What is needed to be a student in an online course?
If you want to join one of our online courses, here’s what you’ll need in the way of equipment:
- a reliable internet connection, including an email account
- a computer with a relatively large screen
(A tablet or smartphone will work, but the screen may be so small that you’ll have difficulty in seeing the other class members’ faces and the instructor’s slides.) - a computer video camera, either internal to the computer or an externally mounted webcam
- a microphone, usually internal to the computer, to a webcam, or to earbuds
- a good speaker, either internal to the computer, or connected externally via plug-in or Bluetooth, or a pair of earbuds
- a reasonably quiet room in which to connect to the class meetings
- for some classes, a printer for printing comments, brief files, etc., emailed by the instructor (since such material cannot be distributed in person).
For all our online classes, we’ll be using Zoom, a free (for students) video conferencing tool. Once you are accepted into a class, your instructor will send an email about how to join a Zoom session, and will arrange a session before the first class in which you can learn the basics of using Zoom (or check your knowledge if you’ve already used it).