Technology Requirements and Support
To take full advantage of the interactivity of the courses, the following minimum system profiles are REQUIRED:
Windows Users
Windows 7 or 8 recommended (XP and Vista supported)
1 GM RAM
High Speed Internet connection (e.g.: DSL, Cable, etc.)
Note: Dial-up Internet connection is supported
Headset with microphone using a USB connection
Sound card and speakers
Screen Resolution: 1280 X 1024 or better
Web browsers: Blackboard supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and above and the most recent releases of Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome
Flash Player 20 or newer
OR
MAC Users
MAC OS X 10.7 (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or 10.9 (Mavericks) recommended
G4, G5 or Intel Processor
2 GB RAM
High Speed Internet connection (e.g.: DSL, Cable, etc.)
Note: Dial-up Internet connection is supported
Soundcard & Speakers
Screen Resolution: 1280 X 1024 or better
Headset with microphone using a USB connection
Web Browser: Blackboard supports the most recent releases of Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. OSX 10.7 and 10.8 users are encouraged to use Firefox and Chrome. OSX 10.9 users are encouraged to upgrade to Safari 7.
Flash Player 20 or newer
Internet Requirements
Students will need reliable Internet access to take online courses. If students do not have reliable internet at home they may be able to access courses at their primary high school, a local public library, internet café or community centers. NUVHS recommends a connection speed of at least 56kbps.
Email account
All students will need an email address to register for online courses. Free accounts can be established online with sites like Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail. Special characters can cause problems with some systems that make it difficult to reach the intended mailbox. NUVHS suggests that users avoid special characters (for example +, &, $, etc.) in email addresses.
Since our learning management system allows for just one email account to be associated with each student, we recommend listing the student’s email since they will need to be checking the account to ask questions of their teacher and receive all reminders. When the student does not have or does not regularly check their email address, a parent email address can be listed instead or a new account can be created where both parents and students can access the information.
Additional Requirements
NUVHS online courses may include the use of interactive software called Elluminate which allows students and instructors to engage in real-time, online vocal and video communication. Traditional speakers and a microphone will work with Elluminate; however, NUVHS highly recommends using a headset when using Elluminate to communicate in the online class. Elluminate sessions are conducted in real-time but will also be posted within the course so that students can review the topics covered if they cannot attend the live session.
Some courses have additional software and hardware requirements. To find out if a course has specific requirements, please review the latest NUVHS Textbook list, found on the Student Bookstore page.
If students experience technical difficulties, they should contact the NUVHS help desk directly at 888-892-9095 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The help desk can be reached 24 hours a day.
With any other questions please contact the NUVHS administrative offices at 866-366-8847 or [email protected].