GradProSkills

Digital, media and information workshops


Information searching and archiving


In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to use Zotero, a desktop and web-based tool that you can use to organize the references you find in library catalogues and databases, insert citations in your papers, and prepare bibliographies or reference lists quickly and effectively, in a wide variety of citation styles (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, et cetera). We will look at integrating Zotero with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. We will also cover how to share folders and citations (e.g., for collaborative projects or to disseminate reading lists). No experience with Zotero is necessary.

Please ensure that you set up Zotero in advance of the workshop. You can find instructions on how to set up Zotero on the Library website: https://library.concordia.ca/help/workshops/zotero-prerequisites.pdf
 
  • 03 June
  • 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
  • Sir George Williams
In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to use Zotero, a desktop and web-based tool that you can use to organize the references you find in library catalogues and databases, insert citations in your papers, and prepare bibliographies or reference lists quickly and effectively, in a wide variety of citation styles (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, et cetera). We will look at integrating Zotero with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. We will also cover how to share folders and citations (e.g., for collaborative projects or to disseminate reading lists). No experience with Zotero is necessary.

Please ensure that you set up Zotero in advance of the workshop. You can find instructions on how to set up Zotero on the Library website: https://library.concordia.ca/help/workshops/zotero-prerequisites.pdf
 
  • 15 May
  • 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
  • Online

Productivity and collaboration


What do you do during a poster session?  What makes for a successful academic poster?  Maybe you have been doing research for a long time and don’t know how to condense it.  Maybe you are new to the research world, and you doubt that you have enough done to present.  In this workshop, we discuss the academic poster session, how to design a poster, and provide some tips for shining as you present your poster.
  • 07 June
  • 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
  • Online
This workshop introduces the basic mechanisms of the typesetting programming language LaTeX as implemented in the web browser instance Overleaf. After demonstrating the concept of a compiled pdf from typesetting instructions, participants will be offered examples for how to include hyperlinks, images, mathematical equations, tables, code snippets with highlighting, and how to program diagrams. To conclude, the workshop will show how LaTeX integrates with any reference manager which can export references to BibTeX or BibLaTeX formats. 
  • 10 June
  • 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams
A quick and simple introduction to the Linux operating system. This workshop is for beginners with little to no experience working with this free and open-source OS.
 
  • 14 May
  • 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams

Programming languages


This friendly workshop will start you building Virtual Reality (VR) experiences quickly and easily. This workshop makes use of the A-frame JavaScript library. Prior knowledge of JavaScript or HTML is NOT required (but it doesn't hurt). By the end of the session you will have created a simple VR environment. An optional second session for sharing VR creations, troubleshooting, demonstrating more advanced features and testing on different hardware will be offered (no further registration is required).
  • 11 June
  • 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams

Social media management


According to LinkedIn, there are well over 360 million professionals on LinkedIn. How we build our professional network has changed. Hiring managers are also proactively using LinkedIn as a powerful recruitment tool. According to Jobvite.com, 94 % of recruiters are using LinkedIn to find talent.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Students are highly recommended to have a computer for this workshop and make sure they have an account set up on LinkedIn.
 
  • 05 June
  • 01:30 PM - 03:30 PM
  • Sir George Williams

Conducting research


Are you curious about coding, have a project in mind and don’t know where to start or think developing fundamental knowledge about programming can be helpful? In this workshop, we will use Python, a very popular, powerful, yet simple programming language to discuss and demonstrate foundational coding concepts.

 

You do not need any prior knowledge of coding or Python to participate in this workshop. If you are already familiar with coding or Python, then this workshop will be too basic for you and you should not attend.

 

You will receive an email prior to the workshop with instructions for installing Python and PyCharm on your personal computer. You will also have access to a Moodle course page.

 

This workshop consists of 3 sessions. Each session is based on a mix of theory (slides) and short practical exercises guided by the workshop leader. Between sessions, students are advised to review the material previously covered, re-do the last session’s exercises and try new exerciseson their own.

  • 23 May - 06 June
  • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Online

Creative content production


What is an ePortfolio? Your ePortfolio is a personal website that holds in one place your academic and professional work.

Is ePortfolio different from CV? Absolutely! A CV ‘lists’ your achievements, while ePortfolio ‘shows’ your audience details of what you’ve done in an aesthetically pleasing way. Eportfolios are more memorable than text because you add photos and multimedia to show your work.

