Do I need to do anything to make sure my computer is compatible with my Blackboard Vista courses?

From CCCOnline StudentWiki

YES!! The following information may seem overwhelming at first, but settle down and give yourself about 30 minutes to complete the steps. You'll thank yourself that you did so before your class(es) begin(s).

1. CHECK OUT THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS NEEDED FOR BLACKBOARD VISTA

You'll first want to make sure that your computer meets the Technical Requirements

2. USE A SUPPORTED BROWSER - Please see the information under What is a supported browser?

3. RUN A BROWSER CHECK

• Go to Login (NOTE: IF YOU GET A LISTING OF THE COLLEGES CHOOSE CCCONLINE IF YOU ARE TAKING CCCONLINE COURSES - OTHERWISE, CHOOSE YOUR HOME COLLEGE) and click on the "CHECK BROWSER" button located on the upper right-hand side of your screen (on the dark blue bar that shows your college's logo to the left).

Give the browser a few seconds to run. Look for any red "X's" on your results - these indicate errors in your browser configuration. If you see any red "X's" view the information under I completed the Browser Check and received red "X's." How can I fix those? for possible solutions.

IMPORTANT!! If you do not get any results when you attempt to run the Browser Check, or see only a blank screen after 1-3 minutes, it's likely that you do not have the correct JAVA version installed, or you're missing JAVA completely. In this case, please review the information under I don't know what Java version I'm using.

PLEASE NOTE: Even if the Browser Check appears to have given you a green light on pop-up blockers, you may have other pop-up blockers enabled which may cause issues in your course. Check out the information at How do I set my pop-up blocker to allow pop-ups or disable the pop-up blocker?

4. MAKE SURE YOU'RE USING THE CORRECT JAVA PROGRAM!!! This is extremely important!! Please see the information under I don't know what Java version I'm using and/or How do I install the Correct Java Version for Blackboard?

5. CHECK YOUR PLUG-INS

Some of the content provided in WebCT courses may require a special browser plug-in. You may obtain downloads (free) for the following plug-ins as indicated.

Windows Media Player

Some Blackboard courses use video or audio that can be played with Windows Media Player

RealPlayer

Enables you to play video and audio. Some Blackboard courses use video or audio that can be played with RealPlayer.

QuickTime

Enables you to view QuickTime videos.

Macromedia Shockwave

Enables you to view animation and interactive content. Used in some Blackboard courses for interactive quizzes, animations, and activities. Download at Shockwave

Macromedia Flash Player

Enables you to view animation and interactive content. Used in some Blackboard courses for interactive quizzes, animations, and activities. Download at FlashPlayer.

Adobe Reader

Enables you to view, navigate, and print Adobe PDF files across all major computer platforms. Used in some Blackboard courses for interactive quizzes, animations, and activities. Download at Adobe Reader.

OTHER THINGS TO DO TO MAKE YOUR COMPUTER COMPATIBLE WITH BLACKBOARD VISTA

• Uninstall all special browser toolbars (Google, Yahoo!, etc.)

Depending on your browser, you may have to go to your "Add/Remove Software" control panel to remove some of these products. PLEASE NOTE: Disabling or turning off these search bars will not correct the problem - they must be fully uninstalled from your computer to keep them from interfering with your Blackboard Vista courses.

You may be able to uninstall toolbars through the Windows Control Panel:

1. From the Start menu, select Settings, Control Panel
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs
3. Locate the search toolbar (Google, Yahoo!, etc.) and click Change/Remove
4. Follow the onscreen instructions

Note: If you have the Google search bar installed and don't want to remove it, you will need to apply the following "quick fix."

1. On your browser menu bar, select Tools, Internet Options to open the Internet Options panel
2. On the Internet Options panel, open the Advanced tab
3. Scroll down and find the "Browsing" heading in the list. Under it, find the option "Show friendly URLs" and uncheck it

• Pop-up Blockers

Either disable your pop-up blocker when you're in your course, or set it to allow pop-ups by inputting the URL for your login page (CCCOnline's URL is http://cccs.blackboard.com/webct/entryPage.dowebct). See the information under How do I set my pop-up blocker to allow pop-ups or disable the pop-up blocker?

• Anti-Virus Programs

You may need to either disable your anti-virus program while in your course, or set it to allow your college's student homepage login site URL (CCCOnline URL is http://cccs.blackboard.com/webct/entryPage.dowebct).

• Check your Internet security software and software-based firewall settings – set them at Medium.

• You must have JavaScript and cookies enabled for WebCT to work properly - please complete the following steps:

Enable JavaScript (for Windows)

1. On the menu bar, select Tools, then Internet Options
2. Open the Security tab, and select the Trusted sites zone

1. Select the Sites button, and in the pop-up Trusted Sites panel, add your home college's student homepage login URL (CCCOnline's URL is http://cccs.blackboard.com/webct/entryPage.dowebct).

1. Make sure that the Require server verification option is not checked
2. Close the Trusted Sites panel by selecting the OK button
3. Select the Custom Level button to open the Security Settings pop-up panel
4. On the Security Settings panel, scroll down to the main heading "Scripting," and make sure that Active Scripting and Scripting of Java Applets are enabled.
5. Select the OK button to save your changes.
6. On the Internet Options panel, select the OK button to save your changes

THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT - NOTE: If you have Windows XP please make sure that you also complete the following steps.

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options
2. On the Advanced tab, under Security, make sure that the following check boxes are selected:

• Use SSL 2.0
• Use SSL 3.0
• Use TLS 1.0

Enable Cookies (for Windows)

For Internet Explorer 6.x

If you have added your home college's student homepage login URL to your Trusted sites zone, you should not have to do any further configuration of cookies. However, if you find that you are having cookie problems, or if you don’t want your home college's student homepage login URL in your Trusted sites zone, you can do the following:

1. On the menu bar, select Tools then Internet Options to open the Internet Options panel.
2. Open the Privacy tab, and make sure the privacy level slider is set to Medium – or Low. If it says Custom Level, either use the Default button to reset the level to the default (Medium), or use the Advanced button and make sure that the setting Always allow session cookies is enabled.
3. Select the OK button to close the Internet Options panel and save your settings

NOTE TO INTERNET EXPLORER 7 USERS - If, after completing all of the steps above you still encounter issues (for example, you're cycled back to a list of colleges when trying to login, Java issues that normal fixes don’t work, etc), try resetting IE 7.

Start IE 7, click Tools > Internet Options > Advanced tab > Reset