Representatives of Penn Libraries, Critical Writing Program, Weingarten Learning Resources Center (VPUL) and Communication within the Curriculum (CWiC) will lead workshops to assist undergraduates with their research, writing, presentation and organizational needs.

We will tour the Weigle Information Commons, try out the video recording rooms, learn about partner services from CWiC, Weingarten Learning Resources Center and Writing Center, explore library resources, visit the Media Lab and try out the clickers in the seminar room. Maximize your time through short- and long-term planning. This workshop introduces approaches to managing weekly course assignments, as well as papers and projects. Participants will leave with their own semester plan. Presented by Myrna Cohen, Director of the Weingarten Learning Resources Center. We will show you how to use Excel to extract meaning from data. We will bring in data from webpages, convert and format data in automated ways, look at ways to make data cleaner and more reliable, graph trends and find meaning in masses of numbers. Registration opens on 9/3/2008 We will explore the video recording rooms for practicing and videotaping your presentation. We will explore PowerPoint basics hands-on in the WIC Seminar Room. Registration opens on 9/10/2008 During this workshop, CWiC student speaking advisors discuss speech anxiety and provide strategies for managing nervousness. Registration opens on 9/17/2008 The Refworks system allows you to store and organize records of articles and books, access them quickly, and insert properly formatted citations into a Word document. Learn to use it at this session--it can change your academic life. Registration opens on 10/1/2008 Make the most of the rest of the semester by managing your time effectively. Presented by the Weingarten Learning Resources Center. Registration opens on 10/8/2008 Looking for that perfect resource for your paper or project? Just getting started with your research? Swamped with information but can't find exactly what you need? Meet with a librarian who specializes in the social sciences (sociology, political science, psycholoy, economics, etc.) for assistance. Registration opens on 10/15/2008 Strategic academic reading will take you beyond 'keeping up' with your reading assignments. This workshop will extend your reading versatility and encourage efficiency while increasing comprehension. Bring a textbook or journal article that you are currently reading with you. Registration opens on 10/22/2008 This workshop will help students consider how to appropriately devise and structure an argument in relation to the size and scope of their assignments. We will examine writing conventions in the worlds of academia and publishing and provide participants with various tools for creating and organizing coherent and thoughtful essays. Presented by Fayyaz Vellani from the Critical Writing Program. Registration opens on 10/29/2008 During this workshop, CWiC student speaking advisors discuss common PowerPoint mistakes and provide strategies for successfully using visual aids. Registration opens on 11/5/2008 This workshop will help students consider how to appropriately edit and revise writing assignments. Please bring your writing assignment, either in final or draft form, to the workshop. We will work through different methods of improving the paper for readability and coherence. Registration opens on 11/19/2008 Trying to create a poster to explain your research project to others? Wondering how to make a powerful visual statement? We will explore designing your poster in PowerPoint. We will look at page size options, font and color choices, Word Art, Autoshapes and drawing tools. Bring your poster information with you as well as your personal laptop if appropriate. We will share tips and tricks for poster formatting, show examples and discuss preparing a PDF for printing in the Vitale Digital Media Lab or similar facility. Registration opens on 11/26/2008

We will show the discussion capabilities of Blackboard including discussion boards, chat sessions and threaded discussion options. We will discuss strategies for increasing peer interaction and out-of-class participation by your students. Learn how to use the BB Grade Center to work with different types of assignments, use the dropbox to collect assignments from students and make efficient use of assessment tools. Blackboard experts from Penn Libraries are available to help faculty and instructional staff with walk-in one-on-one assistance for courseware-related questions. We will discuss efficient ways to handle gradebook, customize the look of your Blackboard courses as well as plug-in functionality. Registration opens on 9/22/2008 We will discuss the Wiki tools in Blackboard and show examples of how to use them to promote collaboration, group activities and good writing skills. Registration opens on 9/8/2008

This class will provide an hands-on introduction to using Apple's iMovie software, which is available for Penn students, faculty, and staff in the Vitale Digital Media Lab. You will learn how to capture video from a DVD, VHS tape, or from your own video camera. You will learn to organize or delete video clips, add a new soundtrack, add subtitles, and create special effects.

Registration opens on 9/11/2008

Please feel free to bring your lunch to this seminar series. Each seminar is a 30 minute presentation followed by a half hour for discussion.

We will demonstrate the complex timing and structural effects possible through PowerPoint animations. We will provide a show-and-tell of how such animations are created. Learn the basics of how to create your own personal bibliographic citation database using this web-based bibliographic management tool. The workshop will focus on how to create a personal database online, import references automatically from databases and library catalogs, organize and annotate references, format references and bibliographies in Microsoft Word documents and more. NOTE: RefWorks is freely available to all current Penn students, faculty, and staff. Registration opens on 9/3/2008 An overview of this powerful database. Registration opens on 9/10/2008

A basic introduction to this powerful image editing software. Learn how to open image files, use the toolbox and palettes, convert formats and manage multiple layers.

Registration opens on 9/3/2008

Special topics with PhotoShop - assumes knowledge of topics covered in PhotoShop I.

Registration opens on 9/11/2008

Learn the basics of PowerPoint hands-on. Participants will learn to create new presentations, apply design templates, manipulate text, insert graphics, prepare notes and handouts from PowerPoint slides, save presentations, and more.

Registration opens on 9/1/2008

Second Life is an interactive virtual environment that shows promise for educational and creative activities in several disciplines.

Can You Visualize Your Inner Fish? Second Life lets you create an avatar of yourself that can give flesh to your imagination. You can be an animal, an alien, a mythical creature, or a human with added features like wings or scales. We will hold hands-on workshops to show how to create your "inner fish" avatar and dress it up with textures and colors. Then, on the day before Halloween, we will celebrate our creations with a fashion show and contest for "inner fish" avatars in Second Life. ( Web Resource ) Registration opens on 10/13/2008 Can You Visualize Your Inner Fish? Second Life lets you create an avatar of yourself that can give flesh to your imagination. You can be an animal, an alien, a mythical creature, or a human with added features like wings or scales. We will hold hands-on workshops to show how to create your "inner fish" avatar and dress it up with textures and colors. Then, on the day before Halloween, we will celebrate our creations with a fashion show and contest for "inner fish" avatars in Second Life. ( Web Resource ) Registration opens on 10/15/2008 Can You Visualize Your Inner Fish? On the day before Halloween, we will celebrate our creations with a fashion show and contest for "inner fish" avatars in Second Life. ( Web Resource ) Registration opens on 10/16/2008

How can new media enhance student learning? Discover new media through faculty insights, hands-on exploration of four technologies and an overview of trends. Presenters include Pat Aufderheide, Peter Decherney, Louise Krasniewicz, Andrew Lamas and Jacqui Sadashige.

( Web Resource )

This series showcases new technologies. Vendor presentations may include sales-related content.

New to using a Mac? Switched recently from a Windows PC? We'll offer tips to use your Mac productively, perform basic trouble-shooting and housekeeping tasks, and easily move files between Macs and Windows computers. Bring your Mac laptop with you. Presented by Al Matthews and Jason Watkins from SAS Computing. Registration opens on 9/1/2008 Explore Comic Life's ability to quickly create a comic book or graphic novel. Bring in images, screen shots from movies, scanned drawings and other graphics. Add effects and push the boundaries of comic book design. Print, or make a web version with ease. Registration opens on 9/17/2008 Comic Life is software for creating comic books and graphic novels. Anthropologist Louise Krasniewicz will demonstrate this exciting and easy-to- use program and show examples of her own and her students' work. Registration opens on 10/13/2008