Testimonials:
Choy Ng, Associate Principal
"I thought the course was well ran and very organized and I came away from it with a better understanding of what Revit is about. I was very impressed by Revit's parametric capability. I was also impressed with the instructors' knowledge and specifically his patience. His ability to answer our questions was very good. The vBook training courseware was good as an introduction and helped someone like me, who is not a frequent "user", to follow the training. I absolutely recommend this course and courseware to others if they are ready to move into the parametric world. I would like to have the instructor come back as a follow-up, to discuss any issues that the trainees may encounter after they complete a project on Revit."
John Mitchell, Senior Staff Architect
"My overall impressions of the class were that it was very good. It met my expectations and went very well. The material was presented clearly and tips and hints reflected more than the Revit tutorial experience. What I liked best about “Training the Project” were the hints and tips on methodology that were obviously gleaned from years of Revit actual use. I also liked the samples of Revit work presented by the instructor.
Our instructor was very good – he had the requisite patience for slow learners. He was interested in our problems, but didn’t let them stop his presentation. I thought his knowledge of the subject matter was thorough, based on obvious years of using Revit in various versions. As a person who was responsible for supporting 2-D productivity, I found that the skill required of our instructor is best described as “forensic cad skills” – knowing what types of errors most people are prone to make in a given situation, as well as knowing the software well enough to walk them through each screen without seeing it. I would recommend this course to others. While I am a strong advocate of self-paced teaching, there is a decided benefit to hearing other issues and knowing that they have been, and can be, held accountable for certain material. Also, the experience-based methods are very valuable, even to enthusiastic novices."
Sapir Ng, Senior Project Designer
"My impressions of the class were that it was very systematic and clear. It presented a detailed introduction to Revit and enabled me to see what the program can do to revolutionize the design process of my current and future projects. I thought that "Training the Project" was the most appropriate way of learning the software. The CDV instructor was also very clear and systematic. He was very knowledgeable and able to look for answers and solutions for us even if he wasn't familiar with the problem. I would recommend this class to and its courseware to others."
Andrew To, Architect
"The course was informative with good hands-on practices. It was clear and organized. It allowed me to focus on how Revit can produce documents for a project instead of comparing it with AutoCAD (since I am very AutoCAD oriented). This training covered most of the basics I need in order to perform. I found the "Training the Project" method to be effective because using a project is the best way to learn software in my opinion. It immediately answers many questions by showing the effects of an action/command. For example, it shows us what it means to draw a line rather than just showing us how to draw a line. Our instructor was very knowledgeable and had all the answers to our questions. He was clear and consistent with terminologies and patient as well. His answers were also clear and direct. I found the vBook provided a good demonstration and introduction to the software. I would recommend this training and courseware to others since many firms I know are considering using Revit and I cannot think of any other trainers who use in-house projects on which to train. Most I have seen are just showing what Revit could do - like a rep. Thank you, CDV Systems!"
Architect, Project Coordinator
"I went through training with CDV Systems before and since then I have worked on projects from DD to CA. I dropped in during this new training for more advanced techniques in creating families with adjustable parameters, as well as to confirm a few issues that I wasn’t sure of. I also worked with the instructor after the training to tackle some specific challenges on my project. In these capacities, I found the training very clear and direct - it covered all basic plus some more advanced techniques. There were a couple of things I had forgotten from the earlier training and this course refreshed my memory. Although there is a lot for a new trainee to absorb, now that I am a lot more proficient in Revit I found that this course was very organized and that it addressed many of the issues that we will encounter. I do believe this course has provided all necessary tools to work on a project.
Our instructor was patient and very knowledgeable. He used real architectural examples to relate certain Revit functions to why/how we use those functions in certain situations. Our instructor seemed to have some real experience in using Revit on projects. He was able to answer all questions. During the time I was in the training, I didn’t find him making things up or hesitating to find an answer. He knew the program and what the trainers were asking."
