Atlanta Technical College

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Atlanta Technical College

• Online Student Orientation

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Contents

• Is Online Learning For Me
• How To Get Started
• How To Use Blackboard
• Technical Requirements
• Technical Guidelines

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• Technology Competency Requirements
• Browser Recommendations
• Drop Deadlines
• Format For Assignments
• Requirements For Chat Room and Email
• Instructor Response Time
• Troubleshooting Advice

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Is Online Learning For Me?

• The following statements assess the basic skills
  and
• capabilities that you need in order to be
  successful in an
• online course. You should be able to answer yes
  to each
• of the statements before starting your course.
• 1. I have my own computer.
• 2. The hard drive on my computer has at least 6
  gigabytes
• of storage space.
• 3. I have access to a printer.
• 4. My computer has a CD-ROM drive.
• 5. I know how to print pages.

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• 6. I have Microsoft Office 98 or higher on my
  computer.
• When you have technical difficulties with your
  computer, do you have access to technical
  support?
• 8. I have my own Internet Service Provider or I
  have easy access to the Internet on a regular
  basis.
• 9. I check (or am able to check) my email at
  least once each day.
• 10. Are you comfortable using computers?
• 11. Do you use the Internet regularly at home or
  at work?
• 12. I can commit 6 9 hours each week, both
  online and
• offline, devoted to completing this course,
  and I am
• able to budget my time.

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• 13. I am comfortable (or believe I would be
  comfortable)
• learning without face to face interaction
  from an
• instructor or fellow students.
• 14. I have access to a computer with Internet
  access and a
• high speed connection.
• 15. I can start, shut down, and reboot a
  computer.
• 16. I can use a keyboard and mouse gracefully.
• 17. I have an email address and know how to
  send,
• receive, reply to, add attachments, and
  forward email.
• 18. My computer has the latest security features
  and an
• anti-virus program.

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19. I know how to use word processing
software. 20. I can copy and paste text across
all applications. 21. I can install software
from a computer disk onto my
computer. 22. I know how to access URLs (web
addresses) on the Internet. 23. I
know how to use online search tools such as
Google or Yahoo. 24. I can navigate
both forward and backward on web sites. 25. I
can troubleshoot a URL or link that is not
working.
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How To Get Started

• To participate in an online course you need to
  meet the technical equipment requirements and
  technology competency requirements listed in this
  orientation.

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• Access to an online course requires a Username
  and Password on the Blackboard system. Your
  instructor will assign these to you. The Web Site
  address for your online course is
• http//gvtc6.blackboard.com
• and LOG IN using the Username and Password your
  instructor provides.
• Course navigation is explained in this
  orientation in "How to Use Blackboard".

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How To Use Blackboard
The navigational buttons are on the left in
Blackboard. This is a general summary of buttons,
although all buttons may not be needed in each
class.

• Announcements New information posted for
  students.
• Course Information Contains a syllabus and a
  how to use this web site guide.
• Staff Information - Instructor's contact
  information.
• Course Documents Includes course content,
  outlines, and other documents to help with the
  course.

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• Assignments - Follow directions carefully and
  submit work as requested by the instructor.
• Books Textbook information is found here and
  any other suggested titles.
• Communication Several methods to communicate
  with instructor and other students.
• External Links - Links to course related
  websites.
• Tools - Areas include Digital Drop Box, Glossary,
  Personal Information, SmarThinking Login,
  Blackboard Student Manual, Tasks, and View
  Grades.

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Technical Requirements

• You will need access to a computer with the
  following minimum hardware requirements
• Operating System - Microsoft Windows 98 or better
• Processor - Celeron/Pentium 200 MHz or greater
• RAM - 64 MB or more
• Internet Connection 56.6 Kbps or higher
• Sound - sound card and speakers
• Browser - Internet 5.0 or better or, Netscape
  4.7 or better
• Monitor

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• Internet Service Provider
• An ISP is a company that can provide you with
  the software necessary for getting onto the
  Internet. Contact your local ISP to set up your
  personal account. Without an ISP, it is
  impossible to take GVTC Online Courses. Students
  have reported numerous problems when using AOL to
  access online courses. If you use AOL, you must
  be able to access Netscape or Internet Explorer
  to use as a browser after connecting to the
  Internet. Do not use the AOL browser!

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• Email AccountSince it is our primary form of
  communication, you must have an email address.
  Generally, your ISP will give you an email
  account. Please contact your ISP if you are
  unsure of your email address. Email accounts are
  readily available on the Internet. You may
  register for email at several alternative sites
  like Hotmail, Yahoo, Juno, or Excite.

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Technical Guidelines
Supplemental Software Some online classes
require or recommend software packages. Some
common software packages and their online
websites are posted here for your benefit.

