• Teaching and learning centers

• AI-curious faculty

• IR/analytics staff

• CIO/CTO

• Digital learning leads

Most campus reporting still lives in disconnected documents, spreadsheets, and slide decks that go stale the moment they are created. This session introduces the Living Report concept: a single, reproducible workspace where narrative, data, and visualization coexist and can be updated, verified, and extended by anyone. Participants will see examples of Living Report workflows for institutional reporting, analytics, and academic use, and explore tooling options including notebook environments and AI-assisted documentation.

For those who wish to do a hands-on follow, the session will use Anaconda, JupyterLab, and LaTeX.  All are Opensource (free).    You should have an L.L.M.: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Manus. Instructions can be found n the Participant Setup Guide tab.

What You Need for This Workshop

This workshop uses a small set of free, open-source tools. The good news: you only need to download and install one thing. Everything else installs from inside it.

• Anaconda — a free platform that gives you Python, JupyterLab, and the ability to install additional tools. This is the only download.
• Tectonic — a lightweight tool that lets you export your work as professional PDFs. Installs from inside Anaconda with one command.
• Pandoc — a document converter that enables export to multiple formats (HTML, slides, Word). Also installs from inside Anaconda with one command.

Tip: If your institution’s IT department manages your computer and you don’t have permission to install software, see Section D before doing anything else.

Step 1: Download

Go to: https://www.anaconda.com/download

The site should automatically detect your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux). Click the large Download button.

The download is about 1 GB and may take several minutes depending on your internet connection.

Step 2: Install

Windows:

1. Double-click the downloaded file (it will be named something like Anaconda3-2024.xx-Windows-x86_64.exe).
2. Click Next on the welcome screen.
3. Accept the license agreement.
4. Choose “Just Me” for the installation type (recommended).
5. Accept the default install location (do not change it unless you have a reason to).
6. On the Advanced Options screen, leave the default settings and click Install.
7. Wait for installation to complete, then click Finish.

 macOS:

1. Double-click the downloaded .pkg file.
2. Follow the installer prompts, accepting the defaults.
3. When finished, you will find Anaconda Navigator in your Applications folder.

Step 3: Verify Anaconda Installed Correctly

1. Open Anaconda Navigator:

• Windows: Click the Start menu and search for “Anaconda Navigator.” Click to open it.
• macOS: Open your Applications folder and double-click Anaconda Navigator.

2. You should see a dashboard with tiles for JupyterLab, Jupyter Notebook, and other tools.
3. Click the Launch button under JupyterLab. A browser window should open showing the JupyterLab interface.
4. If JupyterLab opens in your browser, Anaconda is working. You can close it for now.

Tip: If Anaconda Navigator does not appear in your Start menu or Applications folder, restart your computer and try again.

These two tools install from inside Anaconda using a simple text command. This is the only time in the workshop you will need to type a command.

Step 1: Open Anaconda Prompt

• Windows: Click the Start menu, search for “Anaconda Prompt,” and open it. A dark window with a blinking cursor will appear. This is normal.
• macOS: Open the Terminal app (search for it in Spotlight or find it in Applications → Utilities). Type the word conda and press Enter. If you see version information, you’re ready.

Step 2: Type the Install Command

At the blinking cursor, carefully type (or copy and paste) the following line, then press Enter:

conda install -c conda-forge tectonic pandoc -y

This single command installs both tools at once. You will see text scrolling as it downloads and installs. When it finishes, you will see the blinking cursor again. That means it worked.

Tip: The -y at the end tells the installer to proceed without asking “are you sure?” This saves you a step.

Step 3: Verify Both Tools Installed

Still in Anaconda Prompt (or Terminal), type each of these lines one at a time and press Enter after each:

tectonic --version

pandoc --version

If each command displays a version number (for example, “tectonic 0.15.0” or “pandoc 3.x”), the installation was successful. You can close the Anaconda Prompt window.

This optional test confirms that all three tools work together to produce a PDF, which is the core export we’ll use in the workshop.

