LaTeX Learning Community

*Note: This session has passed. Please view the recordings below.

LaTeX (LAY-tech) is a math markup language that helps to make STEM resources more accessible and professional-looking. LaTeX is integrated into Pressbooks, a platform that many open textbooks are written in. LaTeX can also be used to create freestanding documents; although some people may know how to do a lot with the language, their knowledge doesn’t always transfer to Pressbooks, which employs a more limited version of LaTeX.

Whether you’re a LaTeX whiz who needs help transitioning to Pressbooks, a LaTeX newbie who’s still learning the basics, or somewhere in between, we invite you to attend monthly sessions with the LaTeX learning community. Together, we will meet to discuss LaTeX problems and solutions. Bring your questions, quandaries, and problem-solving skills!

The LaTeX learning community is an informal group primarily made up of open-education librarians in B.C., who approached BCcampus in late 2020 asking for sector-wide LaTeX support. This session will be facilitated by Arianna Cheveldave, coordinator on the open education team at BCcampus and de facto LaTeX support lead.

LaTeX problems and solutions discussed by the community may be added to a forthcoming page in the BCcampus Pressbooks Guide or shared via video clips taken from session recordings.

NOTE: BCcampus LaTeX support is limited to people in B.C. as we currently do not have capacity to provide wider support. Please register for this event or contact Arianna with queries only if you are part of the B.C. post-secondary system.

Arianna Cheveldave (she/her) is a coordinator on the open education team at BCcampus. She studied some computer programming during her undergraduate degree in writing, which prepared her to dive headfirst into LaTeX learning when she was tasked with working on her first algebra textbook. She has plenty of experience with Pressbooks overall and has learned a lot about LaTeX through forums, documentation, and good old-fashioned trial and error. Arianna loves teasing out the answers to difficult problems and is excited to help other LaTeX learners. B.C. post-secondary faculty and staff may contact her at acheveldave@bccampus.ca with their LaTeX inquiries, which she may answer via email or video call or bring to LaTeX learning sessions.

Archives: