Diploma 1 - Prepare Computer Assisted Drawings CAD 1
(Diploma 1)

 This course requires an enrolment key

An Introduction to the use of CAD (Computer Aided Design) for Landscape & Garden Design - Diploma 1

This course (called Diploma 1) is part 1 in a three part series (Diploma 1, 2 and 3) leading to the award of a Design Cad diploma in landscape CAD drafting. The diploma is awarded on completion of assignments in all three Diploma courses and satisfactory assessment of your work which is audited by an independent CAD expert. This diploma in landscape drafting, is issued by our company (Design Cad Pty Ltd), and it is important to note that it does not carry official recognition; we do not have any formal affiliation with Universities or Colleges. Be that as it may, the three Diploma courses do serve as a basis for CAD training at a college of Technical and Further Education in Adelaide, South Australia.
  
Each course, contains comprehensive instructional materials, many on-screen videos showing how things are done, links to other online courses, exercises, assignments, multiple choice tests etc. You also have access to a course tutor who is available online to answer questions. All course materials are designed to ensure that when you graduate, you are a competent landscape, GIS or environmental drafter. 
   
The object of this Diploma 1 series is to provide you with an opportunity to see how computer software can be used to present your landscape design ideas. We hope to show you that computer drawing should not supersede hand drawing, but rather complement it. You will see various commercial software tools such as AutoCAD and IntelliCAD in action. These are the most commonly used CAD landscape software tools in Australia, but we will also demonstrate the use of MicroStation, another vector based software CAD application.
 
In adition to these commercial software applications, you will also download, install and gain some experience with GardenCAD - a CAD tool developed by us, specially for landscape and garden design students. This software operates in a similar manner to AutoCAD and IntelliCAD (it is largely command compatible) and so is an ideal introduction to the world of CAD as it is applied to landscape use.
  
Note that GardenCAD has been developed specifically at the request of garden design students and its 'heads up' mode of operation takes into account many requests from students over more than four years. [You can learn more about GardenCAD by visiting its web site: http://www.gardencad.net].
 
We will also introduce other landscape tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Visio and SketchUp, a 3-D design tool which can be used to present views of a proposed design which are sometimes easier for clients to interpret than straightforward 2-D plans.
 
We will also provide courses in:
 
  • Plant knowledge, 
  • Basic photography with a special emphasis on photographing plants in the landscape, 
  • Using an image editor to adjust the photos you take and
  • Collecting plant data and using an online database.
 
Tip: You can take these online distance courses at home or at any place where you have Internet access. Do not forget to take your iPod headphones with you when you visit a computer suite and use them while listening and watching our demonstration movies so that you do not disturb others.
 
Remember that this site, http://www.landscapetutor.net, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 
 
This Diploma 1 course utilizes all the resources on this web site - [http://www.landscapetutor.net] and we often return to the home page to access other courses here. To help you understand the direction your learning will take, we have prepared a flow chart shown below.
 
Flow char
 
Tip: In common with the other courses in the Diploma series, this course draws on more than one online course from this web site. You will need to leave and rejoin this course from time to time.
 
Please start by completing the assignment below telling us a little about your expectations of the course and then take module 1 below - 'The present state of your computer knowledge'.

Cost: $250.00