Courses

Computer Requirements: Hardware and Software

You will need the following items to access and interact in your College of Education online course.

Hardware/Internet Requirements

1. All students should have dedicated access to a computer using a modern operating system such as Windows 7 or Mac OS X. Students should make sure to have access to a back-up computer (work, friend or relative’s computer) in case of equipment failure.
2. A high-speed Internet connection is highly recommended for all courses. We cannot guarantee multimedia components will work on slower connections. Some wireless connections might also present a problem. Unfortunately, we cannot distribute hard copies (e.g., cd-rom, dvd-rom) of multimedia items.
3. Many courses use audio-video presentations. Students will need speakers, microphone, and headphones for the presentations.

Software Requirements

This software is available at no cost (the one exception is the MS Office suite, however there is a free alternative). It is recommended that you download the software even if you already have it on your computer. Many technical problems you might encounter can be resolved by installing the latest version of the following software. Click on the logo(s) to download.

1. Firefox Web Browser – In order to simplify compatibility issues, we ask all students to access their courses using Firefox (Chrome, Internet Explorer or Safari have limited functionality)
   
2. Adobe Flash Player – Many courses include A/V presentations which require the Flash Player.
   
3. Adobe Reader – Many courses include .pdf documents which require Adobe Reader.
   
4. Java Runtime Environment – Many courses incorporate content which requires JRE.
   
5. MS Office or  Open Office – Courses require updated business suite applications. Open Office is a free alternative to the MS Office suite. You can get Open Office here.