Blackboard Requirements

The following hardware and software are minimum specifications to work with the Blackboard application:

PC Requirements

  • Windows 98, 2000, XP
  • 64 MB of RAM (128 MB or higher recommended)
  • 500 MB of hard disk space
  • An active e-mail account
  • Access to the internet through a local internet service provider
    • 56 k Modem (DSL/Cable or higher is recommended)

Macintosh Requirements

  • Mac OS 9, 10.1 or higher
  • 64 MB of RAM (128 MB or higher recommended)
  • 500 MB of hard disk space
  • An active e-mail account
  • Access to the internet through a local internet service provider
    • 56 k Modem (DSL/Cable or higher is recommended)

Browser Requirements (taken from "END USER CONFIGURATION MATRIX," Blackboard.com)

End users must use a certified or compatible operating system and browser configuration with the Blackboard Academic Suite.

NOTE: JavaScript & Cookies must be enabled.

Key
Certified – fully tested and supported
C
Compatible – key application areas tested
N/A
Not tested – specified Browser is not supported for the Operating System

   

WINDOWS® OPERATING
SYSTEMS

 MAC® OPERATING
SYSTEMS****
 
2000**
XP
10.2
10.3
MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER® WEB BROWSERS
5.2
N/A
N/A
C
C
5.5
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
6.0
C
N/A
N/A
NETSCAPE ® AND MOZILLA® WEB BROWSERS
NS 4.78
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
NS 7.1***
C
C
C
C
Firefox
1.0.x***
C
C
APPLE® SAFARI® WEB BROWSERS
1.0
N/A
N/A
C
N/A
1.1
N/A
N/A
N/A
C
1.2
N/A
N/A
N/A

* All configurations marked as Compatible and have undergone a limited engineering analysis to test areas of the Blackboard Academic Suite that may have browser issues. Additional information on known browser issues may be found in the Knowledge Base.

** Microsoft Windows 2000 supported configurations are considered compatible when run on Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME.

*** Gecko is the shared rendering engine at the heart of the Firefox 1.0, Netscape 7.1 and Mozilla 1.5 browsers, which are all considered compatible browsers. Only Firefox has undergone testing that qualifies it as Certified.

**** The Safari Web browser and the Gecko browsers for Mac do not currently fully support the Live Connect technology used by some features in the Blackboard Learning System. The Equation Editor, Collaboration tool and SCORM Content type may experience issues when these browsers are used. See the Knowledge Base articles 181-2429, 181-2428, 181-2431, 181-2432 for detailed information.

***** The Visual Text Box Editor is only available to users with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Software:

Browser Plug-Ins: (suggested)

You may or may not need the plug-ins, depending on what type of files your instructor shares with you via Blackboard. The plug-ins are free downloads.

  • Apple Quick Time 6
    "The free QuickTime Player is an application for playing, interacting with, or viewing any video, audio, VR, or graphics file that is compatible with QuickTime. This includes MPEG-4, the new standard for digital media, new in QuickTime 6." (Apple Web site)
  • Shockwave, Flash & Authorware
    Macromedia's Shockwave, Flash and Authorware Player plug-ins let you experience automation and entertainment in your Web browser. The new Shockwave 7 provides auto-updating of the player.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
    View and print millions of documents on the Web with the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader.
  • Microsoft Media Player
    Windows Media Player supports Windows Media (WMA,ASF), MP3, WAV, MIDI, AVI, and other formats.

 
Website Updated: May 12, 2008
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