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General Introduction to Course “Help!”

The links from this page are intended to help you understand the online environment used by this course. While getting around in the environment is extremely easy and frequently intuitive, some assistance is occasionally needed. Click on any of the topics to the left for specific advice.

General Equipment & Browser Requirements

The course environment does not require anything unusual in terms of a computer or software. However, it does require that your computing environment be of fairly current vintage. If you are working on a 386 PC using a 1200 baud modem, you will have problems. up

Browser Version

To use all of the functionality of the course environment, you will need a browser that is the equivalent of Netscape 2.0 or higher. The environment is built around “frames” and some functions (e.g., the chat rooms) are Java enabled. If you are able to access the environment from one computer and then cannot do so from another, the first potential culprit is an old browser version! Your browser should have a full complement of freely available plug-ins. Where special software or a plug-in is needed (e.g., Adobe Acrobat for viewing PDF files), information will be provided on how to get it through the Internet when you click on the Tools icon in the environment.

Some functions in the environment are actually controlled by the browser you are using and not the course environment itself. For example, the way you print a page on the screen is determined by your browser–it is different with Netscape than it is with Internet Explorer. up

Computer

The course environment is completely controlled with the computer’s browser. Therefore, it does not matter which kind of machine you are using. It works equally well on a Macintosh and a PC. Being totally browser-based means, however, that you need a machine with some computing power and the faster the modem the better. If you are still using a 1200 baud modem, you’ll want to upgrade immediately! If you are using a 486 or Pentium machine equipped with a 28,000 baud modem, you are in fine shape. The same is true with a Power Mac.

We have discovered three limitations to the WebCT environment: (1) it does not work with Windows 3.1, (2) Internet Explorer 4 has a raft of problems if you try to download files to your PC from your personal space in the course environment, and (3) the “browse” button within the file uploading function frequently does not appear with earlier versions of Internet Explorer. We have no solution to offer for those of you still working with Windows 3.1 other than an upgrade. We suggest that Internet Explorer users also download Netscape for use with WebCT (Navigator Gold 3.0 is just fine).

We recommend (but don’t yet require) that your machine be multimedia equipped. You will see that some resources may include audio or video. For example, faculty may wish to use RealAudio to make actual lectures and talks by guest speakers available to you over the Internet. That means that your computer needs a sound card (preferably with earphones so you don’t drive your family insane). up

I am indebted to Stuart Sutton, Professor at Syracuse University, for the model for these help tips.
Evelyn Daniel
7/17/98.