Technical Requirements

Computer System Requirements

To use these learning modules, you need a computer that has an internet connection and speakers. These modules have only been tested on PCs. Additional requirements are listed below.

Speakers and Sound card

You must have speakers and a sound card in order to use these modules since all of them have embedded audio narration. Have you listened to music or other sound files on your computer previously? Do you know if you have speakers? If not, do you have headphones that you can plug into into your computer?

Test

Visit WavCentral to see if you can hear any of the sound files

Troubleshooting

If your speakers/sound are not working, try this troubleshooting page for assistance.

Internet connection

A high bandwidth connection is necessary to load the modules. If you have a slow connection, it will take longer for the modules to start. A fast connection means that the modules will load faster.

Test

Visit TestMySpeed to measure your connection.

Troubleshooting

A 10 MB file will take approximately:

  • Less than 30 seconds to to load using a cable modem
  • 1 minute to load using a fast DSL connection
  • 3 minutes to load using a regular DSL connection
  • More than 10 minutes to load using slower connections

Internet browser

A recent version of an internet browser is necessary. We suggest Internet Explorer 7 (or higher) or Firefox 2.0 (or higher)

Test

You are currently using:

Troubleshooting

Download the latest version of Internet Explorer or Firefox.

Adobe Flash plug-in

These modules require that you have Adobe Flash version 8 (or higher) installed in your browser. This software is common, but if you don't have it, you will need to install it (it's free).

Test

You should see a message below that indicates the Flash version you have.

You do not have the Flash plugin installed, or your browser does not support Javascript (or you have disabled it).

Troubleshooting

Test your computer for Flash now.

Pop-ups

Some parts of these modules might not work properly if you have pop-up windows blocked in your browser. Most people don't know that they have one or more pop-up blockers on their computer, but these blockers may prevent the modules from working properly.

Test

To see if you have pop-up blocking in effect, try this Pop-up Blocking Test.

Troubleshooting

See these instructions for temporarily disabling pop-up blockers.