The first semester of university is usually associated with things like adjusting to large lecture halls, juggling a busy class schedule with other life commitments, finding your way around campus, navigating the large library, and hopefully connecting with some new and old friends. But how does this change when most of your learning and studying takes place online in your own workspace? Although studying online can offer some great perks like flexibility and a very easy commute, it can also require new strategies for keeping up with schoolwork, engaging with material, and getting help if you get stuck. Not to worry! This week-long workshop series is especially designed to help NEW undergraduate students get ready for remote university learning. Whether you are coming from high school, transferring from college, or returning after some years away, you will get a head start on succeeding academically (online) at university!

Come and get ready to:

• Develop the time-management habits necessary for success as a remote university student. 
• Maximize your effectiveness in online live or recorded lectures, reading, and studying.
• Research and write university-level papers.

Other bonus features include:

• A panel of SFU professors talking about how they have designed their online courses, assignments, and exams, and answering your questions.
• A panel of successful upper-division students sharing their strategies and answering your questions about attending SFU online.
• Opportunities to connect with like-minded students who are also new to SFU.
• Experience using Canvas, the same  Learning Management System used for most SFU courses. 

Plus, attendance at Getting Ready and any Student Learning Commons workshop is eligible for inclusion on your Co-Curricular Record.

Technology requirements: Reliable internet, speakers, and mic. Webcam strongly recommended.

This 50-minute session reviews the top 5 things most useful to know about academic writing. The rest of the session is dedicated to answering your burning questions (no matter how basic or complex) about academic writing and writing in the disciplines. You’ll take away some answers, including where to find more help when you need it! Webinars will be 30-45 minutes, with the remaining time for open discussion. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

This session takes a time management approach to the writing process. It is intended to help you break your writing up into steps and get started. It will also introduce useful writing tools such as the assignment calculator and the pomodoro technique. Webinars will be 30-45 minutes, with the remaining time for open discussion. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Effective argumentation is a core requirement of many writing assignments across the disciplines. Yet it isn't always clear what an academic argument is or how you should write one. In this 50-minute session, you'll learn the particular rules governing academic argumentation. This workshop will also introduce a number of templates that you can use to clearly and effectively structure and defend your written arguments. Webinars will be 30-45 minutes, with the remaining time for open discussion. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

So, you have to write a research paper. This session will introduce you to steps to help you effectively organize and communicate the research you have conducted. It will also introduce tips for writing a clear thesis for a research-based paper. Webinars will be 30-45 minutes, with the remaining time for open discussion. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

This session will introduce you to a number of different writing modes including blogging, podcasting, and webcasting. We will focus on  the principles that are unique to writing for each of these modalities, as well as on the aspects of writing that apply across the board. Webinars will be 30-45 minutes, with the remaining time for open discussion. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Congratulations--you've drafted your paper! What's next? This workshop overviews a technique of revising higher-order concerns, then looking at the finer details of your piece. You'll also learn more about common errors that can trip up even strong writers. Webinars will be 30-45 minutes, with the remaining time for open discussion. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

The first semester of university is usually associated with things like adjusting to large lecture halls, juggling a busy class schedule with other life commitments, finding your way around campus, navigating the large library, and hopefully connecting with some new and old friends. But how does this change when most of your learning and studying takes place online in your own workspace? Although studying online can offer some great perks like flexibility and a very easy commute, it can also require new strategies for keeping up with schoolwork, engaging with material, and getting help if you get stuck. Not to worry! This week-long workshop series is especially designed to help NEW undergraduate students get ready for remote university learning. Whether you are coming from high school, transferring from college, or returning after some years away, you will get a head start on succeeding academically (online) at university!

Come and get ready to:

• Develop the time-management habits necessary for success as a remote university student. 
• Maximize your effectiveness in online live or recorded lectures, reading, and studying.
• Research and write university-level papers.

