Recommended Hardware, Software and Computer Skill Requirements


Computer System
Computer competencies required

You must have a PC computer.  Below are recommended specifications.

Computer System

Computer

  • 2 Gigahertz Dual COre Processor (Intel or AMD)
  • 2 Gigabytes of RAM
  • Sound card
  • DVD-RW/CD-RW
  • 160 Gigabyte Hard Drive or (80 GB for Laptop)
  • 256MB Video Card with Support for DirextX 9 graphics
  • 1024 by 768 or higher resolution monitor
  • USB 2.0 port(s)
  • 10/100 Ethernet Adaptor
  • WiFi 802.11 b or g wireless networking (for Laptops)
Connectivity Requirements
  • Cable or DSL
Peripherals
  • Scanner
  • Printer
  • Speakers
  • Headset with Microphone
  • 1 GB USB Flash Drive
Software
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional (preferred) or Windows Vista (Ultimate or Home Premium)
  • Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007
  • Anti-virus software (available free from UA HelpDesk)
  • Other software, such as graphics, authoring tools, communication tools, sound, and video, may be required for specific courses.
Computer competencies required:

Basic computer competence is critical.  You must be able to do the following skillfully upon entering the program.

Operating systems:
Launch or run an application, create a folder/directory, name a folder/directory/file, move a folder/directory/file from one location to another, rename a folder/directory/file, copy a folder/directory/file from one device to another, delete a folder/directory/file, initialize a disk, open a file, save a file, find a file, print a file.

Word processing:
Create running header and footer with pagination, apply a font to text, change size of font, center text, make text bold, italicize text, underline text, indent paragraphs, change line spacing, doubly indent paragraphs, set right and left margins, set tab stops, force a page break, insert and position a graphic into the document as a figure and label it in other words make a document such as the one you are reading.

Graphics:
Create and position an unfilled rectangle with a black border; create and position a rounded box, filled with light shading; create lines of different thickness; create ovals and circles both filled and unfilled with black borders; create and position text of different fonts, sizes, boldness, transparency and italics; create polygons filled with shading such as solid arrowheads; be able to place graphics "objects" such that they are layered on top of each other to give the desired appearance; select an area, copy it, and move the copy to a new location; erase or otherwise modify a graphic object.

E-Mail:
Use an electronic mail system and be able to reliably send and receive messages, reply to messages, forward messages, create and send to a distribution list, create folders and file messages in those folders. It is required that you use your Bama e-mail account in your own name that is used for all courses.  You can understand that messages with different names and from different computers are difficult to manage for the instructor.

File Transfer:
Upload and download ASCII text files and binary files using Secure FTP software..

Information Retrieval:
You should have an understanding and facility with searching information resources.

Scanning:
Scan and save text/ image in different formats, including Word, Photoshop, .jpg, .gif.

Web Page:
Create a home page, which includes text, graphics and links to other documents on the Internet. Requires knowledge of HTML (hypertext markup language), graphics creation and conversion to .gif or .jpg format.
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