By Scott Weinberg FASLA, Technology Editor, University of Georgia, Athens

Scott Weinberg

Before reading this article I want you to do something, so that we can all begin with the same premise. Click on www.asla.org and visit their joblink site. Among the 100-plus job listings, click on as many as you want and try to find the jobs that do not ask specifically for some type of computer skills. In almost all cases computer/ technology is being specified as an entry qualification. Most of them will even go as far as specifying programs such as AutoCAD, Quark, Photoshop, etc.

Speaking with practitioners from across the country will also be an enlightening task. They all seem to feel that we are not providing our students enough time on computers to allow them to be time efficient. Time efficient is a phrase which basically means productive and not in a learning mode. With today?EUR??,,????'???s programs many students have had some training in using programs such as AutoCAD. What the firms are looking for are the students that enter their firms with enough knowledge to be productive from the outset. Firms do not particularly want new hires to be learning computer skills on the job. Although it must be said that any computer time is a positive experience that ultimately ends up in developing both a keen knowledge base and increased speed.

The marriage of hand graphics and technology are evident in this project which was created by University of Georgia?EUR??,,????'???s Jessica Lauren Webb, who created the base information on CAD and completed the rendering by hand.

Where does one begin to insert technology learning in a curriculum? As everything else, you must start at the beginning. At the University of Georgia we currently have four classes that are totally technology oriented. Along with the first design studios our second year students are introduced to both AutoCAD and EaglePoint software in their graphics courses. The students spend half the semester working by hand and the other half working in CAD. This gives them an understanding of the differences and the similarities of producing a graphic product. They also begin to realize the differences in time commitments when doing a project by hand vs. computer. In most cases what the students experience is just the opposite of what will happen after they get proficient with the technology. That is, it is much faster to work by hand than by computer. This will change.

The other two required computer classes are a portfolio development class where students use programs such as Quark, InDesign and Photoshop to produce portfolio materials and to begin to work with changing images.

Most students will begin their CAD experience by practicing drawing using simple commands such as line, array, mirror, copy, move, etc.

In most cases the images are a before and after of a specific landscape or design. The last class is the semester before they graduate and the class is Advanced Cad. For some of our students, they may not have done another CAD drawing since their second year. This gives the students another chance to relearn or develop their CAD skills before they go out and begin their careers.

Beginning this year, our third year students are required to have a laptop computer with CAD programs installed. Each studio class will allow the students to use technology on any projects. The students will decide how many projects should be done by hand or by technology. In each class certain projects will be required to be completed by using the technology.

The trees and ground plane were created by scanning images from photographs and copying them into the drawing using Photoshop.

The integration of technology in the classroom also takes a firm faculty commitment. In some cases, projects that formerly took two or three weeks can now be completed in two thirds to half the time. The actual drawing of an entire project or set of multiple drawings can be done over the lunch hour or while completing other assignments for other classes.

In some cases where students are working side by side with students doing hand drawn projects they must contain more in-depth project statements. Reworking problem statements and trying to pin point the happy medium where each group spends roughly the same amount of time on a project can be a guessing game the first time you do it.

This master plan for a 300 acre golf course community was created by a fourth year student using CAD and Photoshop. The rendering took about twice as long than if it were rendered by hand. The rendering technique used in this example is very time consuming. Cutting, pasting and finding the correct textures to use take a while.

Each successive semester the students will be required to rely not only on hand drawn skills, but also on their technology skills that they can hone on a daily basis during their three remaining years on campus in our program. By the time they have completed the five year program they will have been able to have four years of computer experience at all levels.

Developing the curriculum for this type of learning experience is of utmost importance. The project goals and objectives have to be thoughtfully assembled and presented in such a way as to make sense for both groups. Additional work from the faculty will be required to adapt existing class projects to projects that will take more design time and less production time. In most cases faculty will be required to at least have a basic working knowledge of the software the students will be required to use. In the end a better design product can be expected.As the students begin to become more familiar with technology and work quicker and smarter, they will begin to develop the skills that are needed to make them productive team members when they begin their first employment adventure.

A basic grading plan is simple to complete in CAD and eliminates the tedium of having to sit and draw it by hand. This is where time savings becomes an issue when trying to schedule class projects. A typical 24'' x 36'' complete sheet usually takes a student two days to complete. On CAD, it is done over a lunch break!