You are using an internet browser to look at this page, and you will use a browser to interact with Blackboard, Adobe Connect, WebEx or any other online service. These are some common browsers:
- Firefox 15.0 - Recommended browser (Download http://www.mozilla.com)
- Google Chrome 21 - Alternate browser (Download at http://www.google.com/chrome)
- Internet Explorer 9 - Alternate browser (already installed on all Windows computers)
- Safari 6 (Mac only) - Not recommended when taking online tests or using Grade Center on Blackboard
If you experience problems with Blackboard or any other online service, please log out then log in with a different browser.
Browser Skills
You will need to know how to do a few basic things in your browser. These skills will be useful for general internet use, too.
- Open a link in a new tab. To learn how see "How to Open Links in a New Tab"
- Download, edit, and upload documents. Some instructors may have you download Microsoft Word, PDF, or Powerpoint documents. You may also need to upload your assignments. Practice that process here:
- Download this document and save it somewhere on your computer: Assignment1_LAST_FIRST.rtf
- Rename the document, replacing LAST and FIRST with your last and first name.
- Click the button below to locate the file on your computer.
(Note: this is just for practice, you will not actually upload a file here.)
In order to view some of the multimedia components of some classes, you will need to make sure you have Adobe Flash Player, a PDF reader, and Java installed. These are common plug-ins for most browsers, so you probably already have them installed. Here's how to check:
You will need a word processing program and some classes use Microsoft PowerPoint. You can use Microsoft Office (including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel), which is not free. An alternative would be to use Open Office, which is free and can be downloaded at http://www.openoffice.org/.
Another alternative would be to keep your files in Google Documents. If you have a Google account, log in to Google Docs by clicking "Documents" at the top of your email page. Google Docs is free and can read Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files.
Mac users may have Pages. If you use Pages be sure to save your files as word documents. You can find out how, along with other Pages resources at http://www.apple.com/iwork/tutorials.
Please note: Open Office, Google Documents and Pages may only be used for coursework if files are saved and submitted as Word documents AND proper formatting is either retained or restored as required by your instructor. This is especially important if you are using mobile device technology.
If you are enrolled in a Torrey Academy course, you are required to maintain regular backups of all your work. This prevents you from losing a large amount of work.
You can purchase a portable hard drive to regularly backup your entire computer. We recommend a Western Digital Portable Drive
. These drives come with automated backup software, or you can use Windows Backup which is built in to Windows 7 or Time Machine on a Macintosh. You can get a 1 Terabyte drive for under $125.
Another option is to subscribe to an online backup service. Here are a couple to try:
