The following is specific to my distance learning students who are in networking, operating systems, or security courses. Others may find it helpful.
Distance learning students are required to have a working computer that meets the following requirements to take this course from the CIT department. The instructor will not provide technical support on issues with the machine.
Connectivity:
Students have the option of using the wireless connectivity on campus, but there will not be an option for open lab time to complete projects in these courses. Students should be willing to provide their own broadband connection capable of streaming real time video.
Software:
The student must have Apple OS X (Tiger), or Windows XP (Service Pack 2), to be able to take this course. The student is required to install and or implement a variety of software in many courses on many different platforms.
Word processing and lecture content:
Adobe reader or another software product capable of reading adobe portable document files format is required.
A word processor capable of saving documents in Word 2003 (.doc), or Rich Text Format (.rtf) is a requirement. Homework or papers turned in using the Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) format will not be accepted and graded as a zero.
Spreadsheet programs will use either the comma separated value schema or Microsoft Excel 2003 format (.xls). Homework or projects turned in using the Excel 2007 format (.xlsx) will not be accepted and graded as a zero.
iTunes University and multimedia:
During the semester content may be distributed that is only available via iTunes University. The student should have a computer capable of downloading content and playing the video content from iTunes University. The ability to play windows media player and QuickTime movie format files is a requirement.
Virtual Machine Programs:
The ability of an information technology professional to be a flexible user of multiple operating systems and types of environments is imperative. To that end we use virtual machine programs to allow for flexibility in the operating environment. Microsoft has made available Virtual PC 2004 for users of the Microsoft XP operating system. It is freely available for download from Microsoft. Users of Microsoft Vista operating system will have to download for free Virtual PC 2007 (also free). Users of the Apple OS X operating system (Intel based machines) will be required to use either Parallels or VMWare at their cost. Users of the Apple OS X operating system (PPC based machines) get a free copy of Virtual PC for Macintosh with the purchase of Office 2004 at the bookstore.
Hardware Requirements:
The requirements for software drive the requirements for hardware in the courses. The following are the suggested hardware requirements for successful completion of courses within the CIT curriculum.
Basic hardware requirements:
1) 2.0GHz or Higher Core 2 Duo
2) 1GB of RAM 2GB suggested
3) 120GB Hard Drive 160GB suggested