Hands-on Workshops by Jill Lenz

2008 Spring Schedule

These two hour workshops are free and open to faculty, staff and students in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Workshops are tailored to help you with your college-related projects covering the following subjects:

Digital video
Acrobat PDF files
CVMBS network drives and FTP
Low-resolution digital imaging with Photoshop
Web design with Dreamweaver
Presentation equipment such as projectors and laptops
PowerPoint presentations

Workshops generally consist of a short presentation to introduce the topic and show examples, then demonstrations and hands-on practice with time for questions. This instruction is not meant to cover the subject completely, but to inspire you with the basics to continue learning on your own or with more individualized instruction.

Please note that some workshops are strictly demonstrations and do not offer hands-on opportunities due to limited equipment and software availability. Previous attendees are encouraged to attend again if you need to brush up on any of these software skills, especially if you need to get up to speed on a new version. See workshop descriptions below for more details.

Digital Video Basics

9:00-11:00 a.m., Thursday, February 21, 2008, Physiology 101
No previous experience needed.

This session serves to introduce participants to various aspects of digital video capturing, editing, and production. Topics that will be covered will include: Screen capture of power-point presentations, video capture from a camcorder, editing of raw digital video, converting VHS to digital format, and much more. Participants will be able to enhance their existing knowledge base by learning how to use software available in the computer labs as well as those that come pre-installed on factory made computers. Participants will also be able to:

See what movie projects others have created
Spend hands-on time filming and reviewing settings with the camcorder available for check-out
Easily record your screen to create training, demo and presentation videos
Explore other options for playback besides digital conversion, for example via a TV monitor, VCR or projector
Ask questions about how their existing work can be enhanced/made more efficient through digital media production (for research, for teaching, etc)

This workshop is dedicated to demonstrations with limited hands-on. Individual appointments can be scheduled for first time users to gain hands-on experience at the digital video workstation.

Acrobat 8 Basics

9:00-11:00 a.m., Thursday, February 28, 2008, Clark C143
No previous Adobe Acrobat experience needed.

Learn what a PDF file is and how it can be used to conveniently share/edit one document with many users with annotations and notes. In this workshop you will discover:

Differences between the free Acrobat Reader and the full versions of Acrobat Version 8
Security settings for printing and changing
Adding bookmarks
Pros and cons of PDFs posted on the Web
Multiple methods to convert Microsoft Word documents to PDF
How to take snapshots, save images and extract all the text from a PDF
Filling out online PDF forms created by other users

Other product highlights such as print and online viewing predictability, view options, and bookmarks will be reviewed.

Using the CVMBS Network Drives and FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

9:00-11:00 a.m., Thursday, March 6, 2008, Clark C143
No previous experience needed.

FTP, file transfer protocol, is the Internet utility that allows you to transfer files to and from a local computer to a server when connected to the Internet.

Learn how to access the college network drives: S, T, U and X on and off campus with WS-FTP and CVMBS Scripts
Discover best practices for working with various storage media such as flash drives, floppies, Zips, CDs and DVD's
Learn where to download a free FTP program if you don't have one
Briefly review basic file management techniques including
- directory structures
- how to create, move, copy, sort and rename folders and files
- how to create, move and manage desktop shortcuts

At the end of this session you will have an alternate way to access the college network drives when off campus using non-CSU computers which can be very useful when traveling on business or working from home.

Photoshop Basics

9:00-11:00 a.m., Thursday, April 10, 2008, Clark C143
No previous experience needed.

This session will cover the basics of image editing in Photoshop, using Photoshop Version CS3 (10), including:

Commonly-used menu commands
Frequently-used tools from the Tool Bar
Layers Palette
Adding, spell-checking and enhancing text
Pixel dimensions vs. print size
Cropping and rotating
Applying drop shadows

You will spend hands-on time becoming familiar with Photoshop's interface and basic tasks such as adding labels, drawing arrows, dotted lines, and creating images from scratch.

Photoshop Retouching/Editing

9:00-11:00 a.m., Thursday, April 17, 2008, Clark C143
Some Photoshop experience required.

Learn the basics of retouching images using Photoshop Version CS3 (10) and become familiar with a 10-Step Workflow for approaching your editing needs. You will be introduced to the following:

Basics of managing your files
Non-destructive editing with adjustment layers
Tools from the traditional darkroom used in the "digital darkroom"
Red-eye and pet-eye correction techniques
Incorporating a close-up picture within a picture
Dropping the contents of an image into text

You will practice retouching techniques such as removing dust and scratches, enhancing the brightness and contrast of radiographs, and rearranging and combining multiple images.

Photoshop for the Web and PowerPoint

9:00-11:00 a.m., Thursday, April 24, 2008, Clark C143
Some experience with Photoshop required.

Learn how computer monitors display graphics and why you need small files for screen display and how to get them.

Learn which file formats, file sizes, and resolution work best for on-screen delivery
Use an automated command to rotate multiple crooked scans from your flatbed scanner
Make a graphic with transparent edges so it "floats" against a background color or pattern
Create and minimize file sizes for .gifs and .jpgs
Create a web photo gallery easily using an automated command
We will be using Photoshop CS3 (10) and PowerPoint 2007

You will be introduced to general guidelines on optimizing digital images and producing .gifs and .jpgs for display on computer monitor screens, especially web pages, RamCT, PowerPoint presentations and multimedia CD/DVD's.

Workshop Sign-up

To sign-up for a workshop, email Jill Lenz at jill.lenz@colostate.edu.
Questions? Call Jill at 491-6585.
If this schedule doesn't work for you, workshops may be repeated by request for groups of 3 or more.
Or make an appointment for consultation on your college projects that use the software and tools covered in these workshops and mentioned at the top of this page.

Computer Training and Support (CTSS) Workshops

More free workshops are available for all campus faculty and staff through CTSS in the Weber Building. CVMBS Computing Resources Group recommends all faculty and staff take at least two of the CTSS workshops each year to keep your computer skills up to date.