Computer Skills and Equipment Needed for Online and Hybrid Courses

Minimum Hardware Requirements

You must have daily access to a PC or Mac computer with a minimum of:

400 MHz processor	printer
64 MB of RAM	CD-ROM
6 GB hard drive	Speakers and sound card
56 K modem	Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME, or XP OR MacOS 9 or MacOS X

Software Requirements

• Microsoft Word 97, 2000, XP, or 2003
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Internet access
• Compatible Web browser with Flash plug-in
  • Internet Explorer 6.x (PC users)
  • Internet Explorer 5.x or Netscape Navigator 7 (Mac users)

Important Notes

1. To participate in your course, your browser must be configured to:
• Accept all cookies
• Enable JavaScript
• Reload cache every time
Need help? You can check your browser configuration and get instructions for configuring your specific browser here.

2. DO NOT use the customized browser provided by AOL, Earthlink, MSN or any other Internet Service Provider. You can use AOL or any other Internet Service Provider as your access to the Internet but you must access your online course with Netscape or Internet Explorer as the browser.
3. Your Internet connection must be outside of company firewalls. Firewalls may cause connection problems using Blackboard and downloading files.

Recommended Computer Skills

• Basic word processing functions such as creating and editing documents, highlighting, copying, and pasting text.
• Basic computer skills that enable you to use the Web and email, including attachments, comfortably.
• Familiarity with terms like Web browser, online, Internet, World Wide Web, URL, Web site and Web pages.
• The ability to upload and download materials from the web.
• The ability to format, compose, send, cut, copy, and paste email messages.