Other bonus features include:

• A panel of SFU professors talking about how they have designed their online courses, assignments, and exams, and answering your questions.
• A panel of successful upper-division students sharing their strategies and answering your questions about attending SFU online.
• Opportunities to connect with like-minded students who are also new to SFU.
• Experience using Canvas, the same  Learning Management System used for most SFU courses. 

Plus, attendance at Getting Ready and any Student Learning Commons workshop is eligible for inclusion on your Co-Curricular Record.

Technology requirements: Reliable internet, speakers, and mic. Webcam strongly recommended.

Do you want to learn how to succeed in your online courses? This workshop is for you! In 50-minutes we will cover the basics of effective time management, reading, studying and online learning. It will be a great investment in your time, and will give you the confidence you need to succeed academically online. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Other workshops this term will cover time management and study strategies that will serve you well whether you are taking in-person or online courses.   This webinar, however, will discuss particular challenges of, and effective approaches to, the current situation in which all of your courses are online.  This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Does it seem that you can never find enough time to study? Or despite your best intentions, something always distracts you from studying? Or are you concerned that managing your time at University might be different than high school, and you want to be prepared. Attend this workshop to build skills to help you live by your priorities in and out of University, and discover tools to help you focus on the task at hand. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Do you want to optimize the effectiveness of the time you devote to studying?  Come learn which study strategies are most strongly supported by research, and how to maximize your focus while studying.  This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Is this your first full term of university-level online courses?  Or do you want to develop better strategies than you might have used in your first few remote or online courses? The students telling their stories in this webinar succeeded in their online courses - even courses that suddenly became online last March!  They will share their best advice to help you succeed too, and there will be time for questions.  This webinar may be recorded for later use.

With lectures recorded, slides provided in advance, and many textbooks electronic, note-taking may seem to be an obsolete skill.  Yet effective note-taking in class and while reading serves many purposes including helping you focus, helping you separate main concepts from details and tangents, checking your understanding, capturing ideas for assignments, and simply reducing the volume of material you need to study later.  Effective note-taking can be learned and is built through practice.  Join us to level up your note-taking. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Do you drift off while reading and find that you don’t retain much? Or do you get distracted easily in lectures or while trying to study? Join this workshop to hear how you can read effectively and improve your concentration. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Professors and TAs often talk about the need to think critically, but few actually explain what critical thinking is or how to do it. We will go through what critical thinking is, and what questions to ask to promote critical thinking, right from the first time you read a piece. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Are university-level quantitative courses harder than you though?  Attend this workshop, developed by a college math instructor, to learn how to gain the deep understanding needed to solve even the trickiest exam problem.  This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Trying to raise your GPA?  Need some inspiration? Tune into this event and listen to other students or recent graduates from various Faculties tell their stories of how they successfully raised their grades.  There will be plenty of time for question.  This webinar will be recorded for later use.

Procrastination is something that most students do. Today our learning environments are online, with stress, isolation and a lack of structure common. We are all struggling to stay productive! Join us in breaking the isolation and talking about how to manage procrastination even under the most adverse circumstances. This workshop will help you understand the cycle of procrastination, and then offer you strategies on how you can get moving and productive again. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Do you dread group projects?  Learn how to create a positive team experience remotely by planning ahead, leveraging the strengths of each group member, setting ground rules, and learning how to deal productively with conflict. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

Are exams coming up? Do you want to improve on your midterm experience?  This workshop is organized around evidence-based research on exam preparation, as well as a Summer 2020 survey about the most common types of online exams among SFU Undergraduates (1. forced order multiple choice and 2. Open book) and students' most common concerns:  running out of time, exam anxiety, and technical issues. This webinar may be recorded for later use.

To prepare for a paper, presentation or class discussion, you need to strike a good balance between using your sources with academic integrity, and expressing your own perspective based on those sources. Reading strategies, therefore, need to be very different that when you are reading to prepare for a test. Come to this workshop to learn how to read effectively with this purpose in mind. This webinar may be recorded for later use.