What Computer hardware do I need to access eLearning Portal?
To access the Blackboard virtual learning environment off campus, your PC should ideally be to the following specification or greater: PC Requirements o Windows 2000, XP o 256 MB of RAM (500 MB is recommended) o 40GB hard disk o An active e-mail account o Access to the internet through a local internet service provider o 56 k Modem (DSL/Cable or higher is recommended) Macintosh Requirements o Mac OS 10.1 or higher o 256 MB of RAM (500 MB is recommended) o 40GB hard disk o An active e-mail account o Access to the internet through a local internet service provider o 56 k Modem (DSL/Cable or higher is recommended) The above should meet minimum requirements to use Blackboard software and enhance your experience. However, content linked and stored within Blackboard may require higher specifications.
Which Browser can I use to access eLearning Portal?
The browsers listed below in bold are recommended by Blackboard.com support for the stated operating system or, if the Browser name is shown between { }, then the official position is that the combination is "compatible" with the key areas of Blackboard but not marked as fully tested and fully supported by Blackboard. Windows 2000 compatible configurations below are also considered as compatible for anyone still running under Windows 98. There are additional issues for the browsers marked "see note 1 below". Windows 2000: o {Internet Explorer version 6.0} o { Netscape ® 7.1} - but see note 1 below o { Netscape ® 8.0} - but see note 1 below o { Firefox 1.0.x } - but see note 1 below Windows XP: o Internet Explorer V6.0 o {Internet Explorer V7.0} – but see note 2 below o {Netscape ® version 7.1} - but see note 1 below o Firefox 1.0.x - but see note 1 below
Mac OS 10.2: o {Netscape ® version 7.1 } - but see note 1 below o {Firefox 1.0.x } - but see note 1 below Mac OS 10.3: o Firefox 1.0.x o {Apple ® Safari version 1.1} o Apple ® Safari version 1.2 Mac OS 10.4: o Firefox 1.0.x o Apple ® Safari version 2.0
Note 1 from Blackboard support says Gecko is the shared rendering engine at the heart of Firefox 1.0, Netscape 7.1 and Mozilla 1.5 browsers so they are considered compatible although only Firefox has been fully tested and is therefore certified by Blackboard. However the preview version of Mozilla Firefox (version 0.10.0) is not supported. Note 2 from Blackboard support ** and for Safari and the Gecko-based browsers for MAC there are some things in Blackboard which may not work properly such as the Equation Editor , Collaboration tools and use of SCORM Content Type material. (Technical note - Blackboard Knowledge base references 181-2429, 181-2428, 181-2431,181-2432 give more details.) *To use the Blackboard Collaboration Tool the Java Plug-In is required, Please note that the Java Plug-In is NOT the same as Javascript, and can be downloaded freely from Sun.
Software If you do not have Microsoft Office on your PC you may require the following plugins to view content within the eLearning Portal; o Microsoft Word or Word Viewer o Microsoft Excel or Excel Viewer o Microsoft PowerPoint or PowerPoint Viewer Browser Plug-Ins: (suggested) You may or may not need the plug-ins, depending on what type of files your instructor shares with you via Blackboard. The plug-ins are free downloads. Apple Quick Time 6 "The free QuickTime Player is an application for playing, interacting with, or viewing any video, audio, VR, or graphics file that is compatible with QuickTime. This includes MPEG-4, the new standard for digital media, new in QuickTime 6." (Apple Web site) Shockwave, Flash & Authorware Macromedia's Shockwave, Flash and Authorware Player plug-ins let you experience automation and entertainment in your Web browser. The new Shockwave 7 provides autoupdating of the player. Adobe Acrobat Reader View and print millions of documents on the Web with the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader. Real Networks RealPlayer Play online audio and video content. Microsoft Media Player Windows Media Player supports Windows Media (WMA,ASF), MP3, WAV, MIDI, AVI, and other formats.
Off Campus Connection
Access to Blackboard from outside the campus network e.g. home, work, or halls of residence telephone points, require: an Internet Service Provider (ISP), (unless accessing your work LAN internet connection), a modem (or network card for LAN access), usual ITS username and password, access to ports used by the Blackboard server (if connecting through a firewall): o a personal computer firewall blocks access depending on your security settings; allow Blackboard specific requests; o some company firewalls block specific ports; check with your work System Administrator if you have problems connecting to our Blackboard server 'http://www.elearning.northumbria.ac.uk'.
Guest Access
Guests have restricted access to some courses on eLearning Portal .which Instructors have chosen to make publicly available. They will only have access to content areas which have been made publicly available. They will not have access to any of the interactive features of the eLearning Portal. Guests must be authorised and have a Northumbria computer username and password to access the system initially and will be required to enter a username and password on the login page.