Blackboard is the online "course management system" used to deliver online courses. Most computers built in the last four to six years should work with Blackboard without issue. This is assuming the computer is regularly maintained and protected from viruses and spyware. The following are a list of recommendations that are conducive to working with Blackboard.

 Internet Connection: 

• High speed such as Cable or DSL
• Using dial-up is possible but you may experience performance issues with certain Blackboard features

 Platform: 

• PC
• Windows 2000, XP, or Vista
• Apple
• MacOS X (10.3 Panther or higher)

 Hardware:

• 512 MB of RAM
• 1 GB of free disk space
• Sound card and speakers
• DVD-Rom Drive

 Browser: 

• PC
• IE 6 or higher, FireFox 2.0
• Mac
• FireFox 2.0 recommended
• Safari 2.0 or higher can be used for most Blackboard functions although some features may not work properly
• The AOL browser is not fully compatible with Blackboard. It is recommended that you log into AOL then use an alternate compatible browser.
• Firefox 3.0 is not currently supported; some Blackboard features may not work properly.

 Java and Cookies must be enabled

• Java version 1.5.0_02 or higher

 Software:  Varies from course to course

• Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Reader , and a multimedia player are often needed
• Free reader versions of Microsoft Office applications are available
• Word
•  Powerpoint
•  Excel
• Open Office 

 Some courses may require certain plug-ins for your browser to play or utilize materials.

These plug-ins are free downloads:

• Apple Quick Time 7 - QuickTime Player is an application for playing, interacting with, or viewing any video, audio, VR, or graphics file that is compatible with QuickTime.
• Shockwave, Flash & Acrobat Reader - Adobe Shockwave and FlashPlayer plug-ins let you experience automation and entertainment in your Web browser. Acrobat Reader lets you view and print PDF files.
• Real Networks RealPlayer - Play online audio and video content.
• Microsoft Media Player - Windows Media Player supports Windows Media (WMA,ASF), MP3, WAV, MIDI, AVI, and other formats.

To check your computer's browser compatibility, perform the following steps:

1. Visit https://blackboard.louisville.edu
2. Click the button for "User Login"
3. Click "Guest Access" on the left menu
4. Click the "Help" tab near the top of the screen
5. Click "Test your Browser" on the right side of the screen

Testing your browser will allow you to see if you have all components required that might be used to deliver course materials.