Online courses for computer aided design (CAD) are becoming more widespread as the demand for digital designs continue to go up. The sheer variety of Internet programs gives students a lot to choose from.
Overview of Courses
The scope of these courses varies. Some cover the basics. They serve as introductory material for design practices and modeling techniques. Several programs are OpenCourseWare, which means they are free to anyone. These materials give students a chance to see CAD in development. Other programs are more advanced, aiming to help students become adept in various programs.
Requirements for the Course
OpenCourseWare products do not have any prerequisites. They can be used for study at any time. But these programs are not graded nor offered for credit. Other courses (mainly tuition based) are more like real schools. Apart from credit, they are graded as well.
Course Content and Features
Most of these sites have instructors who give additional input. Forums, email and discussion groups are also present in some sites. This allows for greater interaction between students and teachers. Basic and advanced courses both offer lessons explaining CAD standards. Other areas which are studied are 3D graphics design, animation and other related courses.
These programs are generally aimed at engineering and architecture students. Various materials are used in these courses. Among them are lecture notes, videos, animation, reading materials and various assignments. Projects and assignments are given to students. Often the project images are shown online so others can learn from it. It may be necessary to download and install other programs to use some of the course materials.
A CAD primer is included in these courses. Most of them also have lessons for 3D modeling within the confines of architectural design. Digital fabrication is just one of the topics covered. Other subjects which are studied are rendering images and using special software.
Other Information
These courses emphasize the ways to keep the costs of construction manageable. Internet courses also explain how to prevent errors from happening. Advanced modeling techniques are explained in these courses. The way the information is presented online differs too.
There are many kinds of CAD applications out there. If you are interested in becoming an expert, it helps to become familiar with the most popular ones.
Online courses for computer aided design give students access to presentations, design renderings and files. The more advanced sites concentrate on construction principles.
