Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services

When participating in distance education courses, it is vital to consider the technical skills needed in order to have a successful course. Students in distance education courses must have knowledge of basic computer and Internet skills listed below.

Note: Contact your professor or refer to your course syllabus for any additional technical knowledge or skills you may need in your course.

Required Basic Technical Knowledge and Skills

• Accessing the Internet using a computer browser (aka. "getting online").

• Using an Internet browser. (Recommended browsers: Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Avoid: Internet Explorer, since this is no longer supported by Blackboard.)

• Downloading, saving, opening, and printing material found online.

• Composing e-mail/course messages and attaching documents. (Blackboard Student Help Link: Course Messages)

• Posting to a discussion forum. (Blackboard Student Help Link: Threads)

• Submitting to a drop box or assignment. (Blackboard Student Help Link: Submit Assignments)

• Writing and editing with a word processor, such as Notepad, MS Word, etc. (Link: Office Quick Start guides)

• Take online examinations.

• Using web conferencing tools, such as Blackboard Collaborate. (Links: Collaborate Get Started and Presenting)

• Learning new computer skills.

Required Digital Information Literacy Skills

• Conducting Internet searches.

• Navigating through TAMIU library's search tool to locate appropriate texts, documents and resources. (Link: TAMIU Library Main Page)

• Navigating through TAMIU library's website to utilize various databases for research. (Link: Killam Library A-Z Databases)

• Citing sources in academic submissions, using appropriate style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) (Link: TAMIU Writing Center Handouts)