I was asked to take a look at the “Learning Autodesk inventor 2014” video training series by Infinite Skills. The Author Adam Cooper is a seasoned veteran of Inventor implementation, and I thought it might be worth a look. What I found were a great set of videos and exercises.
Overall Impression
I would like to say that I often have mixed feelings about video training. They are typically good for users that are new to a concept, but video is not searchable. While Infinite Skills did not make searching better, they did a fair job of sectioning the series to help users get the information they need.
I learned something new in the first video I watched. Cooper was thorough without being tragically boring. I enjoyed his style and felt that it helped get the information across well (and I did not fall asleep). Along with being quite thorough, one key area that Cooper is strong in is explaining options as concepts, with brief explanations of the up-side and down-side of their use. I feel this method helps users new to a concept, understand quickly how Inventor’s specific options will (or won’t) impact their particular workflow.
Navigation and Contents
The video series is driven from a dialog that divides the series into 20 chapters, and sub-sections thereof.
- 129 lessons in 20 chapters
- 13.25 hours of comprehensive instruction
- Chapter and sub-section tree and palate navigation
- Video Bookmarks
- Level: Beginner – Intermediate
- 265 files in the lesson related tutorial data-set
- MSRP: $99 USD
Each sub-section has a status reminder, a white circle that turns half-green when you have watched some of a particular video, and completely green when you have completed a video.
Another great feature is the video bookmarks, that will put users right back where they were during the session when they want to return. It divides the user’s bookmarks by chapter, and then lists the user’s title and descriptions
A Note about the Content
This is a foundational course on the features, options, and use of Autodesk Inventor. It’s style is feature oriented learning, and not project oriented. While I enjoy project oriented learning as well, a focus on features delivers a more comprehensive review of the capabilities in Inventor, where project based learning can often leave out non-project related options.
Since each discussion and demonstration is a rather complete feature topic, the videos make a great reference when users want to go back and review certain areas of use. I feel this option also lends itself well to companies that want to do lunch and learn training for their users.
Good
Very complete review of the options and tools in Autodesk Inventor 2014
Great division of videos, not too long, making a great reference tool
Extremely knowledgeable instructor
HTML compatibility player on DVD (In case you have limitations with the DVD player provided)
Not so good
No search capability, No feature index
Videos are not titled according to content, so you really depend on the provided player to navigate the series (which really isn’t bad, but makes putting on mobile device more difficult)
Conclusion
The Infinite Skills Inventor 2014 series is a great set of videos and tutorials. Cooper is one of the most knowledgeable Inventor implementation experts and his great training style help round out this series and make it a superb value for anyone trying to increase their proficiency with the tools. This series will leave most beginners with a good, rather complete foundation in the day to day use of the tools. Intermediate users that need some help with areas that they don’t use much will still find this series a great resource.
If I had to guess, I’d estimate that 60% of the Inventor users would get their $99 value back in the first couple of hours watching the videos. I would definitely recommend this series for anyone needing a boost in their Inventor productivity.
Disclaimer: Design & Motion was provided a DVD of the series to review and nothing more. No influence from the publisher or payment was received for this review.
