CompuServe Thread

Hello Joe, I am the Technical Director for Customer Education & Training at Autodesk and from what I can gather from reading back through most of this thread, looks like you would like some help and suggestions so let me see what I can do to help. I have not had the chance to get this reply cranked out as I have been off in Asia working to provide such learning solutions for the many people in PRC, Singapore, Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia. However, now back in my usual office seat at about 39,000 feet here tonight, I am pleased to be able to have a bit of time to reply. You have already heard from many others here about some of the options at your avail and some of the efforts that at least Autodesk puts into addressing the very learning needs you are facing, so I shan't repeat these. I would want to assure you that Autodesk understands that customer learning is a CORPORATELY CRITICAL function and a direct factor of our success. As such we treat this challenge VERY seriously and with top priority and investment, and I ask that you judge us in this regard by our actions and not just my words! So here are some quick suggestions that come to mind from the messages that I have caught up with here so far: 1. Re employability issues that you raise. You may be interested to know that I am just winging my way from Washington DC right now, returning from the latest meeting of the national CADD Skills Standards. This project was initiated by the Dept of Labor and Education and the first phase is just about completed with the production of a full set competency based CADD Skills. These have been gathered from industry and represent what employers and employees have determined to be the fundamental skills required by someone using CADD technology in any discipline such as mechanical, architectural, civil, plant design, electrical, etc., etc. I would be happy to forward you more information on these if you would like. The importance of this type of work on Skill Standards, will become increasingly clear in the future and they go a long ways towards providing clear objectives and solutions to the concerns you have for employability and learning. 2. Re your questions about the learning of software such as AutoCAD we are working in four primary areas to address this: a) Instructor development; wherein we have established a leveraged network of Teacher Trainers, Train the Trainer programs, support, and other mechanisms for increasing the quality and quantity of instructors and teachers working with our software technology. b) Learning resources: "everything but the the facilities and the people" This includes our work both on both Autodesk as well as other agencies to provide high degrees of access and availablity to the learning resources people need to effectively learn how to use and apply this technology. Currently Autodesk has its Learning Resource Series which includes the product tutorials for all our products as well as additional collections of hands on exercises for AutoCAD R12 and a preparation workbook for the AutoCAD Certification Exam. In the next months we will be adding more LRS titles containing hands on exercises for AutoCAD R12 Windows, AutoSurf R2, AutoCAD Level I and Level II, AutoCAD LT and others. All of these will be available from any Autodesk dealers as well as many bookstores and other outlets. We also have the very affordable AutoCAD Simulator CBT software that is specifically designed to help you learn AutoCAD R12 when you do not have the software itself or the hardware to run the "real thing". Beyond our own products there are a long list of books, video tapes, audio tapes and CBT type products available for a wide range of user levels, application areas, learning styles etc. Any dealer can get you a copy of the latest edition of "In Print" our guide to all of these titles. c) Learning Transfer. Aware of the need of effective transfer of learning on our software we are facilitating such areas as instructor led courses, distance learning and self paced learning. Our ATC network of over 750 authorized Autodesk Training Centers worldwide offer a wide range of quality instructor led courses on the use of our software. These courses offer some of the most timely, cost effective and efficient ways of learning how to use Autodesk software. In addition to these intense courses aimed at industry professionals and technicians most Community Colleges, Vo Techs and High Schools are offering programs on the use of our software through continuing education and other community type programs. Furthermore there are a growing number of sites that offer distance learning of our products via sattelite or modem type delivery of courses. We also now sponsor the annual Autodesk University event in October, that is a week long extravaganza of learning opportunities from some of the best instructors in the field. d) Finally, related to all of the above is our work in the area of certification, testing and evaluation. The need to "know what you do and do not know" is gaining increasing importance and Autodesk is playing a lead role in this area. Currently we have an AutoCAD Level I and Level II Certification Exam that can assess your skills, knowledge and abilities on the use of AutoCAD and supply you with a detailed written "diagnosis" of these for your reference, information and assistance with both further learning and job searching. 3. Re your questions on the accessability of our software for learning purposes we are working on many fronts on this and there are lots of options. While it is not of direct use to you personally, just to set the record straight, Autodesk offers some of the industries steepest discounts on our software for educational institutions. We have continuously pushed these discounts to new levels and introduced more and more options. The net effect is that Autodesk software is the most widely used and available design automation and visualization software in education. Of more direct benefit to you and other learners, is our increasing focus on supplying software to "students". While some of this is restricted to those attending institutions, many options are open to all. We make "Student Editions" of our software that are available at prices below $200, and we have partnered with such others as Addison Wesley to produce their "Student Edition" of AutoCAD R10 and R11 that are available to all. We have also recently introduced AutoCAD LT for Windows which is being purchased by MANY people wanting a copy of the latest release of AutoCAD at a price they can afford for their personal use and that will run on less that "bleeding edge" upper end hardware including but not limited to laptops and notebooks. I am sure that I have no doubt missed several of your questions however I also hope that it addresses many of them.(to say nothing of how tired your eyes probably are!) We are working very hard to provide the best Customer Education & Training solutions possible for the learning of Autodesk software and I will welcome any further questions you may have and certainly any constructive suggestions you may have for future improvements. wayne