Last year was full of challenges, changes, and most of all — lots of learning. And especially, lots of online learning. The SolidProfessor platform was buzzing with new K-12 and postsecondary students in distance learning curriculums. We saw many engineering professionals upskilling from home and design teams finding new ways to adapt their regular CAD training to a remote environment. Despite all of the obstacles that 2020 brought, our engineering design community learned a lot of CAD, CAM, and BIM this year! And it taught us a thing or two, too.
2020 By the Numbers: A SolidProfessor Online Learning Recap
In 2020, SolidProfessor learners watched over 7,243,000 video tutorials! That translates to more than 166,000 hours of lesson viewing time (or 166,023 hours, 28 minutes and 47 seconds to be exact). And that doesn’t even include all of the time spent earning over 16,600 Technical Certificates and taking 1,980 Skills Analyzer tests.
Top New CAD, CAM & BIM Video Tutorials in 2020
Our content development experts were hard at work and delivered over 1,300 brand new video tutorials on topics including SOLIDWORKS, Autodesk Inventor, Onshape, Distance Learning, and more.
Here were some of our top new course releases on the SolidProfessor platform last year:
- Complete new library of 2020 Autodesk Inventor tutorials: We took our Inventor library from a few key lessons to a comprehensive set of 450+ Inventor tutorials for beginner to advanced users. This also included our first-ever Autodesk Vault PDM tutorials.
- Introduction to SOLIDWORKS 2021: This course is targeted at brand new SOLIDWORKS users. It’s designed to quickly introduce you to 3D parametric modeling in the latest version of SOLIDWORKS.
- AutoCAD User Certification Prep Course: In this course, learn what to expect from the AutoCAD Certified User exam and how to best prepare. Take the included practice exams to test your knowledge and get comfortable with AutoCAD.
- Distance Learning Tutorials for Onshape & xDesign: Designed to simplify your distance learning curriculum, these bundled online courses will guide students through learning the basics of engineering design theory and using browser-based CAD software like Onshape and xDesign.
Event Spotlight: 2020 SolidProfessor Virtual Education Summit
If you’re fans or friends of SolidProfessor, you’ve likely gotten to know us at SOLIDWORKS World, Autodesk University, and many other events throughout the country. Since in-person events weren’t possible this year, we hosted our first-ever SolidProfessor Virtual Education Summit! Hundreds of engineering educators and industry professionals joined us for a day of virtual sessions, networking, and more.
Here’s a recap of the summit by the numbers:
- 500+ attendees which included K-12 and postsecondary educators and administrators, industry professionals, and more.
- 18 engaging sessions on how to prepare students for careers in engineering, manufacturing, and architecture.
- 24 expert speakers from Microsoft, SOLIDWORKS, PLTW, PTC/Onshape, SolidProfessor, and more!
If you missed the event, you can watch all of the live session recordings here. Stay tuned for updates on our virtual events in 2021!
Top Free Resources for Engineering Design in 2020
In addition to our Library of 7,500+ video tutorials, we keep our Resource Center stocked with plenty of free resources for instructors, professionals, and managers alike. From industry trends to grants & funding and professional development, here were our top free resources for engineering design software users in 2020:
- Project: Free Design Challenges for Students
- Cheat Sheet: SOLIDWORKS Keyboard Shortcuts
- E-Guide: 30+ Insider Secrets to Passing the CSWP Exam
- Free Webinar Recording: What Every Teacher Needs to Know about Perkins Funding
- Ebook: Kirkpatrick Model Tools & Techniques That Work
What a year! Thank you to every teacher, student, engineering manager, and design professional that was a part of the SolidProfessor community in 2020.
