What course resources are available to SEAS faculty?
This page lists some software and course resources available to SEAS faculty.
Our goal is to ensure that the IT resources needed for courses are made available on time and perform as expected. In order to achieve this, early input about your software and reservation needs is required. Please read this page in its entirety and submit your requests well in advance of the coming semester at:
Computer Lab Reservations
Lab space is in high demand and reservations are not carried over from previous semesters. To check for lab availability and submit reservation requests, visit:
Software Requests
The license for your software from the previous term may have expired. Unless it's specifically requested each semester, it may not be retained or updated.
Fall semester software requests are always preferred early in the summer, ideally by June 15th.
Software will be installed and ready by July 15th. These dates are established so that adequate time is allowed for us to perform installations and resolve any unforeseen problems or conflicts. This also allows time for you to test the software before the start of classes. Please test the software on our machines against your specific homework assignments or have a TA do so to be sure the version we have installed works correctly.
Software and Virtual Resources
Cloud Platforms
CETS will place requests on behalf of faculty and staff to the ISC Cloud Solutions team for AWS @ Penn, GCP @ Penn and Azure @ Penn projects. All requests require a project name, valid fund number with the appropriate approval and a short description of the project along with associated data risks.
AWS Academy is another option that offers some free credits and may be suitable for certain scenarios, particularly for students under the age of 18 (high school summer programs).
Artifical Intelligence (AI) Tools
CETS will place requests on behalf of faculty and staff to ISC for ChatGPT Edu, Github Copilot and other AI tools that become available. Requests require a valid budget number with approval, along with the user's email address and PennKey username.
University AI and data guidance and policies apply to the use of ChatGPT Edu, including the Statement on Guidance for the University of Pennsylvania Community on Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence and Penn Data Risk Classification. OpenAI is approved for Low and Moderate-risk data per the Penn Data Risk Classification. Users should not input sensitive data such as HIPAA data, personal health information (PHI), financial account information, SSNs or credit card data into the Open AI tool.
Penn Generative AI Tools and Resources
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud and all of its software titles are freely available on request to faculty and staff. Faculty and staff may also purchase it on behalf of their PhD researchers, part time staff and student workers with appropriate fund information and approval.
MATLAB, Mathematica, COMSOL and Aspen
Contact CETS if your students will need to use MATLAB, Mathematica, COMSOL or Aspen in your class.
Virtual Machines
The academic version of VMWare Workstation is available on all the Linux and Windows machines managed by CETS. More space can be allocated if needed for storing virtual machine images.
Biglab and Speclab
Biglab and Speclab are Linux machines that are available online to support course assignments that are resource-intensive or have other special requirements. Contact CETS for access and any related special requests (such as specific ports being opened on Speclab). Additional information can be found at:
Online Course Management
Canvas
Canvas enables you to post course materials online, collect assignments, etc. Note that Canvas sites default to Unpublished. Be sure to publish them from the upper right hand corner of your home page when they are ready. We also strongly recommend that sensitive information is never provided on your Canvas site. For example, Answer Keys can be downloaded by students and shared with friends in subsequent semesters.
For more info about Canvas and to request a site, visit:
Panopto
Panopto provides lecture recording, screencasting and video streaming:
Ed Discussion
Ed Discussion is Penn's current campus-wide discussion tool. It replaced Piazza in the summer of 2022. For more information, visit:
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere is an audience response technology based on web and cellular networks, which means the students or audience members can provide feedback using a device of their choosing. For more information, visit:
Wooclap
Wooclap is an alternative audience response technology tool that integrates with Canvas. Penn will continue its pilot of Wooclap through the end of the spring term next year, 2026, as a potential long term replacement to Poll Everywhere. Contact CETS if you would like to participate during our evaluation.
Peer Review
Feedback Loop is peer review tool currently under evaluation by SEAS. Contact CETS if you are interested in trying out this tool.
Attendance
aplus+ Attendance is tool for tracking attendance in Canvas. Please contact CETS if you are interested in using this tool or a similar replacement.
Respondus LockDown Browser
Respondus LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the testing environment within a learning management system, such as Canvas. It is used for securing online exams in classrooms or proctored environments. Once installed on a student device, the LockDown Browser prevents any other applications from being used until the exam or quiz is completed. For more information, visit:
What is Respondus LockDown Browser?
Gradescope
SEAS has contracted with Gradescope to assist with grading, including integration capability with Canvas. Please contact CETS before trying to sign up directly through the vendor and to avoid additional complications. For more information, visit:
Overleaf
University of Pennsylvania Libraries is sponsoring free Overleaf Professional accounts for all students, faculty and staff. Overleaf Professional accounts provide real-time track changes, unlimited collaborators, and full document history. Sign up at the link below:
Coding Resources
For faculty looking to integrate coding into their curriculum, we provide a suite of resources to support software development and collaboration.
GitHub
Github is a platform for version control and collaboration.
University of Pennsylvania GitHub Campus Program
Codio
SEAS has an institutional site license with Codio that provides access to all premium features such as Canvas integration. For more information, visit:
Ed Workspaces
Ed Workspaces provides collaborative workspaces and Jupyter Notebooks:
Ricoh Copy Center
The Ricoh Copy Center is located at Levine North 166B on the first floor of Levine Hall (3330 Levine Hall). The Center offers color copying at $1.00 per page and black and white copying at 5 cents per page. They also can do binding and course packs.
For more information about the Ricoh Copy Center, please contact 215-898-8115 or 215-898-7983, or email copycenter@seas.upenn.edu
Visit the Engineering Operational Services (EOS) website for more information about SEAS facilities and resources:
Penn Engineering Facilities and Resources
Class Mailing Lists
Class Mailing Lists are automatically compiled on a regular schedule. By default, only the faculty instructor can send mail to the list. For more information on using Class Mailing Lists, see:
Class Mailing List Request Menu Help
Class Mailing List Service (Pennkey required)