For Blackboard
courses, we recommend that you use Microsoft Internet
Explorer (IE) version 6.0 or higher or Netscape
Navigator 4.5x or higher. In addition
you may need to check your
browser cache and java settings.
You are currently using:
Internet Explorer,
Version 4 or higher.
This version of Explorer will work with a Blackboard course:
you do not need to upgrade. If you want the latest version,
however, click the icon above.
Plug-ins
Some Blackboard courses use browser plug-ins. To view
these portions of the sites, you may need one or more of the
plug-ins below. Internet Explorer will generally
automatically download any plug-ins required by a particular
page. If you would like to test these plug-ins now, click
one of the Test Drive buttons below.
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RealPlayer - streaming
video and audio
Some Blackboard courses use streaming video. To view the
video within a web page, you should download the free
plug-in.
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QuickTime - View QuickTime
video in the browser window
Some Blackboard courses use Quicktime video. To view the
video within a web page, you should download Quicktime
4.0 from Apple.
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Shockwave - animation and
interactive content
Shockwave is used in some Blackboard courses for
interactive quizzes, animations, and activities.
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Flash - animation and
interactive content
Flash is used in some Blackboard courses for interactive
quizzes, animations, and activities.
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Acrobat Reader - view,
navigate, and print PDF files across all major computing
platforms
Adobe PDF documents are used in some Blackboard courses.
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Preparing Your
Computer Settings for Blackboard
Students and faculty can access the
Blackboard platform through a web browser such as Netscape
or Internet Explorer. The Blackboard software you will use
resides on a FSU Blackboard server (a central host
computer). However, you will also use other applications
that reside on your own computer, such as word processing
programs or HTML editors. You will want to be sure that your
computer's settings are optimized for running a Blackboard
course. This means that you will need to enable Java and set
the cache to reload every time.
Recommended Browsers
- Netscape Navigator version 4.5 or
higher
- Netscape Communicator version 4.5
or higher
-
Internet Explorer (IE) version
6.0
or higher
If you use America Online (AOL) for
Web access, you will need the AOL version 4.0 or higher
client and the Internet Explorer 5.0 browser. Do not use
earlier versions of the AOL client with earlier versions of
Internet Explorer, as you will have difficulty accessing
many of Blackboard features. Do not use MSN or Juno
browsers. If MSN or Juno is your ISP, logon to your ISP and
open Internet Explorer or Netscape.
For best results with
AOL:
- Connect to the Internet using AOL
version 4.0 or higher
- Open a private chat within AOL
(this allows the AOL client to remain open, without asking
if you wish to disconnect while minimized)
- Minimize AOL
- Launch a recommended browser
Enable Java
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Netscape
Communicator (Navigator 4.05 and higher) |
- Select Edit >Preferences
- Select Advanced
- Make sure the Enable Java
and Enable JavaScript boxes are checked
- Click OK
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Internet
Explorer 4.0 and higher |
- Select
Tools >
Internet Options
- Select the Advanced tab
- Locate Microsoft VM
- Make sure the Java console
enabled and Java logging enabled boxes are
checked
- Click OK
- Restart your computer if you
checked the Java console enabled box
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Set Cache to Always Reload a Page
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Netscape
Communicator (Navigator 4.5 and higher) |
- Select
Edit >
Preferences
- Click the + sign next to
Advanced to see more options
- Select Cache
- Select the Every Time
radio button at the bottom
- Click OK
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Internet
Explorer 4.0 and higher |
- Select Tools >
Internet Options
- Select the General tab
- Select Settings from
Temporary Internet Files
- Select the Every Visit to
the Page radio button
- Click OK
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