This orientation is not specific to your course, and every course is a bit different. So be sure to read your Syllabus and check with your instructor for if there are any extra instructions and requirements for your individual class! If you're a UA Online student you've already seen a lot of this, so feel free to skim with that in mind.
As a student in your class there are some general technical skills which you should have. Before beginning this course, please make sure that you are able to:
If you're not new to what the internet is and what being online means - feel free to skip ahead. If you are new to being online, we want you to be sure this is right for you - please talk to your advisor and take this brief assessment. Online is very different than face to face and we would hate to have you fail or withdraw simply because of bad fit with the delivery of the information. It's our goal that each one of our students succeed.
If you're extremely new to online you can start by reviewing the following pages:
We also highly recommend signing up for free courses at your local library or community college if you are very new to online. You will need the foundation those courses can provide to be successful in our courses.
TIP - TEST FIRST!
We recommend you head over to https://d2l.arizona.edu/ FIRST before you run any of the tech checks mentioned in the video, just to see if it works for you already. If it does, you don't need to do all the checks the video mentions.
These are the basic requirements for effectively accessing your online course. Remember - lots of software is free or cheaper for you as a UA student. Be sure to check the Office of Student Computing Resources site before you buy anything new.
Supported Hardware/Operating Systems
Supported Browsers for Desire2Learn (D2L)
If you're not sure what a browser is, or which one you're using - try this link to find out about your settings. You can then call 24/7 IT with that information in hand to get some help if you need it.
Software required for most UA Online courses
We recommend bookmarking most of the following pages as you will absolutely need most of them during a typical semester. (There should also be a link to a menu of Resources in your D2L class which you may find helpful).
The UA offers many other types of support for you that you should be aware of. The libraries have computers, scanners and an equipment lending program. OSCR (Office of Student Computing Resources) maintains labs and lends gear such as cameras to students. UA South also has additional resources available at our locations (including labs, loaner equipment, etc.). If you need to know where to go to get something or if you can get some equipment from UA South, please contact Deb Hoeft.
Review our D2L @ UA page before moving on in this orientation.
Review our Steps to Success page before moving on in this orientation.
Just in case you want to review a bit more, or need some additional tips, here are two more links:
Note: All University of Arizona students have agreed to abide by the standards for behavior set forth by the Arizona Board of Regents. The Student Code of Conduct is in place to create a safe, healthy and responsible environment that allows UA students, faculty, and staff to be successful in their daily endeavors and long term goals. Sanctions may be imposed for acts of misconduct that occur on university property or at any university-sponsored activity (including the online environment). As further prescribed in these rules, off-campus conduct may also be subject to discipline.
You should now be very well prepared to succeed in online courses with us - we're looking forward to learning with you!
How to Take the Orientation Quiz: If your instructor has asked you to take the quiz on this information - follow this link to do that (the quiz will open in a new window/tab). You only have to take it once for ALL LDRV classes, but you do need to be ready to either print the email you'll receive or the final report page (look for the small adobe icon in the top right when you're done). Either of those can be turned in to a D2L Dropbox to all of your instructors to receive credit for completing this orientation.
See you in D2L soon!
Netiquette guidelines are based on The Core Rules of Netiquette, excerpted from the book Netiquette, by Virginia Shea.
Video content was developed and authored by the UA Office of Digital Learning.