Most permaculture certification courses run between 10 and 14 days at a specific site or location. This is because certification requires up to 72 hours of actual instruction and training. With the use the internet, students will begin a Midwest Permaculture course from their own home during a 3 week period prior to their week long intensive.
This means that our students will be able to receive a powerful-certification
training in 1 Week rather than two.
Webinars and On-site Instruction
Each live webinar will last approximately 2 hours. Some reading and homework will be assigned between classes. The webinars provide 12 hours of instruction before the on-site portion of a course even begins. The remaining 60 hours is covered over an intensive 1-week period. Mark and Wayne have the ability to keep things alive and interesting while breaking up the days with guest speakers, site tours and unique video footage. The week seems to fly by for most students.
Webinar Features
The webinars are typically hosted on three Sunday and Wednesday evenings prior to the course. Mark and Wayne use the webinars to tackle some of the more text-book-type subjects. Students access what we call the webinar portal and can listen to Mark or Wayne’s live instruction while viewing any accompanying photos, graphs, or illustrations they have prepared. Each student is accessing this from where ever they have a computer. Students are able to ask questions verbally by “requesting the mic,” and can ask their question which everyone will hear over their computer speakers. Students may also ask questions or make comments by typing into the “text-chat” feature . Everyone is able to view the chat portion of the screen while the presentation progresses. Besides receiving some fascinating instruction, the webinars also allow our students to get to know Mark & Wayne and their fellow students a bit as well.
Topics Covered in Webinars:
Origins of Permaculture Design
Elements of Design
Permaculture Ethics & Principles
Energy and Design Flows
Zone & Site Analysis
Patterns in Nature
Residential Structures Through Time
Macrocosm & Microcosm of Life
Bio-mimicry - Designing with Nature
Hydrological Cycles
Water Harvesting
Carbon Cycles & Harvesting
Brief History of Agriculture
Designing for the Future
More...
Computer Requirements
Connection High-speed connections are great, but students with just a 56K modem are able to participate as well.
Windows, Mac & Linux
The webinar tool we are now using is a business version of the internet phone and chat service called Skype. It is well known, well used, cross platform (works on Windows, Mac & Linux) and free to download & use. Skype will allow all of us not only to be able to talk live over the internet for free, but it also includes a text-chat feature that allows students to communicate before, during and after the live webinars by typing messages to each other and our instructors.
Using Skype does require the downloading of new software on to your computer, and a bit of time becoming familiar with it, but most of us who have gone through the trouble really enjoy it and find it easy to use. We think you will find it worth the effort to join us in this way, and once it is loaded, you can continue to use Skype to talk to friends for free, all over the world if they have loaded Skype too. You can also use Skype simply as a telephone and make long distance calls to any regular phone or cell-phone for as low as 2.1 cents/minute.
Webinars Also Accessable by Phone
However, it is not a requirement to use Skype. You may skip this learning curve and simply call in on the conference phone line. Students download the presentation material that our instructors will be using on to their own computers and follow the slides on their computer while they listen to the instruction and dialoge over the phone. It's very simple.
No matter what, the recordings are accessible to everyone and are typically posted overnight and ready for listening and review the following morning.
Microphone (optional)
If you would like to be able to verbally ask questions through the webinar portal, you will need to have a computer microphone (mic) . Some students simply use the chat section to ask their questions. That's just fine. The microphones are not expensive and are available in all computer stores.
Set-up Instruction Sessions
Before each webinar series, Bill invites all students to participate in one or more, of several ‘set-up sessions’ where he will walk students through the webinar process. This way, come class time, everyone already knows how to log-on and use the webinar features.
Recorded Webinar Classes
Each webinar will be recorded, both the audio and the images, for those students who might have to miss a class. All recordings will be posted on this website in a special ‘Student Resource Area’ and can be reviewed by registered students, over and over again. For some students, this is the only way they are able to participate in the course due to work or other conflicts. This typically works just fine.
Interested in the Webinars Only?
We welcome anyone to register and participate in the webinar portion of a course.
Tuition is $165 for all six webinars (12 hours). Should a student decide to take a full course in the future... ...the $165 is fully credited toward their design course registration fee.
Students must have a copy of the text book, Permaculture- A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison, and will be expected to do the reading and homework assignments along with the rest of the class. How you obtain a copy is up to you (library, borrow, buy). This classic text can be purchased from us when you register (either on-line or via phone).
There are 2 Ways to Register for the Webinars: - 1 - Click Here to Register On-line - (MasterCard - Discover - Visa)
Students who need the text book Permaculture - A Designer's Manual will find it on this page as well. - 2 -
Call Becky at 815-256-2215 with credit card information and register over the phone.
Webinar Features