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Welcome to the Educator's Newsletter, designed to assist you deliver effective CAD training in accordance with the new Engineering Graphics and Design curriculum.

AllyCAD Newsletter 6 of 2008

I hope the Trial exams are running smoothly or if it has been completed already, that it has concluded without any problems and that your learners have surprised you with their high quality work. The silly season has begun and a lot of learners will be feeling the pressure over the next few weeks.

The training at Oval North High School in Mitchells' Plain was a success with 26 educators attending the 4 day training during the last vacation. The group consisted of educators from EGD, Civil Technology and Mechanical Technology. The educators were supplied with the latest version of AllyCAD Student edition for installation in their schools as well as copies of AllyCAD Student Lite for their learners to use at home. We are looking at running another training session during the upcoming holidays which will result in nearly all the schools in the Western Cape being operational on AllyCAD by the forth term. I have also had enquiries about another training course in Durban. If anyone in Kwa Zulu Natal is interested in attending training, please contact me so that we can set something up.

A small reminder to all to have a look at the demonstration clips on the E-learning website in order to assist you and your learners with the Practical Assessment Tasks for Grade 12. The clips cover the Isometric PAT shown here. I have also placed some of the questions from the Grade 11 and 12 Exemplar Papers in both the Training Material and Learning Resources. The link to the e-learning website may be found at www.allycad.com when you follow the Education link.

The latest Builds of AllyCAD Student are placed under the Training Material link and it is advised that you download the latest Patch and run it on all your computers to update your AllyCAD to the latest version. As soon as a new patch is released, it will be placed on the website so that you can download it in order to keep abreast of the latest updates.

I would like to set up a short exam for learners to complete in order to evaluate their performance and would like some ideas on which sections of the curriculum to examine. I am still finalizing the logistics on this and would appreciate any input. I would also appreciate any ideas that you may have for a competition to be run on the website.

I would like to encourage you to forward your drawings or those of your learners so that we can place them on the e-learning website. Your learners will have the opportunity to display their portfolios and their school will receive national publicity. Any drawings you send through will assist in building the library and will allow educators to cross share material. This will also help to alleviate your work load when preparing new questions and examples.

Please forward any suggestions on how we can make the e-learning website more user friendly. Kindly contact me if you require further information on AllyCAD and AllyCAD training. I would like to hear from schools that would like to receive an AllyCAD presentation so that we can arrange something in your area. Remember the AllyCAD offer is a once off payment for the training and will allow your school to receive the software including upgrades at no additional cost.

May your night not be filled with too much marking and may your upcoming vacation be enjoyable. Just think, it is not long until the matrics leave and you have one or two more free lessons.

Yours in education,

Brett Murray
Educational Trainer
Training Assessor
Knowledge Base (Pty) Ltd
Tel: (021) 701 1850
Fax: (021) 701 1822
Cell: 082 494 6955
Email: brettm@knowbase.co.za

Knowledge Base, Block I, Steenberg Office Park, Tokai 7945
Web: www.knowbase.co.za, Email: info@knowbase.co.za
Tel: +27 21 7011850, Fax: +27 21 7011822.

I hope that the demands of the second term have not drained you too much and that you will be able to rest during the upcoming break. Hopefully the exams have gone smoothly and you have been able to complete all your marking.

The training sessions held at Oakridge College in Durban in April and Coastal KZN College in May went very well. A further training session for 26 educators from the Western Cape will be run during the first week of the upcoming holidays at Oval North High School in Mitchell's Plain. Please contact me if you would like to find out more about our curriculum specific training sessions.

The cost of a five day SETA approved training session is R2400 and there is a trainer travel fee of R650 if the training takes place outside of Cape Town. The school will then receive a copy of the AllyCAD Student software for use in their school as well as copies of the AllyCAD Student Lite for their learners to install on their personal computers at no cost.

Knowledge Base was able to make a presentation to approximately 20 Curriculum Advisors from the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Kwa Zulu Natal, Free State and National during a workshop run at Oval North High. I am hoping that we will be able to make some presentations in these provinces in the near future to show the educators what AllyCAD is capable of.

I have placed some demonstration clips to assist you and your learners with the Practical Assessment Tasks for Grade 12 on the e-learning website. The clips cover the Isometric PAT and I will hopefully have something on the Civil PAT up soon. I have also placed some of the questions from the Grade 11 and 12 Exemplar Papers in both the Training Material and Learning Resources. The e-learning website may be found at www.allycad.com when you follow the Education link.

The latest Builds are placed under the Training Material link and it is advised that you download the latest Patch and run it on all your computers to update your AllyCAD to the latest version.

Please forward any suggestions on how we can make the e-learning website more user friendly. Kindly contact me if you require further information on AllyCAD and AllyCAD training.

I hope you have a fantastic break and that the third term and the matric trial exams will run smoothly.

Yours in education,

Brett Murray
Educational Trainer
Training Assessor
Knowledge Base (Pty) Ltd
Tel: (021) 701 1850
Fax: (021) 701 1822
Cell: 082 494 6955
Email: brettm@knowbase.co.za

I trust you have had a well deserved rest and are feeling refreshed and ready to tackle a very demanding second term with all the rugby practices and long Saturdays.

A very successful training session was held at New West Secondary school in Durban where nine educators from around KwaZulu Natal received AllyCAD training. We also made presentations of the AllyCAD offer to schools at four Engineering Graphics and Design workshops around KwaZulu Natal and I was pleased to see so many educators sharing material and knowledge. Knowledge Base would like to run further training sessions in the province and have sent out communications to all the schools who were at the workshops to assess their interest in an AllyCAD training group. Coastal College KZN has requested training for ten of their lectures from the 5th to the 8th of May 2008 and I have a further group of 9 educators from around KwaZulu Natal who would have received training during the holidays from the 7th to the 10th of April at Oakridge College in Durban North. Please contact me if you would like to find out more about our curriculum specific training sessions.

