Following online courses is now becoming really simple and common. There are really few requirements.
Since 2013, Activdesign has provided quality courses for both online and on-campus students. It can be an opportunity for some students to learn with greater flexibility. Busy people, for example, that need to keep a job during their studies, can take advantage of our project-based pedagogy, and of a day-by-day follow-up to get help and answers from our teachers.
To help everyone improve and get work-ready skills, we provide all the support and tools needed :
- online courses (text / video), made available regularly on a predefined agenda
- chat with instructors and other students on our own server, keeping your data safe
- screen-sharing or video conferencing
- file server to share large project files (complete games prototype for example)
- a custom content platform built by our team to match our methodology exactly, so that you can focus on your projects
Requirements:
Computer
There are very few requirements to access our Learning Platform. Any recent computer (less than 5 years old) that can run a web browser will do the trick. You can even view courses and chat on your mobile phone.
Email address
An email address is important so that we can send you your login informations and documents when needed.
Common peripheral hardware
Cameras and microphones if you are a video-conferencing adept. Hands-free microphones such as phone mics may be good.
Specific peripheral hardware
Some courses may promote the use of specific hardware, especially for drawing 2D or 3D, such as NVIDIA, ATI video-card, or pen display.
Internet connection
To be able to access our videos or video-conferences, you should have a 2 MBps bandwidth. This is usually available with DSL providers. You can test your connection speed with online websites (such as https://www.bandwidthplace.com/).
Softwares
Web browser
Chromium, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari… in which you shouldn't disable javascript and you should allow cookies so that you can stay connected throughout pages.
FTP client
Filezilla, for example, to be able to share very large projects when necessary.
Word processing, Spreadsheets and Presentation softwares
We encourage you to use LibreOffice, which matches our needs.
Some courses will promote other softwares such as Krita, Inkscape, Blender, Godot. We encourage you to use free GPLed software whenever you can. We select the best ones to match the professional needs and skills you'd want.
Questions
My computer is old, and i want to buy a new one. Should i buy a Mac ?
You can buy the computer you want. What's important is that it matches your needs. If you want to do 3D animation, it’s important to have a good and robust graphics card. Some software, such as Unreal Engine might require specific hardware.
Can i get help if I need it?
Of course, our teachers are available from Monday to Friday. We encourage contacting them via our chatting platform, but you can send them e-mails. After chatting, you may decide of another mean of communication if you need.
Are there real-time courses ?
Very few. Some teachers may sometimes make appointment dates to create discussion between students. But most of the time, it’s up to the students to request a real-time interaction. As we allow flexibility, we have to keep this as a priority.