Teaching Vectorworks in High Schools and Universities

I was talking to my friend on the konstruckshon web site yesterday, and he reminded me that schools, colleges and universities are now getting ready for the summer holiday. They start again in September. If you were a teacher wanting to teach Vectorworks in your school, university or college, then you need to start planning your courses.

The big question is should you teach Vectorworks at all?

Tertiary (University or Technical Institute)

These students are just a few years from leaving to work in the industry of their choice. Since so much of the industry is computer based, it would be very unwise not to use a CAD system. I recently attended a presentation by a local technical institute students to a client. They had used Vectorworks to model objects, test the design, and they had created a walkthrough to show the client how the project would work. In future projects they will again be using Vectorworks to test and present their ideas. These students only have a year or two before they leave. These skills will be invaluable in their jobs. Having taught so many clients, I know that many of them would love to have these skills.

I know the Vectorworks teacher here and he has done he most amazing job with the students. He is a regular visitor to my online sessions, and I believe that attending my training has helped him to teach his students.

At this level of education, you had better have Vectorworks available to your students, and if they can't use it, you should teach them. If you don't, you are not getting them ready for the real world.

I know some universities have said to me that it is not their job to teach CAD, but they will make the program available. If the university expects the students to know how to use Vectorworks, then it is the job of the High School to teach it.

Secondary (High Schools and Colleges)

If the universities expect the students to have CAD skills, then it is the job of the secondary schools to teach it. If you do not get your students ready for the next level of education, you are failing them. The universities expect such a lift in the quality of work the students produce, they really do need to have Vectorworks skills to fall back on.

Often high schools have their students for five years. In that time it should be easy to have part of the study using Vectorworks. With the students that I mentioned above (the presentation), this is only their second year using Vectorworks. It is certainly possible to introduce Vectorworks into the curriculum a bit at a time so that by their final year they are able to create designs, drawings, visuals, and walkthroughs.

There are several schools in New Zealand that already use Vectorworks extensively. The students are creating fantastic work, and it gives the students such a bonus when they move on to university or work. If the students move into engineering fabrication, joinery, set design, kitchen design, landscape, architecture, etc. CAD is fundamental. It might not have been when some of the teachers started teaching, but it is now.

The question was, should you teach Vectorworks at all? The answer is a resounding yes, you had better be teaching something. But why Vectorworks? It is very powerful, it's reasonably priced, and it is broad, meaning you can use it for several different professions.

Is Vectorworks difficult to teach?

No, it's not difficult to teach if you have a well structured course. With the right courseware your students will enjoy learning Vectorworks, they will have a lot of fun, and you can really expand their ideas.

I have created a huge number of resources on my subscriber web site, I have a special area just for educators, and I have special online sessions just for educators where you can ask for help and talk to other educators. This should make it easy to teach Vectorworks in your school, university or college.