[August 19, 2011] New QuickStart lesson and today’s coaching call posted

New QuickStart lesson + today’s coaching call posted
“What are these coaching calls??” (repeat/clarification)

I’ve completed work on one more QuickStart lesson, a detailed 51 minute training on choosing and placing library parts into the design model. Although focused on serving the needs of newer users, there are plenty of little tips that will probably give some new insights to veteran users as well.

•    QuickStart Course – Module 5 Part 1 – Choosing and Placing Fixtures, Cabinets and Furniture

TODAY’S COACHING CALL

Today we had a very interesting coaching call. A good chunk of it dealt with the interesting topic of modeling a ceiling grid with light fixtures.

To address this properly, I worked through various concepts in setting up a custom rotated on-screen grid that matched the acoustic tile grid, cover fills, 3D materials that include vectorial hatching and texture maps, editing the origin of 3D materials, and creating a hole in the ceiling slab using the pet palette boolean subtraction as well as using the Solid Element Operations palette.

We also took a view of the room using the Camera tool, and discussed some of the options for placing, showing and hiding cameras and a walk-through or animation path. There were many other topics covered – it was a good call.

Here is the recording of today’s session;

Coaching Call – August 18, 2011

NEXT COACHING CALL

The final coaching call for this month will be:

•     Tuesday August 30 at 4 pm U.S. Pacific Time (Los Angeles)
  — register here:
  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/906246394

You may send in your questions and topic requests ahead of time to questions@acbestpractices.com, or type them into the questions chat panel during the session.

You may watch sessions on your computer and simply listen through your computer speakers. However, If you’d like to talk with me during the call while I address your questions, please call in via phone (call-in numbers for many countries are provided) or use a headset on your computer – the built-in microphone and speaker often cause feedback issues. If you don’t use a headset regularly, I suggest you test yours out using Skype or a similar service before the coaching call to make sure you have the settings working properly.

WHAT ARE THESE COACHING CALLS?  (REPEAT / CLARIFICATION)

The coaching calls are an integral part of your Best Practices Course membership. They are an opportunity to ask questions on how to apply the principles in practice.

Some course members have been a bit confused about how to access the calls, and whether there is an additional charge to connect to the GoToWebinar service. All course members may “tune in” to the calls at no extra charge; I cover the cost of the internet meeting service. You do not have to sign up for a GoToMeeting or GoToWebinar account, you only need to register for each call to get the connection link.

Note that I plan to eventually “uncouple” these calls from the course membership, and offer these sessions as a separate coaching membership program. This will happen after I complete preparing all the course lessons this fall. Catch them now while you can!

Since the course materials are only partially completed, the coaching calls give you a chance to ask questions about topics that will be covered later, without having to wait until that lesson.

It also can be really enjoyable to watch me squirm as I try to answer a difficult question, and then see how I work through the challenges as best I can. Usually, we end up with an elegant, or at least workable solution.

The coaching calls reinforce our sense of community. Since we are all focused on mastering ArchiCAD, it feels good to share the struggles and puzzles, insights and triumphs together.

If you can’t make it “live” to attend the calls, you can watch and listen to the recordings in the member area. It will be well worth your time. One of our members Matt Richman wrote to me yesterday saying:

“I watch the coaching calls almost every night. I never have time during the day to attend the calls, I am always out or at meetings. Keep doing the calls – they are great. That’s is why I am using ArchiCAD today. You make it look so easy. You are truly an expert.”

If you haven’t attended or watched any of the coaching calls yet – I encourage you to do so.

Eric