1. Contact the Instructor
2. Accessing the Course
3. Technical Requirements
4. Enabling Cookies
5. Enabling Java and JavaScript
6. Plug-ins
7. Viruses

Once registered for a course, all students must contact the instructor via e-mail. Instructors e-mail's are listed in the schedule. It is recommended you e-mail the instructor one week prior to the first day of classes. The instructor will not contact you, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor. If you enroll for a course and never contact the instructor or drop the class, you could receive an "F" for the class.

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To access a course go to the online course listing page (http://www.odessa.edu/virtual/). In the listing find your class and click on the name to access the course.

If you are taking a Blackboard course, you will need a login. Login instructions for blackboard are located at http://www.odessa.edu/virtual/bblogin.htm. Contact your instructor if additional information is needed to access the course.

If the course you are taking is not linked e-mail the instructor to get the access page or materials for the class.

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Technical Requirements depend on the course and instructor.

Hardware: 64 MB of RAM, 1 G of free disk space

Software: Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat Reader

Browser:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher.
Netscape Navigator 4.77 or higher.

Internet Connection:
56.6 KBPS modem, cable modem, DSL, or intranet (T-1)

Audio:
Some courses contain audio and require 16 bit or better sound card and speakers.

Click here for Blackboard Technical Requirments.

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Some courses may require you to enable cookies on your machine. Your browser may not support cookies. If you have one of the required browser versions, you can enable cookies with the following steps:

Netscape Navigator 4.01 or higher:

1. Click 'Edit'
2. Select 'Preferences'
3. Then select 'Advanced'
4. Click on the checkbox next to the words "Accept all cookies that get sent back to the originating server", then click "OK".

Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher:

1. Click 'Tools'
2. Select 'Internet Options'.
3. Then select 'Advanced'.
4. Scroll down until you see the "Cookies" entry. Click the "Always accept cookies" selection, and then click "OK."

You may need to close and restart your browser for the settings to take effect.

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Microsoft Internet Explorer:

1. Click on "Tools".
2. Select "Internet Options".
3. Click on the "Security" tab.
4. Select "Internet".
5. Select "Custom Level". Scroll down to "Microsoft VM", and ensure that "Java permissions" is set to either "Medium safety" or "High safety" (not disabled).
6. If "Java permissions" is set to "Disable Java", click on the "Advanced" tab, and select all Java options under "Microsoft VM".

Netscape:

1. Click on "Edit" and then "Preferences".
2. Then click on "Advanced".
3. Make sure that everything that says "Java" is checked.

NOTE: If the steps above still do not correct the problem, you may need to restart you computer or obtain the proper Java runtime environment:

Windows:

1. Go to http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/jre/download-windows.html , and download the Sun Java 2 runtime environment.
2. Install the application, then restart your machine.

Macintosh:

1. Go to http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/mac/377, and download the Apple MRJ.
2. Install the application, then restart your machine.

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You may be required to download and install plug-ins to view some of the materials for the class. A plugin is a small piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software. If a plugin is required information will be provide by the instructor or on your course site.

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If you do not own virus scanning software, it is highly recommended you buy one. Odessa College uses Trend Micro, but many more scanners are available such as, McAfee, Norton and Housecall. It is important to keep your virus scanner software up-to-date to continually protect your system.

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