AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

Education & Training Training: Past, Present, Future Here we are again! We’re back in Las Vegas at Autodesk University. Many of you may be reading this column for the first time. Perhaps you’re a new AUGI member, or a seasoned attendee of Autodesk University. To all of you, I would like to extend my personal welcome. If you have been in the industry for a number of years, you have probably realized that the way we learn and the way training is delivered have changed dramatically. I fondly recall my first trip to Autodesk, back in the 1980s. Big-hair bands were in. Bell-bottoms were out. IBM was making headway into the new desktop computer market and Autodesk was making strides with AutoCAD®. The instructor had us open the cases on our desktop computers so we could install the math coprocessors. Then we booted up the machines and installed the software—one excruciating 5-1/4" 360k floppy disk at a time. For the training itself, we went through every single menu and every single command for four grueling days. By the fourth day, I could barely remember what I learned the first day! But follow-the-leader style was how we learned back then. If you needed help, there were reference guides in three-ring binders. Resellers offered pretty much the same training. There were a few technical colleges that became the core of the original Autodesk Training Center network, and a couple of books. There was always the Autodesk forum on Compuserve. True, you needed a 14.4 dial-up modem, but you could still share your insights with other users. Not until the early ’90s did AUGI make its first appearance (as NAAUG). Boy, have things changed! These days, no6 body is learning today’s design software in step-by-step methods over four consecutive days. There are no printed reference materials anymore. Even Compuserve has faded away. The way we learn has changed as dramatically as the music we listen to and our hair (for those of us who still have some). in less time, so we can quickly return to work, more productive. There has been an emergence of process-based and outcome-driven learning and training. This delivery method for instruction is now seeing an increase in demand by companies: they want to maximize their training dollars for immediate productivity gains, because their employees learn only what is relevant. Users are looking for shorter, more intensive training. Look at how Autodesk University has grown! Look at the success of the oneday AUGI CAD Camps and half-day AUGI Matinees and AUGI Manufacturing Conferences. It’s not just because of great short, intensive technical courses that will make you immediately productive. No, it has to do with a trend in the training and the way people want to learn. Users want more “instant” training. Both advanced learners and experienced users tell me they don’t have the time or budget to attend more formal learning. Even the immediacy of e-learning and webcasts is often seen as something that will take too much valuable time. Today’s experienced Autodesk product users want to drive their learning in a more meaningful, self-directed manner. Users are moving to emerging communities of learning. Learn from your colleagues and virtual web communities. The most common informal learning environment today is Internet based: e-communities, forums, threaded message boards and chat rooms, and, of course, AUGI. com. These invaluable resources have developed huge followings of subject-matter experts (SMEs) and superusers. Even our w w w. A U G I . c o m What exists today is an overwhelming number of learning resources, as varied as ice cream flavors. Vanilla training is gone. Training is far more personalized and focuses more on productivity within our industries. Regularly scheduled training classes and seminars are on the decline. Training now occurs in hours, not days, and we gather smaller nuggets, not buckets, of knowledge. We want to cover more concentrated topics and specific aspects of the software http://www.AUGI.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007 Table of Contents The CAD Manager Education & Training Finance Training Google Earth: Now Showing in AutoCAD Civil 3D Get Your Input Here A Good First Impression, Part 2 Share and Share Alike Who's Using Revit MEP? Ready… Get Set… Properties! On the Back Page: The Brazilian Model

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