Hardware and Software
Recommended Hardware:
• Desktop or Laptop with 1.0 GHz processor or faster
• 1 gigabyte RAM (memory) or more
• Windows XP SP3, Vista or Windows 7 operating system
• Hard Disk Space: 40 gigabyte or more free space
• 1024x768 resolution or higher and 128 MB video RAM or more
• Ethernet (100 Mbps) or wireless (802.11 b/g) internet connection
• CD-R/W, DVD-R/W or USB mass-storage device (helpful)
• Sound card and speakers
• Headset with microphone
Recommended Software:
•Office Suite (e.g., Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, GoogleDocs)
•Adobe Reader (free download) or other PDF software
• Java Version 6 (free download here)
Software Inventory
Access to the Blackboard™ course management system and Banner™ registration system is provided upon registering for a class or being scheduled to teach with LTU Online. LTU provides extensive instructions on using the Blackboard™ and Banner™ systems.
Student laptops and desktops should be configured with current versions of web browsers and free multimedia software. Check your personal technology software environment here. Interpret your results below:
Requirement/Recommendation |
How To Upgrade Your Environment |
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Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher |
Visit http://www.microsoft.com |
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Windows XP or higher |
Visit http://www.microsoft.com/ |
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Broadband connection |
Internet Service Provider information... |
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Javascript enabled |
See your browser option settings... |
| Java Runtime Engine 6.0+ | Visit http://www.java.com/ for free download |
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Cookies enabled |
See your browser option settings... |
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Screen resolution 800x600 or higher |
See your screen option settings... |
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Color depth 16 or higher |
See your screen option settings... |
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Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 or higher |
See http://www.adobe.com/ for free download |
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Apple Quicktime Player |
See http://www.apple.com/quicktime for free download |
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Macromedia Flash and Shockwave |
See http://www.macromedia.com/ for free download |
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Real Media Player |
See http://www.real.com/ for free download |
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Windows Media Player |
Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware Tools
You may wish to make use of these free or open source anti-virus, anti-spyware, or browser tools on your laptop or desktop computers.
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Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware Tools |
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Anti-spyware tool |
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Anti-virus tool |
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Anti-virus tool |
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Open source anti-spyware tool |
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Anti-spyware tool. |
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Operating Systems and Browsers |
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Download Sun Solaris operating system at no cost. |
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Open source Web browser to replace Internet Explorer |
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Open source e-mail client to replace Outlook / Outlook Express |
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Open Source and Free Software
The Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access) or the comparable Open Office suites of productivity tools are required for viewing course materials and preparing assignments. You may wish to use many of these free software tools during your LTU Online courses to prepare materials and communicate with your colleagues. Be sure to check with your instructor regarding the use of these free tools for submitting assignments.
Category and Product |
Description |
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Communication and Collaboration |
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Collaborative writing software allowing groups to write, share, revise, and compare documents. |
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Hosted Wiki environment, free for small users. |
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Hosted Wiki environment, free for small users. |
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Hosted Wiki environment, free for small users and low cost for groups. |
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No-cost VOIP service. Can add premium services such as calling-out and voice-mail. |
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| Vox | No-cost blogging service. |
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No-cost web collaboration service. Whiteboarding, screen sharing, and desktop sharing for up to 20 participants. |
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Freeware tool for preparing Flash "tours" of software or Web processes. |
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Office/Productivity Software |
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| MS Office Tutorials | Set of Microsoft Office tutorials developed by Microsoft. |
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Open source alternative to MS Office. Allows you to save any document in PDF format. |
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Google's free photo organizer service. |
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Creates a printer on your system that generates PDF files. You still need the free Acrobat Reader to read PDF files. |
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Project Management |
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Open source project and task management software |
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General purpose project management tool |
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Open Source Project Management and Project Scheduling for Windows |
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Process Mapping, Statistics, and Knowledge Management |
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Free concept mapping software. |
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Open source UML and modeling in Java. |
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Fully functional process modeling software for individuals, low cost for enterprises. |
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"The Impoverished Social Scientist's Guide to Free Statistical Software and Resources" |
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| Visio Tutorials | Free tutorials and documentation for learning to use Visio. |
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Free open-source ontology editor and knowledge-base framework from Stanford University. |
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