Why should I have an ePortfolio?
  • Eportfolios are becoming popular to complement traditional CVs and cover letters, and they allow you to:
  • Show off to future employers a full picture of your achievements and interests that is not possible in a CV.
  • Build your professional digital footprint. Future employers will search your name on the web, and finding your your eportfolio gives them a great first impression;
  • Make yourself “discoverable” in web searches by future employers and collaborators by adding keywords to your eportfolio.

This is a beginner's course so no previous WordPress knowledge is required.

The components of your ePortfolio will be completed incrementally every week. By the end of this 4-week course, your basic ePortfolio will have the following pages: About; Contact; Projects: multimedia works, etc; Optional pages: volunteering work, etc.

 
  • 27 January - 17 February
  • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Online
This workshop will guide participants through the first steps of doing data analysis, specifically text mining with Weka.
 
Weka is an open-source machine-learning tool. We will be replicating the work of Mike Thelwall in his paper on Gender bias in machine learning for sentiment analysis.

Before getting into the hands-on text mining exercise, we will present a brief introduction to AI and machine learning, as well as the notion of algorithmic bias; what it is, how is introduced, and its repercussions.

By the end of the workshop participants will have applied a sentiment analysis technique to a gender-segregated data set and be able to determine its effect on the resulting predictive model.
 
  • 08 November
  • 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams
Every time you look at your phone and see a beautiful app, you're looking at the work someone spent hundreds of hours on. That work might seem elusive and complicated, but the principles behind designing an application follow the same patterns as many creative projects and can be learned with practice.  
 
This interactive workshop will guide you through the thought processes involved in making interfaces for our digital devices. We will explore the tools designers use daily to make interactive experiences intended to delight the people who use them. You'll get a taste for what it's like to design digital products and maybe even take your first step towards an exciting new career. 
  • 08 March
  • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams

Data analysis and visualization


OpenRefine is a powerful, free tool that simplifies working with messy data. During this workshop, attendees will learn how OpenRefine can be used to clean and normalize data sets, reorder columns, filter data, and transform data sets into different file types.
 
  • 12 October
  • 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
  • Sir George Williams
This workshop will focus on the main sources of social statistics in Canada, namely Statistics Canada's Website, more specifically the Data section and the Canadian Census. Provincial statistics (Institut de la Statistique du Québec) will also be mentioned. The second part of the presentation will present the concept of microdata and introduce students to data available through the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI). We will review the best methods to identify relevant surveys. The various types of data files (PUMFs, Master Files) will be described and students will be shown how to access those files via the Odesi database or by going to the Research Data Centre at McGill (QICSS). There will be a demonstration of Odesi which will focus on searching the platform for surveys and individual variables and on downloading datasets and associated documentation.
  • 26 September
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Sir George Williams

Information searching and archiving


Are you comfortable using Zotero but feel like you might not be getting the most out of it? This workshop is designed for people that would like to discover some tricks for working with Zotero. We will take a hands-on approach, so please bring your computer already configured for using Zotero.
  • 19 March
  • 09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Sir George Williams
Primary sources are original documents and objects that were created at the time under study, or by participants or observers of the events. Suited for students who need to incorporate historical resources into their research, this workshop offers an introduction to finding sometimes elusive primary sources appropriate for graduate study. Students will learn how to identify and retrieve original documents in a variety of formats at Concordia Library and beyond. You will learn the relevant skills necessary to find, evaluate, and cite primary sources.
 
  • 09 March
  • 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
  • Online
In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to use Zotero, a desktop and web-based tool that you can use to organize the references you find in library catalogues and databases, insert citations in your papers, and prepare bibliographies or reference lists quickly and effectively, in a wide variety of citation styles (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, et cetera). We will look at integrating Zotero with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. We will also cover how to share folders and citations (e.g., for collaborative projects or to disseminate reading lists). No experience with Zotero is necessary.