1. Open Anaconda Navigator and launch JupyterLab.
2. In JupyterLab, click File → New → Notebook. If asked to select a kernel, choose Python 3.
3. In the first cell, type: Hello, this is a test. (Just plain text is fine.)
4. Click File → Save Notebook. Give it any name (e.g., “test”).
5. Now open Anaconda Prompt (or Terminal) again and type:

jupyter nbconvert --to pdf test.ipynb

(Replace “test.ipynb” with whatever you named your notebook. You may need to navigate to the folder where the notebook was saved.)

1. If a file called test.pdf appears in the same folder, everything is working.

Tip: If this step feels too technical, don’t worry. We will walk through it together at the start of the workshop. The important thing is that Anaconda, Tectonic, and Pandoc are installed.

Many institutions restrict software installation on managed computers. If you cannot install Anaconda yourself, you will need your IT department’s help. Here is exactly what to ask them:

Message to send to your IT department:

Subject: Software Installation Request for AFIT AI Workshop

Hi [IT Contact],

I am registered for an AFIT AI workshop that requires the following free, open-source software to be installed on my computer:

1. Anaconda Distribution (includes Python and JupyterLab)

Download: https://www.anaconda.com/download

License: Free for educational/institutional use

2. Tectonic (lightweight LaTeX engine for PDF export)

Install via conda: conda install -c conda-forge tectonic -y

License: MIT (open source)

3. Pandoc (document format converter)

Install via conda: conda install -c conda-forge pandoc -y

License: GPL v2 (open source)

All three tools are widely used in higher education and research computing. Once Anaconda is installed, Tectonic and Pandoc install from within it (no additional downloads). The workshop is on [DATE]. Could you help me get these installed before then?

Thank you, [Your Name]

If your IT department needs additional information, the following details may help:

• Anaconda does not require administrator privileges if installed with the “Just Me” option. Ask IT whether this is permitted on your machine before requesting a full admin install.
• All three tools are free and open-source. None require a paid license.
• Total disk space needed: approximately 4–5 GB.
• None of these tools transmit institutional data to external services. All processing happens locally on your computer.

 E. Getting Help from Your AI Assistant

If you run into problems during installation or setup, your AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, or any other) can help. Here are ready-to-use prompts you can paste directly:

If Anaconda Won’t Install

I am trying to install Anaconda on [Windows/macOS]. I downloaded it from anaconda.com/download but [describe what happened: error message, nothing happened, etc.]. I am not a technical person. Can you walk me through fixing this step by step?

If the Conda Install Command Fails

I opened Anaconda Prompt and typed: conda install -c conda-forge tectonic pandoc -y. I got this error: [paste the error]. I am not a programmer. Can you tell me what went wrong and how to fix it in simple terms?

If the PDF Export Test Fails

I am using JupyterLab with Anaconda. I have Tectonic and Pandoc installed via conda. When I try to export a notebook to PDF using: jupyter nbconvert --to pdf test.ipynb, I get this error: [paste the error]. Can you help me fix this? Please give me simple instructions, not code.

If You’re Not Sure What’s Installed

I need to check whether Anaconda, Tectonic, and Pandoc are correctly installed on my [Windows/macOS] computer. Can you give me step-by-step instructions to verify each one? I am not comfortable with the command line, so please keep it as simple as possible.

General Troubleshooting Prompt

I am preparing for a workshop where we will use JupyterLab to create reports that combine text, data, and charts in one document, then export to PDF, HTML, and slides. I have [describe your situation]. Can you help me get set up? Please assume I am not technical and give me instructions I can follow without coding experience.

Tip: When pasting error messages into your AI, include the full text of the error — don’t summarize it. The exact wording helps the AI diagnose the problem.

• Your laptop with Anaconda, Tectonic, and Pandoc installed (following the steps above).
• A CSV data file from your campus (optional but encouraged). This could be an enrollment snapshot, a budget summary, survey results, or any tabular data. Anonymize it if it contains student or employee information. We will use it in a hands-on exercise.
• Access to an AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, or any tool you currently use). We will use AI to write code during the workshop — no programming experience required.
• Your charger.

 Quick Reference: Download Links

• Anaconda: https://www.anaconda.com/download
• Tectonic and Pandoc: Install from Anaconda Prompt after Anaconda is installed:

conda install -c conda-forge tectonic pandoc -y

Questions? Reach out to your workshop facilitator or use the AI prompts above.

Alliance for Innovation and Transformation  |  afithighered.com