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Technical Requirements

Technical Equipment Information

In order to participate in a distance education program or course, you are required to have a desktop or laptop computer, and you should be familiar with its basic operation.  Your computer will be the primary conduit for information exchange and communication for your online courses, and the primary tool with which you will perform your academic tasks.  The reliability and performance of your computer will be a significant factor in the quality of your distance education experience and will contribute to the success of your efforts. 

Your computer must be reliable.  If you have an older computer, or if your computer is experiencing operating problems and you cannot have it repaired to a reliable level of operability, we strongly encourage you to purchase a new computer.  Also, with a new computer, we recommend that you purchase a warranty for the duration of your academic program; and one which will provide either immediate technical assistance or a replacement computer while yours is being repaired.

Specific computer hardware requirements:

• We recommend a PC (Windows machine) rather than an Apple.  Probably 99% of your instructors and classmates will be using Windows machines.  There have been students that have been successful with Apple computers, but your life as a distance education student will probably be simpler with a PC.
• A DVD/CD-RW drive or DVD-RW drive (a drive that will read both CDs and DVDs and burn CDs). 
• A minimum of 1GB of RAM.  2 GB is recommended. Think of RAM as the top of a desk on which you are doing your work.  The larger the desktop, the more reference material you can have on it.  RAM is the primary memory your computer uses when you open browser windows, application, and documents.  Generally speaking, the more RAM your computer has, the larger the desktop you have to work with, and the more applications and tasks you can undertake simultaneously.  2GB of RAM allows you to maximize this work space.
• A sound card.  You will need the ability to receive audio from your computer and to transmit your voice over you computer.  Almost all machines now have sound cards integrated into the system boards, but it is worth mentioning as a requirement, because it is essential.
• A headset (computers headphones with attached microphone).  In many of our online courses, you will view videos or presentation online, and headphones are a convenient way to listen.  Many of our courses also have synchronous, virtual classroom sessions in which you will interact with your instructor and classmates in real time using VoIP (Voice over IP).  A computer headset with attached microphone is the best way to do this.  Even the most inexpensive set will be sufficient and you can get them at almost any electronics store or electronics department.

Computer Software

Your PC should have either Windows XP (home or Pro versions) or Windows Vista as its operating system.

East Carolina University uses the new Office 2007 Professional Plus or Office 2007 Enterprise as its standard office application suites.  This suite of Microsoft applications includes Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The ECU student store offers this software to students at a greatly reduced price.  You are also able to purchase it from various online academic software resellers at a good price with proof of academic affiliation.

Note: Microsoft Works is not the same application as Microsoft Office and is not compatible with Microsoft Office. Microsoft Works is not supported and cannot be used in the place of Microsoft Office.  You willl need a version of Microsoft Office, and one that includes the PowerPoint application.

E-Mail

As a student you will have an ECU email account.  All official communication with your instructor will be performed using your ECU email account.  You will be required to learn how to use the ECU email system.

Web Browser

You should have both Internet Explorer (IE) and Mozilla Firefox as browsers on your computer.  At times, when the university updates certain DE tools such as Blackboard or Centra, there might initially be an issue with the new version of the application working with one or the other of the browsers.  It's a good idea to have both, so that if one doesn't work, you can switch to the other.  For Mac users, you should have both Safari and Firefox.

Internet Connection

Next to the reliability and performance of your computer, your internet connection is the most important factor in your ability to send and receive information through your computer.  Your computer and your connection speed combine to represent your communication portal.  The more optimal the portal, the faster you can communicate, browse, and perform tasks over the network.  We recommend that, if possible, you maximize the efficiency of this portal by investing in a broadband connection (cable, DSL, or satellite). 

We recognize that there are still a significant number of students to whom a broadband connection is not physically available, and we do provide all electronic materials and media in a format that will work over a dial-up connection.  However, you will be spending a significant amount of time online and your experience will be improved with a broadband connection.

A Word to the Wise: Know the Basics

As an online student, you will be spending a great deal of time on your computer, performing basic computer tasks.  Basic computer skills are necessary to successfully complete an online course.  You should have an understanding of basic computer tasks by the time you begin your online program.  Specifically, you should have a working knowledge of your browser and be familiar with navigating the Internet.  You should know how to send and receive emails, and attach a file to an email.  You should know how to download and upload a file, rename a file, and decompress a zipped file.  You should have a basic working knowledge of Microsoft Word.  If you do not have this basic skill set, you should practice these tasks and be comfortable with them by the time you start your program.  You will be surprised at the speed with which your course will move once it has begun.  You will want to spend your time synthesizing the body of new information presented to you, rather than learning to use a new tool.  Learn how to use the tools ahead of time.