Please ensure that you set up Zotero in advance of the workshop. You can find instructions on how to set up Zotero on the Library website: https://library.concordia.ca/help/workshops/zotero-prerequisites.pdf
 
  • 20 February
  • 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
  • Sir George Williams
Would you like to be able to keep a permanent copy of something that's online? Whether it's your thesis project website, source material for your research, or your favourite cat video, online content is at high risk of disappearing. This workshop will show you how to preserve web content using free and open-source tools.  This is an introductory-level workshop and no prior knowledge or technical skills are needed.
  • 04 October
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Online

Productivity and collaboration


When someone looks you up online: what do they see? How will future employers learn about your accomplishments? While taking inspiration from outstanding researcher profiles, this workshop is designed for graduate students across disciplines to make informed decisions about their online presence. In building a public image of one’s scholarship, we will explore a range of profile systems such as Google Scholar, social media for academics, university profiles, and ORCID. While offering general tips and tricks, special attention will be given to ORCID as a versatile tool, favouring the researcher’s control. Finally, there will be plenty of space for a critical discussion on the benefits and challenges of public and open scholarship. Come prepared to explore and participate.     
  • 04 April
  • 09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Online
What do you do during a poster session?  What makes for a successful academic poster?  Maybe you have been doing research for a long time and don’t know how to condense it.  Maybe you are new to the research world, and you doubt that you have enough done to present.  In this workshop, we discuss the academic poster session, how to design a poster, and provide some tips for shining as you present your poster.
  • 05 March
  • 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
  • Online
This workshop introduces the basic mechanisms of the typesetting programming language LaTeX as implemented in the web browser instance Overleaf. After demonstrating the concept of a compiled pdf from typesetting instructions, participants will be offered examples for how to include hyperlinks, images, mathematical equations, tables, code snippets with highlighting, and how to program diagrams. To conclude, the workshop will show how LaTeX integrates with any reference manager which can export references to BibTeX or BibLaTeX formats. 
  • 30 January
  • 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
  • Sir George Williams
This hands-on workshop will introduce students to the modern, no-cost, digital note-taking tool, Obsidian (or Zettlr). Integrated with Zotero and used in an academic framework, these tools can foster productive research writing. The workshop will help students start practising the principles of a Zettelkasten technique to build a personal knowledge base of literature notes, interlinked ideas, long-form writing, visual concept maps, and more. It will show how to associate Obsidian notes with bibliographic information in Zotero as part of the research writing workflow. 
  • 09 February
  • 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Sir George Williams
A quick and simple introduction to the Linux operating system. This workshop is for beginners with little to no experience working with this free and open-source OS.
 
  • 01 February
  • 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams
This hands-on workshop will introduce students to the modern, free, digital note-taking tool, Logseq. Integrated with Zotero and used in an academic framework, these tools can foster productive research writing. The workshop will help students start practising the principles of a Zettelkasten technique to build a personal knowledge base of literature notes, interlinked ideas, tasks, spaced repetition, visual concept maps, and more. It will show how to associate Logseq notes with bibliographic information in Zotero as part of the research writing workflow. 
  • 08 February
  • 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Sir George Williams

Programming languages


Do you have data you'd like to analyze? Would you like to gain insights from your data and communicate them with eye-catching visualizations and reports? Are you tired of being chained to Excel or expensive proprietary software? If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes!", then this workshop is for you. R is an open-source and versatile programming language that's perfect for data analysis, visualization, and science communication.

In this all-in-one course, you'll learn the basics of programming and be introduced to the RStudio interface. We'll then move on to how to import and clean data, how to make publication-quality plots and visualizations, and how to generate scientific reports to communicate your findings; all within the R ecosystem!

In this three-part interactive workshop, you'll learn to:
• Import CSV and Excel files
• Install and use external packages
• Clean and explore data
• Generate descriptive statistics
• Create and customize plots
• Write custom functions

All of this is done with principles of reproducibility in mind, so you can write code that is clear and easily shareable with others. No previous coding experience is necessary. R is used in fields ranging from linguistics and marketing to ecology and sports analytics and many more. If you want the ability to get more out of your data, join us to get started using R.
  • 13 June - 27 June
  • 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Online
This friendly workshop will start you building Virtual Reality (VR) experiences quickly and easily. This workshop makes use of the A-frame JavaScript library. Prior knowledge of JavaScript or HTML is NOT required (but it doesn't hurt). By the end of the session you will have created a simple VR environment. An optional second session for sharing VR creations, troubleshooting, demonstrating more advanced features and testing on different hardware will be offered (no further registration is required).
  • 08 February
  • 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams
According to LinkedIn, there are well over 360 million professionals on LinkedIn. How we build our professional network has changed. Hiring managers are also proactively using LinkedIn as a powerful recruitment tool. According to Jobvite.com, 94 % of recruiters are using LinkedIn to find talent.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Students are highly recommended to have a computer for this workshop and make sure they have an account set up on LinkedIn.
 
  • 06 March
  • 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  • Online