News

iDesign Solutions Selects CAD Gorilla to Improve Autodesk Training in Schools

SAN DIEGO, CA, March 21, 2011– CAD Gorilla announced today that iDesign Solutions, an Autodesk Authorized Education Partner with locations in the United States and Canada, has selected CAD Gorilla’s self-paced video tutorials to complement its current training and support services for both Academic and Commercial customers.

 CAD Gorilla provides interactive video training and tutorials for Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, and Autodesk Revit.  Each course includes downloadable exercise files to guide students through each lesson, and supporting assessment exams are used to measure learning goals throughout the curriculum.

 “We see CAD Gorilla as a strong long-term partner because of the unique value they bring to our customers,” comments Andy Fenos, Vice President of iDesign Solutions.  “It is widely understood that everyone learns at their own pace so we see CAD Gorilla self-paced tutorials as an important part of providing today’s students with a comprehensive curriculum to help them succeed with their design careers.”

 CAD Gorilla courses augment instructor led training by providing a blended training solution that facilitates self-paced learning. Blended training solutions help ease the burden of an already demanding curriculum, while providing resources that are geared for today’s learners.  In academic settings, CAD Gorilla tutorials help instructors focus on design fundamentals and theory so they don’t get stuck teaching the “pics and clicks” of CAD software.

 “Today’s academic environment demands the best possible learning systems to prepare students for the challenges that lie ahead” comments Jason Wright, Business Development Manager of CAD Gorilla. “We are happy to provide the professional learning resources that empower instructors and prepare students for success with Autodesk Software.”

About CAD Gorilla
CAD Gorilla is an Autodesk Authorized Developer, focused on the development and distribution of video based training for Autodesk software.  The mission of CAD Gorilla, is to provide the best quality self-paced training for all levels of Autodesk software users. For more information, visit www.cadgorilla.com or call +1-858-876-4360

About iDesign Solutions
iDESIGN Solutions (iDESIGN) is a value added education reseller of design & entertainment software.  iDesign specializes in the education fields of architectural design, manufacturing, mechanical design, geographic information systems (GIS), civil engineering, animation, audio production and video editing. iDESIGN is an Autodesk Authorized Value Added Education Reseller in Alaska, Oregon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba,  Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.  For more information visit the company's web site (www.idesignsol.com) or call (877)730-4770.

Autodesk, Autodesk AutoCAD, and AutoCAD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.  

CAD Gorilla Releases 2011 AutoCAD Essentials Video Training

San Diego, California, September 21, 2010 - CAD Gorilla, an Autodesk Authorized Developer, announces the release of its self-paced, video curriculum called “2011 AutoCAD Essentials”. 

CAD Gorilla’s AutoCAD Essentials course was designed for both new and experienced users, covering beginner through advanced functionality. The course covers the most common features and functions as well as tips and tricks used by experienced AutoCAD users. Developed as a concept-based curriculum, the course provides a comprehensive online video library that can be accessed from any location. 

Written by Shaun Bryant, an Autodesk Approved instructor who’s been teaching AutoCAD for over 12 years; Sean’s approach is to get new users comfortable with basic commands and navigation quickly, and then provide in-depth instruction on topics such as Modelspace, Paperspace, Viewports, Title Blocks, Text and Attributes, Dimensions, Annotations, Content reuse such as blocks, Layouts, Page Setups, as well as Plotting and Publishing drawings.

Drew Adams, Product Development Manager at CAD Gorilla comments “Sean’s approach to this course really makes it easy to become proficient with AutoCAD quickly. The concept-based organization of lessons makes it possible to learn about topics in any order, or use the library as a reference tool and come back to sections if a user needs help with a particular function. Sean’s personality also makes the learning experience fun and engaging.”

The 2011 AutoCAD Essentials video course from CAD Gorilla is offered by Autodesk resellers and authorized training centers as a supplement to their instructor led classes. The video based curriculum reinforces topics covered in class and includes downloadable exercises for hands-on learning. 

AutoCAD Essentials is the most recent addition to the growing library of video based instruction developed by CAD Gorilla, which includes courses such as Inventor for Beginners, Inventor Essentials, and Revit for Beginners. AutoCAD Essentials includes over 110 lessons and 7 hours of video content, and downloadable part files. AutoCAD Essentials can be purchased for $99, direct from www.cadgorilla.com, or from a growing number of Autodesk resellers and authorized training centers.

About CAD Gorilla

CAD Gorilla is an Autodesk Authorized Developer, focused on the development and distribution of video based training for Autodesk software.  The mission of CAD Gorilla is to provide the best quality self-paced training for all levels of Autodesk software users. For more information, visit www.cadgorilla.com or call +1-858-876-4360

Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor, and Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Product Review - Revit Tutorials by CAD Gorilla

by Rob Danner, All Things Revit (www.allthingsrevit.com)

As a Revit user, Revit instructor, and contractor who uses Revit on a daily basis, the release of CAD Gorilla’s “Revit for Beginners“ video training course caught my eye.  One of my projects right now has me involved with developing an instructor led Revit curriculum for South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) in Olympia, Washington, so I wanted to see what this e-Learning product for Revit was all about. After connecting with the guys over at CAD Gorilla and going through the course, I decided to write a review to share my experience with others who may be considering it.

First of all, Revit is an awesome program but there are only a handful of ways to learn it. I mentioned I’m developing a Revit curriculum for SPSCC, but I also understand that taking a college class isn’t feasible for everyone. Busy schedules and locations of classes can be limitations for some to make it to an instructor led class, so it makes sense that more and more people are turning to self-paced courses like what CAD Gorilla is offering. This allows them to learn on their own time, at their own pace, and from virtually any location.

When you look at the CAD Gorilla website (www.cadgorilla.com) it’s clear that these guys put a lot of work into the video production for their materials. A comical video on their home page showing a chimp on a typewriter lets you know that they think it’s important to make the learning experience fun. After going through the product, I thought the videos were extremely clear, professional, and the instruction for each topic was concise, as well as reasonably thorough for a beginner’s course. The product did a good job of keeping me engaged throughout the course. These are not your typical training videos found on YouTube, Facebook, and various blog sites!

After signing up on the CAD Gorilla website, they send you an email with your login and a link to access the videos from their site. The Revit for Beginners course packs a lot into 2 hours. It walks you through the process of modeling a fairly complete residential structure. If your goal is to get started using Revit quickly, this course does a good job of taking you from having little or no experience, to getting comfortable with the basics so you can begin creating things yourself. Keep in mind, with a program that’s as big as Revit, there are way too many tools and concepts to be covered in a 2-hour beginners course, but this beginners course will get you well on your way.

The Revit for Beginners course is listed at $99 on the CAD Gorilla website (but they advertise that discounts available for students or multi-user purchases). The price is a few dollars more than the cost of a paperback book at Borders, but in my opinion the video format makes up for the difference in cost. I found it was much easier to watch videos that explain difficult concepts or show the effects of various settings compared with textbooks that only show static illustrations and text that’s often tough to follow. Furthermore, seeing the results immediately on-screen has great value; there’s no question about how to execute a series of operations, as well as what the final outcome should be. That said, I think it’s easy to justify the price tag for something that makes learning a difficult subject easy, and even fun.

Conclusion: CAD Gorilla does a great job of covering the basics of Revit in a short amount of time. Video based format lets you go through the course at your own pace and on your own time, but if you have questions there’s no instructor over your shoulder to get answers as you need them. I think a more ideal scenario would be to have the CAD Gorilla product in conjunction with instructor led training, but if self-paced is the only option that works for your situation, the CAD Gorilla product is a good way to go.