I need advices on where to start : from learning to teaching

[addnod]

So, I'm a computer scientist for about 12 years, I have little experience with architecture since my mother is an architect. She runs a school that teaches, between other subjects, autocad, we have an excelent teacher, autocad and revit certified, but he might be moving soon, and we live on a really small city and he is about the only guy that meets our standard for teaching. I would like to ask if you guys think that I, with almost zero experience on cad, but a vast experience on both programming and commercial softwares, could learn faster than, let's say one architect ... Otherwise we will have to teach someone and my question is: do you guys think it's viable for me to try and learn alone and then teach in a short space of time and , if yes, can you guys point out to the best places ?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

edit : sorry for bad gramma, english isnt my first language

[ReMark]

If you want to replace the teacher you'll have to learn three things...

 

1. AutoCAD

 

2. Revit

 

3. Architecture

 

How much time do you have?

[addnod]

Thanks for the reply !

 

We did a deal with him I have untill the end of october ...

[ReMark]

You can learn the basics of AutoCAD in as little as one to two weeks. I have no idea how long it would take to learn the basics of Revit.

 

As for the field of architecture, well most college programs take 5 years but they also include other subjects that you wouldn't necessarily have to bother with. Let's say 12-18 months for a good grasp of architecture. Not sure how you'll fit that all in given you have only 4.75 months.

[addnod]

You can learn the basics of AutoCAD in as little as one to two weeks. I have no idea how long it would take to learn the basics of Revit.

 

As for the field of architecture, well most college programs take 5 years but they also include other subjects that you wouldn't necessarily have to bother with. Let's say 12-18 months for a good grasp of architecture. Not sure how you'll fit that all in given you have only 4.75 months.

 

The autocad course is about 40 hours long ... they get to do an house, the view, they learn 3d and they plot. So I guess I would have to learn a lot more than the basic

Can you point me to good books ? I've been watching (and doing) lynda.com tutorials and that is about it ....

[ReMark]

40 hours and they cover 3D and plotting too? The teacher must be really good or he did not cover the topics in much depth. Do you know if paper space layouts, the use of viewports, parametric constraints, sheet sets, dynamic blocks, fields & attributes, and how to derive 2D output from a 3D model were covered?

 

I'd recommend books by authors Ellen Finkelstein and George Omura. If you want to combine AutoCAD and architecture you could look into books by McFarland (No Experience Required).

[addnod]

40 hours and they cover 3D and plotting too? The teacher must be really good or he did not cover the topics in much depth. Do you know if paper space layouts, the use of viewports, parametric constraints, sheet sets, dynamic blocks, fields & attributes, and how to derive 2D output from a 3D model were covered?

 

I'd recommend books by authors Ellen Finkelstein and George Omura. If you want to combine AutoCAD and architecture you could look into books by McFarland (No Experience Required).

 

3d is only the very basic ... the rest (paper space, viewports, parametrics constrits and blocks ) are all covered. Like I said he is a very good teacher and his background is computer science too ... Tho he works with Revit, cad, architecture and char design since 1997 ....

also i will look onto those books thanks

[JD Mather]

Can't you attend this teacher's class?

I know within 30 minutes if students have an aptitude for the topic in my class.

I could tell them what their final grade will be in 30 minutes, but that might discourage them so I have to wait 16 weeks.

 

(...and this isn't based on if they have prior experience. I can tell the beginners that will end up doing well or poorly in just a few minutes.) Takes a bit longer to evaluate those with prior experience.

[addnod]

Can't you attend this teacher's class?

I know within 30 minutes if students have an aptitude for the topic in my class.

I could tell them what their final grade will be in 30 minutes, but that might discourage them so I have to wait 16 weeks.

 

(...and this isn't based on if they have prior experience. I can tell the beginners that will end up doing well or poorly in just a few minutes.) Takes a bit longer to evaluate those with prior experience.

 

Not everyday ... I still have my work to do ...

I think he is good, sometimes some students come to talk to me saying they got one project to do and were able to do them in the third or forth class...

What I really want to know is if with my background I will be able to learn faster .... if not I might have to search for teachers outside my city ...

[ReMark]

If you have the desire to learn then I really don't care what your background is you'll learn faster. Just because you know your way around a computer doesn't mean you'll be this teacher's equal come October.

[SLW210]

Autodesk has courses available, check the Autodesk site for classes in your area.

 

I agree with JD Mather, sit in on the current teachers class, more than learning the program, you might learn a little about teaching it.

[neophoible]

I agree that you should sit in on the class; in fact, it would be better if you took it, even if that means you have to get this teacher to tutor you to get up to speed.

 

I had a high school educator once brag that a good educator could pick up any subject and teach it so that the students get it. I think that's stretching the truth a lot, but I do understand that someone should not only have a good aptitude for the subject, but also be able to convey it to the students as well. That means understanding where they will have difficulties and having multiple effective methods of helping them through those difficulties. Not everyone is good at that, or even understands the importance of it. I would also suggest that you will want to be collaborating with your architect/head mistress mom to make sure you are getting across everything you should in the class. Is there any way to team teach at least part of the curriculum, at least initially, so that everything is being covered properly? Maybe with her architectural expertise, you would not have to be so knowledgeable, especially if she also knows how to use the software, which I would hope is the case.

[JD Mather]

...

What I really want to know is if with my background I will be able to learn faster ... ...

 

In my experience background may be relevant or completely irrelevant.

I have had students with no experience take to CAD like a duckling to water.

I have had students with 20yrs of drawing board experience who couldn't draw a straight line with Ortho turned on (insiders joke).

Attend one class and you should know whether you have the aptitude for this stuff (computer programming background is probably irrelevant) or whether you should step up effort to find someone else.

[neophoible]

who couldn't draw a straight line with Ortho turned on (insiders joke).

:lol:Very funny. Hadn't heard that one before. How about "...who couldn't draw a horizontal line with Ortho turned on."? You know, because, "It keeps trying to draw it vertically instead!"

 

In my experience background may be relevant or completely irrelevant.

I have had students with no experience take to CAD like a duckling to water.

I have had students with 20yrs of drawing board experience who couldn't draw a straight line with Ortho turned on (insiders joke).

Attend one class and you should know whether you have the aptitude for this stuff (computer programming background is probably irrelevant) or whether you should step up effort to find someone else.

I agree. Computer savvy may help a lot, though, when it comes to CAD. And still, even if one is very good at CAD, that does not mean they will be competent to teach it to others. I was told long ago that straight A students do not necessarily make the best teachers.

[ReMark]

I disagree. A person that is computer savvy may not be any better at using CAD than a novice although he/she may be a tad quicker.

[neophoible]

I disagree. A person that is computer savvy may not be any better at using CAD than a novice although he/she may be a tad quicker.

Yes, but I think we both used the same qualifier "may". I wouldn't put any numbers to it, because I really don't know. Comparing very good board drafters with no computer experience to the computer savvy with no drawing experience may be a toss up. On the other hand, anybody up for a horse race? In this case, the OP does have a little architectural experience to go with his computer savvy. I think he dropped an 'a' in the beginning. So, if he's running, I wouldn't bet against him without know a lot more about the other horse!