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General Tech Qs
What operating systems can I use with Blackboard?
Blackboard is compatible with:
- Windows operating systems: Windows 8, Windows 10 & Windows 11
- Mac operating systems: Mac OS 10.14 or newer
What word processing software do I need when taking online courses?
The recommended software for course work is the
Microsoft Office 365 Student subscription with Word, PowerPoint, and/or Excel. Your instructor may have other requirements, depending on the course. Do not upload Word Perfect documents to Blackboard.
Browser Tips
What Internet browsers are compatible with Blackboard?
| Mozilla Firefox is a recommended browser for the My AUM website & Blackboard. You may download/install Mozilla Firefox for free by clicking here Mozilla Firefox, most recent stable version and two preceding versions. Click Browser Checker while using Firefox to check your browser compatibility with Blackboard. |
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| The Google Chrome web browser is a recommended browser for the My AUM website & Blackboard. You may download/install Google Chrome for free by clicking here Google Chrome, most recent stable version and two preceding versions. Click Browser Checker while using Chrome to check your browser compatibility with Blackboard. |
| Apple Safari for MacOS and iOS, two most recent versions. Click Browser Checker while using Safari to check your browser compatibility with Blackboard. |
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| Respondus Lockdown Browser is used specifically for taking tests and submitting assignments securely. You may download/install the most recent version by clicking Here To view Lockdown Browser minimum hardware/software requirements, click minimum requirements |
Google Chrome
- Open Chrome and type the following address in the web address bar/URL bar at the top of the webpage: chrome:settings/content/popups and press Enter or Return on your keyboard.
- Select Sites can send pop-ups and use redirects
Mozilla Firefox
- Select Tools from the Menu Bar and select Options
- Select Content from the icon menu bar and uncheck the box next to Block pop-up windows.
Microsoft Edge
- Open Microsoft Edge
- Type the following address in the web address bar/URL bar at the top of the webpage: Edge:settings/content/popups and press Enter or Return on your keyboard.
- Toggle Block option to the left/off position to disable pop-ups.
Apple Safari
- Open Safari
- From the Safari menu, select Preferences...
- Select the Websites tab
- Select the Pop-up Windows option
- Select the Allow option next to When visiting other websites
- Close when finished
How do I enable cookies?
Google Chrome
- Open Google Chrome
- Type the following address in the web address bar/URL bar: chrome:settings/cookies and press Enter or Return on your keyboard.
- Select Allow all cookies
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Firefox
- Click the Menu icon on the top right and then select Settings
- Click the Privacy & Security panel
- Under the Permissions section, uncheck the box next to Block pop-up windows to disable the pop-up blocker altogether.
- A click on Exceptions opens a dialog box with a list of sites that you want to allow to display pop-ups.
- Click OK
Microsoft Edge
- Open Microsoft Edge
- Type the following address in the web address bar/URL bar: Edge:settings/content/cookies and press Enter or Return on your keyboard.
- Toggle Allow sites to save and read cookie data to the right enabling cookies.
Apple Safari
- Open Safari
- From the Safari menu, select Preferences...
- Select the Security icon
- Check Enable JavaScript
- Click the Privacy tab
- Uncheck the checkbox for the Block all cookies option
- Close window
Plug-ins for Blackboard
The following free plug-ins are recommended.
Java
How do I clear my Java cache?
To clear your Java cache in
Windows:
- Click Start > Control Panel.
- Locate and double click the Java icon in the Control Panel.
- Click Settings under Temporary Internet Files.
- Click Delete Files.
- Select all boxes and click OK on Delete Temporary Files window.
- Note: This deletes all the Downloaded Applications and Applets from the cache.
- Click OK on Temporary Files Settings window.
- Click OK to close the Java Control Panel.
To clear your Java cache in Mac OS X:
- Double click your Macintosh hard drive.
- Double click Applications.
- Double click Utilities.
- Double click Java Preferences.
- Click the Network tab.
- Click the Delete Files... button.
- You are prompted to delete your temporary files for Java. Make sure all boxes are selected with check marks. Click OK.
- Close the Java Preferences window.