Technical Requirements and Recommendations

Technical Requirements and Recommendations

You will have the best experience with this course if you have your own home computer that was purchased in the last 2-3 years running current Windows or Mac operating systems, and with at least 4 gigabytes of RAM. Built-in or external computer speakers or headphones and a webcam may be needed, so please check with your instructor about specific course requirements. You will also need reliable broadband Internet access.

If you do not have your own computer or reliable Internet access, please educate yourself about the BCC Computer Labs. Local libraries such as the Pittsfield Public Library, the North Adams Public Library and the Mason Library in Great Barrington also offer public computer and Internet access.

Technical Requirements

Please make sure you have the most recent version of the following applications installed on your computer:

Adobe Acrobat Reader for opening PDF files.

Adobe Flash Player for videos and applications that use Flash.

Firefox (recommended for Moodle) for web browsing, Moodle access, and access to the MyBCC portal.

Java for Java-based applications and websites.

Quicktime for certain audio and video files.

Technical Recommendations

These free applications will help you complete course assignments and communicate with your instructor and classmates.

Audacity for free audio editing.

Canva for free, web-based photo editing software and graphic design.

Google Apps offers free, cloud-based applications for general computing, including:

  • Google Drive for free cloud-based file storage, sharing and management.
  • Google Docs for word processing and collaborative document editing (similar to Microsoft Word).
  • Google Slides for presentations (similar to PowerPoint).
  • Google Sheets for working with spreadsheets (similar to Excel).
  • Google Forms for creating surveys and other forms.
  • Google Hangouts for synchronous videoconferencing.

Skype for synchronous videoconferencing.

Your BCC account gives you access to Office 365 for Education, which means that you can download Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) for free.  Log in to your BCC email account for more information, or use the Online Help Request Form.