Internet Requirements

In order to participate in an online class you will need access to:

• a computer,
• an Internet connection through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and
• have a personal email address for communications.

On-Campus:
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) manages several "free" computer labs across campus, including the library. The free labs are open on a first-come, first-serve basis with day and evening hours. The library is open 7 days a week with evening and weekend hours. Each area has adjustable tables for special needs students.

The computers on campus are mostly PC and are equipped with Windows XP and Office XP Professional and Internet Explorer. These computers are connected to the Internet using the campus network as the Internet Service Provider (ISP).

At Home:
You can access your courses from home through an Internet browser and an internet connection. Your Internet conection is purchased through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). This could be a dial-up service like America Online (AOL), NetZero, Compuserve, Netscape, Earthlink, etc. Faster connections can be purchased through your phone company as a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or your satellite TV or cable TV provider.How fast WebCT loads onto your computer depends mostly on your Internet connection speed. WebCT operates best when used on computers with: a high-speed, wide-bandwidth connection (cable modem, DSL, or LAN).

If you connect to the Internet through a modem (dial up), it is recommended that the connection be at a minimum level of 56 Kbps. If your course includes high-quality image material or other large files, a modem connection will be more time consuming to download for viewing.

AOL Users
There are some known issues to accessing WebCT with AOL. AOL may cause your system to lock up and/or crash while working in WebCT. Please review the section of Configuration for web browser compatibility for complete instructions.

• Because the browser AOL provides may cause your system to lock up and/or crash while working in WebCT, the best solution is to use one of the browsers we recommend.
• Netscape and Internet Explorer is available in all free labs and the library.
• After you log on to AOL, open up the browser you have selected, and use it to access WebCT.
• Be aware there are some additional steps you need to take. To keep your AOL session from shutting down due to lack of perceived activity, you'll need to do something to fool AOL's idle timer; for example, create a "private" chat room and leave the room open.
• From time to time, you also will need to respond to the message asking whether you want to stay online. To do this you must make AOL the active window and check for this message.