Marwan Bakri, Architect
"The CDV trainer was very knowledgeable about Revit, his teaching skills and personality were outstanding. He was very knowledgeable, and if he did not know the answer he would get back to you with it. He did not hesitate to go in-depth when more advanced questions were asked, even when we were short on time."
Nancy Felts, Architect
"I thought this class was a good introduction and working experience on projects where Revit will be used. “Training the project” was a good experience for me. It had a good pace and I liked working on actual projects. Our instructor was very good. He was patient and very clear"
Architect
"I thought the Introductory Revit Course was a very interesting program. It met my expectations as a clear introduction to the functioning of the program. Our instructor was well versed in the program, a good instructor, and very knowledgeable. I would recommend this course to others."
David Munson, Architect
"I found this class to be very helpful. Although the basics were redundant from my past Revit experience, it is always helpful to review the simple operations before moving onto more complex tasks. The course met my expectations – there was a lot covered in just five days, but I feel comfortable with the basic commands in Revit. Learning about families is more complex and requires more practice. I enjoyed the instructor. He seemed to be very intuitive about the capabilities of Revit. His knowledge was very thorough. He seemed to know the ins and outs of Revit and was very helpful with answering any questions. Our instructor was also attentive. It is hard to think in terms of Revit's capabilities when coming from using Autocad, so he did his best to explain the BIM system. I would recommend this course to others."
Chris Barry, Architect
"I'm not sure that we followed the course as designed, due to the variation in previous Revit experience within our group, but it gave us all of the basics thoroughly enough for us to get going with Revit. What I liked best about “Training the project” was clarifying those Revit concepts that I remembered from the one project I did before and seeing the updates and improvements over the years. It was great that our instructor was an architect. That REALLY helped us to relate to the program. His knowledge was complete and his communication and people skills are high. Our instructor’s knowledge was top notch. There was obviously much more that he knew than he could even tell us in a few days, but he was able to answer everything that we asked. Maybe the best aspect of the course was our instructor's skill at communication. I would certainly recommend this course to other architects because our CDV instructor got the concepts across very well and was very good about answering questions."
AIA, Architect
"This class was well organized and taught and met my expectations. The material presented was immediately useful, including both basic elements and more sophisticated applications. What I liked best about “Training the Project” was the flexibility to work one-on-one for my own particular problem (creating a wall family for complicated mass concrete). Design options were also extremely useful. I can't think of anything I didn't like – except, perhaps the exhaustion! Our instructor was knowledgeable, thorough, personable, and well organized. He kept a good pace and met his schedule. Our instructor's knowledge was excellent! He gave us some good “tricks” and attitudes to incorporate and applied anecdotal material appropriately. I would most definitely recommend this course to others, for the reasons stated above. I look forward to more sessions and improving skills."
Architect
"The pace, scope and willingness of the instructor made this course beneficial to all whom sustained attention throughout the duration of the class. It met my expectations in terms of familiarizing myself with the infrastructure of Revit and how it compares / contrasts with alternate software. My impression of “Training the Project” was that success comes from relating new material to familiar knowledge of preceding software – understanding their differences and applications. Had a new project been made each day, as opposed to the given method of building upon previous activity, the training wouldn't have been as impressionable. I liked the order in which tools, setups, etc. were taught.
Our instructor balanced his patience with the need to move on very well. He endured redundant inquisitions in appropriate tones for their contexts, making everyone feel comfortable to ask questions if needed. More importantly, the fact that he is an architect really makes his lessons directly correlate with issue we will have in the future. Our instructor's knowledge was consistently evident in how he could answer my questions almost before I finished asking them. If he wasn't quite sure what a question was prompting, he would troubleshoot efficiently. It was nice that he would verbally explain how he was troubleshooting so that we could learn to do so as well. I would recommend this course to others largely in part because it has a solid fundamental balance of information output and time to absorb the content."
