Field Epidemiology Certificate: Technical Requirements

It is imperative that your hardware and software meet these requirements. Hardware requirements Software requirements Internet service providers Computer recommendations Some definitions Hardware Requirements 1 GHz processor or better 256 MB or more of RAM 20 GB free on the hard disk 56 Kbps or better modem, cable, or LAN connection to the Internet 16-bit or better sound card and speakers 65,000-color or better video display card 15-inch color monitor or larger CD-ROM or DVD drive Windows XP or Windows 2000 (with the Microsoft Office suite) We DO NOT recommend Windows VISTA.  In the past some students have had compatibility issues with some of the software packages used in certain classes. Back to top Software Requirements Microsoft Office Suite. It is essential to have Micorsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Powerpoint products. Most professors will be using all these applications. Students will need to both be able to open the associated file types and compete assignments using these applications. Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher and/or Netscape Navigator 6.x or higher and/or Mozilla/Firefox Flash version 6 or higher Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher E-mail that sends messages over the Internet and can include file attachments. Back to top Internet Service Providers Internet Service Providers, or ISP's, allow you to access the internet from your home computer, through a modem or cable connection. We have noticed over the years that some ISP's work better with online courses than others. One important factor is whether an ISP uses a standard Netscape or Internet Explorer browser, or whether it uses a modified version of one of these, or its own proprietary browser. ISP's that use the latter (AOL is a good example), are not likely to work as well with online courses. Another important factor in choosing an ISP is the reliability and speed of the connection it offers. Back to top Computer Recommendations Ink-jet printer (Laser printers are sometimes desirable unless you want color) 4x speed CD-ROM drive (Faster is better) Option: A Zip, Jaz, tape, or other removable drive for backing up valuable data (You can't imagine the grief if you lose it.) Skills Test This skills test will test to see if you have the basic system requirements, plug-ins, and skills to take an online course at the UNC School of Public Health. Don't worry, you can go through the test as many times as you like, and we will offer a good deal of help along the way, through both text help links and flash demonstrations. Back to top Some definitions PC -- personal computer Mhz -- megahertz, the number of operations your central processing unit makes each second, in millions CPU -- central processing unit, the real brains of the computer. bytes -- characters (letters and numbers) Mb -- megabytes, millions of bytes. Gb -- gigabytes, billions of bytes. Kbps -- kilobits per second, often mistakenly referred to as kilobaud. Thousands of bits per second. bits -- strings ones or zeros, the real language of your computer, every eight bits makeup one byte SVGA -- super video graphics adapter CD-ROM -- compact disk, read-only memory. 2x, 8x, 16x -- just the number of times faster a CD-ROM drive spins than the CD in your stereo. xDSL -- an acronym for Digital Subscriber Line (the "x" is a technical term and means "some sort of." It's a special phone connection that allows you to gain access to the Internet at very high speeds (128Kbps or more) while still being able to make and take regular phone calls on a single line. It currently costs more than a regular phone line.

Last updated January 28, 2008