making note of our comments and then sharing our thoughts verbally.  The latest method is a curious one: we sit in near silence while watching presentations on loop and write our critiques in a shared Google Document. It looks like a furious writing marathon: intense concentration painted on screen-illuminated faces and a constant click-clacking of keyboards. This crit style does not foster the back and forth conversation the way that verbal critiques do, however, I find that I am able to better understand my classmate’s first impressions better since they are too busy writing their thoughts to read other comments.