• Real Player G2 Real Player gives you access to
  multimedia files, both on the Internet and those
  stored locally on your computer and your LAN.
  With Real Player, you can find and play Channels,
  Live Stations, and other clips directly without
  having to launch your web browser first.
• Adobe Acrobat 5.0 software lets you save
  virtually any document from a simple Microsoft
  Word file to a CAD drawing to a graphically rich
  brochure in compact Adobe Portable Document
  Format (PDF). It also lets you protect your
  documents from unauthorized access or
  alterations.
• Macromedia Authorware Web Player (free download)
  you can experience online learning applications
  on the Web.

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• Macromedia Flash Player (free download) client
  for rich web experiences across multiple
  platforms. With Macromedia Flash Player, view and
  interact with content developed in Macromedia
  Flash MX.
• MacroMedia Shockwave Player (free download) you
  can enjoy multimedia games, learning
  applications, and product demonstrations on the
  Web, using exciting new 3D technology.
• WS FTP the market leader in Windows-based FTP
  (file transfer protocol) client software. It
  enables users and organizations to move files
  between local and remote systems while enjoying
  the utmost in security, ease of use, reliability,
  and efficiency.
• WinZip makes it easy for Windows users to work
  with archives. Features an intuitive
  point-and-click drag-and-drop interface for
  viewing, running, extracting, adding, deleting,
  and testing files in archives with a standard
  Windows interface. Zip files are "archives" for
  distributing and storing files. Zip files contain
  one or more files. Usually the files "archived"
  in a Zip are compressed to save space. Makes it
  easy to group, transport, and copy files faster.

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Technology Competency Requirements

• Student Technology Skills The following computer
  skills are
• needed prior to taking online Atlanta Technical
  College
• courses. Students are responsible for assessing
  their own skill
• levels. If you do not possess these skills, check
  into the
• computer literacy courses offered at your local
  Technical
• College. Your instructor will not be teaching
  these skills as part
• of the course.
• Basic Skills
• Familiar with the operating system of the
  computer being used to access the Internet
  course.
• Understand terms like mouse, drag, open, select,
  file, choose, double-click, download, upload,
  send, etc.
• Save, copy and find files/folders on floppy and
  hard drives
• Navigate between two or more applications without
  closing and re-opening (multitasking)
• Minimize/maximize Windows

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• Email Skills1. Send, open, reply to, and
  forward a message 2. Enter a message subject 3.
  Send an attachment 4. Open and/or save an
  attachment 5. Web Browser Skills
• Go to a specific URL1. Print a page 2. Follow
  a hypertext link 3. Conduct a basic search using
  a search engine 4. Download and install plug-ins
  5. Word Processor Skills
• Open a new file1. Open an existing file 2.
  Save a file 3. Rename a file (Save As) 4. Cut,
  paste, format text 5. Print a document

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Browser Recommendation

• Java Compliant Web BrowserAtlanta Technical
  College online courses require a Java compliant
  Browser. For the Java capable browser we
  recommend Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 (or
  higher) or Netscape Communicator 4.0 (or
  higher). If your browser is older than IE 4.0 or
  Netscape 4.0, you may download a current version
  for free by clicking on the icons below.

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Drop Deadlines

• Important dates are listed on the Atlanta
  Technical College academic calendar at
  http//www.atlantatech.org/catalog.pdf

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Format For Assignments

• In your Blackboard course environment, look under
  Syllabus or in Course Information for the course
  syllabus. Additional instructions may be located
  under Assignments. General assignment formatting
  instructions will be related to you in these
  areas. If specific assignments need special
  formatting, this will be related to you as part
  of the assignment.

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Requirements For Chat Room Email

• Within the Blackboard 6 environment, students are
  encouraged to communicate with fellow classmates
  and instructors from the course website. The
  Communication Center allows users to send email,
  access course discussion boards, participate in
  the virtual classroom, send messages, and access
  student group pages. Look in "Course Information"
  for the course syllabus. Any chat room and email
  requirements will be listed in the syllabus.

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Instructor Response Time

• Instructors respond to emails as quickly as
  possible since this is the predominant method
  through which instructors and students
  communicate. Instructors will respond to emails
  within 24 hours excluding weekends and holidays.

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Troubleshooting Advice

• Contact your instructor first if you need
  technical support. Questions concerning the
  course or navigating in the course should be
  directed to your instructor. If the Blackboard
  server goes down please be patient. If you send
  email for technical support to the GVTC
  Coordinator, please be sure to type your name,
  class name, and 'Technical Difficulty' in the
  subject area. For example John Doe, ACC100,
  Technical Difficulty.
• AOL users experience compatibility issues with
  Blackboard. Students have reported numerous
  problems when using AOL to access online courses.
  If you use AOL, you must be able to access
  Netscape or Internet Explorer. Do not use the
  AOL browser.

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Enrollment

• Current Atlanta Technical College students enroll
  in online courses by contacting your advisor.