Although we have not increased our educator training costs since 2004, we have had to adjust our rate marginally in 2008. The new cost of a four day SETA approved training session is R2400 and there is a trainer travel fee of R650 if the training takes place outside of Cape Town. The school will then receive a copy of the AllyCAD Student software for use in their school as well as copies of the AllyCAD Student Lite for their learners to install on their personal computers at no cost. The second AllyCAD training manual has been completed and is currently being checked. This manual explains how to draw Augers, Cams, Rolling Circles, Interpenetration drawings and Truncated solids using AllyCAD.

The e-learning website will be undergoing some changes and we are working on the final logistics of the competition to be run on the website shortly. I remind you to send me any drawings you would like to share on the website. I am also thinking of adding a lesson plan link so that lessons and ideas can be shared. I have converted most of the questions from the Grade 11 and 12 Engineering Graphics and Design Exemplar papers to AllyCAD and these will be available on the website shortly. This will enable your learners to answer these questions using AllyCAD. The link to the e-learning website may be found at www.allycad.com when you follow the Education link.

Please forward any suggestions on how we can make the e-learning website more user friendly. Kindly contact me if you require further information on AllyCAD and AllyCAD training.

May you have a fantastic second term and happy drawing.

Yours in education,

Brett Murray
Educational Trainer
Training Assessor
Knowledge Base (Pty) Ltd
Tel: (021) 701 1850
Fax: (021) 701 1822
Cell: 082 494 6955
Email: brettm@knowbase.co.za

The new AllyCAD 3.6 version has been sent via registered mail to schools that have received previous AllyCAD training. Please look out for this and let me know when it arrives. Last year some of the software was returned as it was not collected from the post office. I am therefore directing this communication to you so that you can be aware of the delivery and arrange for it to be timeously collected.

I have also included two copies of AllyCAD Student Lite 3.6 with this delivery so that your learners can install this on their personal PC. I will keep you informed about the launch of AllyCAD 3D later this year. Those schools that have received training will automatically receive their copy.

Nine schools were visited in the Overberg area and assisted with software installation and any related queries. I was pleased to see some of the learner’s work that have been produced. This has prompted me to start a Gallery where learners can display their work on the website. Two of these schools have also registered all their learners on the e-learning website. Well done to these schools!

We will shortly be running a competition on the e-learning website and therefore encourage learners to sign up at www.allycad.com and click on the Education link.

News in other regions: I am looking to run a training session in Durban from the 25th to the 28th February 2008 and have already secured 10 schools that would like to receive the training. Please contact me if you would like to join this training session.

Yours in education,

Brett Murray
Educational Trainer
Training Assessor
Knowledge Base (Pty) Ltd
Tel: (021) 701 1850
Fax: (021) 701 1822
Cell: 082 494 6955
Email: brettm@knowbase.co.za

I hope that the New Year has started well for everyone and that you are settling in to teaching the new curriculum without any problems.

A successful training session was run at Oval North High from the 7th to the 10th January 2008. 20 educators gave up four days of their holiday to attend the AllyCAD training and were once again pleased with the training material. They can look forward to receiving their SETA approved certificates shortly.

These educators received the new AllyCAD 3.6 Student edition for their schools as well as copies of AllyCAD Student Lite for learners. Schools who have received training will be receiving their new version of AllyCAD in the near future. We will also be looking at running another training course in the Western Cape in March and will keep you informed of this as soon as we have confirmed dates.

I am planning a visit to a number of schools in the Overberg area on the 28th and 29th of January and will be going as far as Heildelberg. Educators are invited to contact me should they request a visit or require assistance at their school. Schools targeted include Groenberg Secondary, Overberg High, Swartberg High, Swellendam High, Swellendam Secondary, Bredasdorp High and Hermanus High. I am hoping to visit other areas in the near future. If you would like to host a short workshop at your school and invite surrounding schools that would be greatly appreciated and I shall be happy to facilitate this.

I am also planning a Durban training session in the course of next month and have already confirmed 6 schools that would like to receive this training. If you would like to attend this training session, please contact me so that I can include you on the list. In addition, I am preparing an extensive road trip in the other regions and would welcome any opportunity to present AllyCAD to your school. It would be great if we could arrange the demonstration and get a group of educators together to discuss the new curriculum in order to assist one another.

I am sure that all educators are by now aware of our offer. We offer training at a once off cost of R2100 per educator (subject to a small price increase for the new financial year). The agreement is that the school will receive a copy of AllyCAD Student once the educator has completed the training at no cost with no re-licensing fees levied. Copies of AllyCAD Student Lite will also be given to the school so that learners can install this on their private PC’s.

I would like to remind educators that have received training to make use of the AllyCAD E-learning centre. Please also send through your completed drawings so that this may be placed on the website and get your learners to register as well so that they participate in our Gallery section.

AllyCAD 3D will be released later in the year and we will be running orientation courses on the new software. An online training programme is also in the pipeline and I will keep you informed on when you can expect this. We have decided to set up the online training as we would like to support the Department of Education with minimal loss of teaching time.

I hope that you will have a fantastic 2008. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully running a training session at your school in the near future.

Yours in education,

Brett Murray
Educational Trainer
Training Assessor
Knowledge Base (Pty) Ltd
Tel: (021) 701 1850
Fax: (021) 701 1822
Cell: 082 494 6955
Email: brettm@knowbase.co.za