◎ Recommended Standard

Expectations

1. Explanations of technical requirements and skills, and prerequisite knowledge and skills may be found within the course, and/or in supporting material not on the course site. The more places you provide it the better the chance that students will see it.
2. Providing the technical requirements in advance will cut down on the drops that occur when students get into a course and find that they cannot complete it.
3. Examples of technology requirements include hardware, software and plug-ins, and internet requirements.
4. Examples of technology skills may include using email with attachments, and saving files in software programs like Word and Excel.
5. It is important to provide directions for downloading plug-ins and other software that will be used in a course.

NOTE: if students are required to use a word processor, it is not always a safe assumption that they will have the same version, or even the same product (e.g., Microsoft Word, Pages, etc.), which can lead to compatibility issues. For this reason, it is recommended that that the course specify exactly what word processor and version is required. The course should stipulate that students purchase the necessary software, access one of the many cloud-based office suites (e.g., Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive; both of which are commonly supported by institutions), or download one of the free office suites like OpenOffice or LibreOffice, which are compatible with most of the features/formatting of Microsoft Word.

Examples

• Many institutions provide minimum technology requirements, so instructors should direct students to these:
  • "This course has an established list of minimum technical requirements, which are stated in the Online Student Handbook. Additionally, this course requires the use of video conferencing software, for which you will need to purchase a webcam and microphone. These can be obtained from the campus bookstore, or from any retailer selling electronics (Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.)."
• If your course has prerequisites, you should include a statement like: "It is strongly recommended that you have taken CHEM 101, and received a C or better, prior to taking this course."

References

• QA FIPSE rubric I.6