Erin Melanson, Interior Designer
"As I was already familiar with Revit, at first I thought the course might be a little redundant for me. But I learned different things about Revit from the course, and much more in depth. It was very informative! I learned much more than I had expected and it helped to solidify the skills I already had. I found that "Training the Project" addressed many different aspects that one runs into on a normal basis when starting a project in Revit. It also was helpful in spurring more questions and information that weren't directly related to "Training the Project". I liked how it took us from schematic design with the massing to actually setting up the construction documents. I had not used the massing feature until this training, and now I know a whole knew way to begin a design. Our instructor was very accommodating and thoughtful when helping us and answering our questions. He was extremely informative and taught us at a good pace. I feel like he delved much deeper into things than was expected and that was really great. It is definitely obvious that he has had a lot of experience with Revit, both teaching it and putting it to actual project use. He was able to answer every question we had. The times that he wasn't exactly sure of an answer we would all figure it out together. It was a great way to learn. I would definitely recommend this course to people who have never used Revit, and also as a refresher course to those who have used it before. I learned many new tips and tricks that I had never had to use on previous projects. The whole training was very beneficial."
Media Designer
"I found this course to be very good in every aspect. It got my blood flowing with Revit. Our instructor was lively, knowledgeable and professional. He was very good at answering our questions. I would recommend this course and its courseware to others because it's hard to imagine another one as good."
CAD Drafter
"This class did a good job of introducing Revit and its features. “Training the Project” was good because it helped go through everything from the beginning. I liked the simplicity because it made it easy to follow for the less experienced students. The instructor did an excellent job. He was very patient. Whenever asked a question, he never assumed you knew anything and always answered thoroughly. He was very knowledgeable. After the class I asked him some more advanced questions about the program and he was very helpful in having a solution. Our instructor was very capable and very efficient in answering questions. I really enjoy the courseware. When used properly, it can make a project run very smoothly and also be a timesaver. If someone needs a crash course or thorough review of the program, I would say this course is the way to go."
Scott Steffes, Architect
"I feel this course gave me a strong foundation on which to start. I was utterly impressed with the potential of Revit and excited for the future of the architectural practice with this program. Revit is a very complex program and thus I feel it cannot be "learned" in one week's time. But I think we were given an overall understanding of the program and enough insight to be able to function on a given project. With "Training the Project", we were given a lot of information and moved through it quickly. I think this was necessary to get the full experience. I retained a good deal of the lessons and am comfortable knowing where to find solutions if I need to. What I like best about this training was learning about all the great things Revit is able to do that I never knew about. I was very intrigued by the power of Revit and the coordination issues it resolves. Our instructor was extremely knowledgeable and not only willing, but interested in pursuing the answers to any of our questions we had that he could not answer with 100% certainty. He was also very considerate of everyone and has a pleasant demeanor. His knowledge of the subject matter was exceptional. The vBook courseware was long, but I feel it did help me to better understand the material when our instructor presented it the following week. I would absolutely recommend this course and courseware to others and thank CDV Systems for the opportunity to go through the process."
Scott Steffes, Intern Architect
"Overall, I thought that this was a good class. I think “Training the Project” is a great concept, but my team was not prepared enough to work on our project. It would have been useful to have a “back-up” project to work on. I liked that we could apply some of our basic familiarity of the software independently. My impressions of our instructor were that he was very thorough and patient. He seemed to know the software very well. He also taught it in an effective way and did well in answering questions. I found the courseware to be thorough a very good way to jumpstart a project. I would like to participate in the advanced training."
CA Assistant
"I found the Introductory Revit Class very helpful in getting started using the program. It met my expectations – it covered most of the topics needed to have an understanding of the program. My impression of “training the project” was good – it was well organized and the instruction was very good and helpful. What I liked best was that the training was very interactive – we were able to try out each command while it was being explained, which was helpful. It was also very intensive. My impressions of our instructor were very good. He had a clear understanding of what he was talking about and was also very helpful explaining questions during training. He demonstrated a very strong knowledge of the program and of its uses and limitations. Our instructor was also very attentive to anyone who didn’t understand the first time things were explained and was always available to answer anything. I recommend this course because although it is very intense, you can quickly gain the knowledge needed to start using the program."