Prepare To Learn

Listen

Prepare to Learn is a free workshop series designed to provide incoming students with skills and resources to help them transition to learning at Fanshawe College.

Students are welcome to register for one or all of the workshop topics. See the links below for more details and registration information.

Prepare to Learn Workshop Calendar

Summer 2026 Workshop Series Details

Workshops will be held July-September for students starting in Fall 2026.

Please note, that all sessions will be held in Eastern Time (US/CAN)

Online Learning

Introduction to FOL

This workshop is designed to prepare you for Fanshawe College’s learning platform: FanshaweOnline (FOL). Over the hour, you will be guided through the use of FOL’s most widely used tools so you feel comfortable working with them before starting your academic course.

Virtual (Zoom): Tuesday, July 28, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

FOL Tools

This workshop will explore more FOL tools, including the discussion, ePortfolio, and Locker tools. Additionally, it will prepare you for Fanshawe College’s main video conferencing platforms that will be used during your academic program: Zoom and Bongo.

Virtual (Zoom): Thursday, July 30, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Math: 3-Part Series

12The math workshop series covers the following essential topics: fractions, basic algebra, and solving and rearranging equations. It includes live sessions, video tutorials, worksheets with solutions, and self-evaluation quizzes.

This is a three-part workshop series. Students should attend all three workshops because the skills taught build on previous sessions. Only one registration is required for the series: registration will register you for all the dates in the series.

The math workshops run from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Zoom):

Fractions, July 29
Algebra I, August 12
Algebra II, August 19

Study & Testing Strategies

Study Skills

Academic success is rooted in daily study behaviour. This workshop will provide time management tips and study skills strategies.

Virtual (Zoom): Tuesday, August 4, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Test Taking Strategies

Academic success is not only rooted in quality study practices, but also in effectively navigating quizzes/tests/exams. This workshop will provide numerous strategies to employ while taking tests.

Virtual (Zoom): Thursday, August 6, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Academic Writing

Academic Writing Tips

Learn about common writing assignments and expectations at Fanshawe College. The session will provide strategies to help you improve your writing.

Virtual (Zoom): Tuesday, August 11, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Introduction to APA

APA citation style is used to prevent plagiarism by showing where source material has been included in assignments. This workshop will introduce APA citation style, including reference and in-text citation format, and share helpful resources so that you will feel more confident using APA.

Virtual (Zoom): Thursday, August 13, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Scholarly Standards & Research

Academic Integrity

This workshop will help you understand the principles of academic integrity and explore the college’s official policy to familiarize yourself with academic offences, penalties, and tips for avoiding plagiarism.

Virtual (Zoom): Thursday, August 20, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Research

Delve into the wealth of resources, services, and supports that the Library Learning Commons has to offer, and take the first steps into your research by creating an effective search strategy using pre-search, keywords, and concept mapping.

Virtual (Zoom): Tuesday, August 18, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Technology Skills

Technology Skills: Computer Essentials & Technology Tips

This workshop is designed to give you foundational computer knowledge and information about web use that you need to be a successful student at Fanshawe College. Over the two hours, you will be guided through some useful features and troubleshooting techniques so you feel comfortable working with your computer before starting your academic courses.

Topics covered in this workshop include:

How to perform basic troubleshooting on your personal device
How to get connected to Fanshawe WiFi
Where to download your free Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe applications
Where to find help with your technology if you need it
Web security
Web browsers and search engines
Best practices and troubleshooting issues
FanshaweOnline
And more!

This will be presented virtually via Zoom.

Virtual (Zoom): Wednesday, August 5, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Indigenous Awareness

This one-hour discussion will briefly cover the Indigenous Peoples of Southwestern Ontario. We will delve into the histories, cultures, and contemporary issues of Indigenous Peoples who have lived in the region for thousands of years.

Topics covered may include:

Land and resource rights
Residential schools
Cultural revitalization
Indigenous sovereignty and the ongoing struggles for decolonization and reconciliation

Virtual (Zoom): Thursday, September 3, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Return to Learning: For Mature Students

Return to Learning is a 2-hour session specifically designed for students who are not directly entering Fanshawe from high school. A mature learner panel will provide advice about how to successfully transition to college while balancing your work and home commitments.

Virtual (Zoom): Tuesday, September 1, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Artificial Intelligence at Fanshawe

Use AI the right way! Learn how Fanshawe approaches AI to level up your courses while maintaining your academic integrity.

Virtual (Zoom): Tuesday, August 25, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Science: Physics and Chemistry

This workshop is designed to provide you with foundational knowledge in physics and chemistry.

Virtual (Zoom): Wednesday, August 26, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Turnitin

Avoid potential plagiarism, see your TurnItIn score, and catch your mistakes before you hand in your assignment: if you’re curious about TurnItIn, this workshop is for you! In this workshop, you’ll learn how to access TurnItIn as a student, use it as a tool, and revise your work based on your score.

Virtual (Zoom): Thursday, August 27, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Microsoft Excel

This workshop is designed to provide you with foundational knowledge on Microsoft Excel.

Virtual (Zoom): Wednesday, September 2, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

How to Register for Workshops

Step 1: Click the accordions below to view more details and registration info for each workshop.

Step 2: Click the red “Click to Register” link for the workshop you would like to join. You can individually register for as many workshops as you’d like.

Step 3: In the new event page that will appear, click the blue “Begin Registration” button.

Step 4: Enter your name and email address, then click the blue “Register” button.

Step 5: A confirmation email will be sent to you immediately upon registering and one will also be sent the day before the workshop. Both will include a Zoom link for your session that you can join at the scheduled workshop date and time. Please mark the date in your calendar.

Repeat as needed for the other workshops you are interested in. You will receive separate confirmation emails for each workshop you register for.

Trouble registering? Sam Diamond at s_diamond2@fanshawec.ca or Brent Biro at bbiro@fanshawec.ca.

Additional Workshop Resources on FOL

If you have registered for a Prepare to Learn workshop, you can also register for the non-credit Prepare to Learn course on FanshaweOnline (FOL).

The PTL course is a real FOL course, but it isn’t for grades. It provides students with resources from the workshops and lets students practice with features like quizzes, discussion boards, and content in a low-risk space. Once students have access to FOL (typically a few days after they have paid their deposit), they can self-register for this course on FOL.

To register, go to the FOL home page, sign in, and locate the Learning Tools dropdown menu. Select Self-Registration and then register for Prepare to Learn. This is a good opportunity to explore Fanshawe’s learning management system while also accessing workshop material in the Content section of the course.