PowerPoint and Copilot: Power Prompts is a beginner‑friendly session in the Smeal AI@Work Series that introduces participants to writing effective prompts with Microsoft Copilot and PowerPoint. Attendees learn how better prompts can help them draft content, build presentations, and organize ideas more efficiently in PowerPoint. The session is hands‑on, practical, and designed to help you get immediate value from generative AI at work.
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Ready to get more out of Generative AI (GenAI)? This beginner-friendly Smeal AI@Work session introduces you to effective prompt writing strategies to return better results from AI tools like the free version of Microsoft Copilot. You’ll learn what makes a good prompt, explore different types of prompts, and walk through the prompt-writing process. Participants learn how to craft precise and relevant prompts, understand the nuances of GenAI applications in higher education, and explore strategies to integrate AI into our daily work. Whether you’re drafting emails, building presentations, or organizing student materials, this session gives you practical, hands-on guidance for building smarter prompts for GenAI.
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Explore the potential of Microsoft 365 Copilot to support your daily work and help you stay organized. This intermediate session focuses on practical ways to use Copilot within Microsoft 365 to increase efficiency, improve clarity, and simplify routine tasks.
Session objectives:
Summarize and respond to emails in ways that reduce inbox overload and help you focus on what matters most.
Create task lists and reminders directly from Outlook, Teams, and documents to keep projects moving forward.
Turn long documents and meeting notes into clear, manageable action steps.
Set up a personalized Copilot agent that reflects your own role and preferences.
Use organizational knowledge and shared resources to make well-informed decisions more quickly.
Whether you are coordinating projects, working across departments, or looking for ways to streamline your workflow, this session offers hands-on techniques to help you use Microsoft 365 more effectively with the support of Copilot.
In this hands-on workshop, participants become familiar with the basic tools for data management in Microsoft Excel. Participants learn how to import, extract, and manipulate spreadsheet data. Participants also use some of Excel’s tools to work more efficiently, including data validation, PivotTables, and PivotCharts. Note: This session uses Excel on the Windows platform. This session is not for Excel Online.
Objectives
Learners will:
Learning Path
You may also consider reviewing our Excel Learning Path, for self-paced and sequential step-by-step resources.
Virtual collaboration and communication have become an integral part of higher education. However, staying organized while using different applications is often challenging. Take your Teams skills to the next level and learn synergistic approaches to communicating and collaborating with Microsoft Teams. During this hands-on session, you will explore different scenarios for using Teams, providing fresh ideas and the knowledge to put those ideas into practice.
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LINKS DISCUSSED DURING SESSION:
This intermediate-level session is for people who are new to Microsoft Copilot 365 Copilot for Word and are ready to build their skills and confidence. This interactive session focuses on how Copilot can support the drafting, editing, and collaboration of documents in Word. Whether you’re drafting meeting agendas, polishing a departmental report, or summarizing meeting notes, Copilot can support this work.
In this session, participants will learn how to:
Draft, rewrite, and refine documents ranging from memos to proposals using AI assistance.
Summarize lengthy content into concise, actionable takeaways to support quicker decision-making.
Generate outlines, tables, and visuals, or expand bullet points into polished paragraphs (and vice versa).
Adjust tone and format to fit your audience (professional, friendly, or academic) without losing your personal or departmental voice.
Collaborate effectively with Copilot to enhance your writing.
This session includes live demos, hands-on tips, and examples directly relevant to Smeal workflows. Whether you’re a frequent Word user or just exploring how AI can streamline your day-to-day tasks, this session will help you build your Copilot skills.
Already familiar with the basics of GenAI? This intermediate session focuses on ways to leverage Microsoft 365 Copilot to increase productivity across your daily tasks focusing on Outlook and Teams.
We explore how Copilot can help you:
Draft and refine emails
Summarize email threads and chat conversations
Create meeting follow-ups
Adapt tone for different audiences
Build templates and FAQs for quick responses
This session is perfect for staff and faculty who are ready to move beyond “getting started” and want to unlock more targeted, time-saving strategies. Come discover how Microsoft 365 Copilot can become your behind-the-scenes assistant.
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Not sure how to get started with Microsoft Copilot? Join for a hands-on introduction to Microsoft Copilot 365 (paid). Whether you’re writing emails, analyzing data, scheduling meetings, or taking notes, Copilot is here to lend a digital hand. In this session, we:
Discover what Microsoft Copilot 365 is and where it lives in your everyday tools (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and more!)
Learn how to chat with your documents, summarize emails, and even create drafts with just a few prompts. See real-life examples of how staff (and faculty) are using Copilot to boost productivity and reduce busy work for everyday work and administrative tasks.
Get tips to avoid common pitfalls and start using Copilot right away.
Expect a judgment-free zone, some friendly AI humor, and plenty of “I didn’t know it could do that!” moments.
Ready to get more out of Generative AI (GenAI)? This beginner-friendly session introduces you to effective prompt writing strategies to return better results from AI tools like the free version of Microsoft Copilot. You’ll learn what makes a good prompt, explore different types of prompts, and walk through the prompt-writing process. Participants learn how to craft precise and relevant prompts, understand the nuances of GenAI applications in higher education, and explore strategies to integrate AI into our daily work. Whether you’re drafting emails, building presentations, or organizing student materials, this session gives you practical, hands-on guidance for building smarter prompts for GenAI.
By the end of the training, participants should be able to:
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This session explores the storage and collaboration functions of OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. You will also learn how OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams interact and the relationship between the three. The session provides you with information and opportunities for hands-on application of these Key Tool and their features. Learning to effectively use OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams builds the foundational collaboration and data management skills that strengthen AI literacy, helping faculty and staff streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and better integrate Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools into their daily work.
By the end of the training, participants should be able to:
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Curious about all the AI buzz? The Smeal AI@Work series explores what Generative AI really is and how to get started with using it.
In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll demystify GenAI and introduce you to Microsoft Copilot (the free version is all you need for this session). Copilot is freely available to all Penn State users and provides a basic Generative AI tool that keeps your data protected. For those needing deeper integration, the paid version of Microsoft 365 Copilot unlocks advanced features across Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint. During this session, we’ll separate myths from reality, highlight tools you’re probably already using (like autocomplete and smart replies), and demonstrate how Copilot can support your everyday work.
You’ll also see a live demo of Copilot in action, and explore real-world examples tailored to staff and faculty productivity and task management, from streamlining meeting notes to simplifying email drafting.
Whether you’re brand-new to AI or just looking to better understand how it fits into your daily workflow, this is the place to start. Come and find out how to get started with GenAI basics.
