One aspect of academic achievement is technology readiness. Throughout your time as a student, you will need to use various technologies as you prepare for an increasingly tech-driven professional world upon graduation. This technology readiness resource center will provide links, how-to’s, videos, tools, etc., to various computer skills and community resources that have been identified to be the most frequently utilized and applied throughout your journey as a student.
New to online learning? Here's a quick glossary of terms you may have heard of but haven't needed to commit to memory until now.
Internet providers supply the bandwidth, physical connection, and software that your PC uses to connect to the Internet. Some examples of Internet providers are AOL, Earthlink, and your local cable (cable modems) and telephone (DSL) companies. While some providers still offer dial-up connections, we recommend a high-speed service like a cable modem or DSL for your coursework if possible.
A browser is a piece of software that allows you to view web pages. Popular browsers are Internet Explorer ("IE"), AOL, Mozilla/Firefox, Netscape, Opera, and Safari. All of these browsers are free downloads. You must take care, however, to download and use the one recommended for your operating system. If you are currently using AOL or Opera, we recommend you download and use IE or Firefox for your courses.
Have you ever been reading a web page and gotten an annoying window with an advertisement? This is not the ad the appears on the top or the side of the web page, but a smaller window that magically appears on TOP of what you're trying to read. These are pop-ups. Web users hate pop-ups so much that software companies saw a need to create pop-up blockers. These pop-up blockers sometimes come with your browser software or are separate programs that you purchase or download separately.
When you visit websites, you leave valuable information behind. You might fill out a form with your name and email address or click on an ad to get more information. Companies that specialize in gathering this type of consumer behavior information sometimes place software on your PC's hard drive to capture your web surfing movements. If you have not given them permission to do so, this software is 'spying' on your web surfing and your computer. Hence the term spyware was coined. Spyware removal software exists to help you get rid of these intruders.
A virus is a piece of software that you may unknowingly download or receive that ends up maliciously attacking your computer. It can wipe out your files and data and destroy your operating system.
Certain software that is used to view various web pages must be downloaded and made available ("plugged-in") to your web browser.
A URL is a website address, for example, http://www.rasmussen.edu.
"IM," or instant messaging, allows you to send short messages to another IM user over the Internet. Common IM software includes AOL's Instant Messenger, Yahoo's Instant Message, and MSN Messenger.
Called bookmarks or favorites, these are websites that you visit often. Placing these websites in your bookmarks or favorites keeps them handy and helps you keep track of websites you need to access often.
Websites that help you find information on the internet are known as search engines. Google, Yahoo, and Dogpile are examples of some of the best known.
...oh, my! These terms are closely related, so let's explore them together. When searching for a page on the internet, content is downloaded to your computer that allows you to view that page. That content gets stored and builds up over time. That content comes in the form of history, cookies,
browsing data, cache, and log-in data.
For a crash-course on websites, search engines, email, social media, and internet safety, check out the Internet Basics module in the Learning Express Library Computer Skills Center.
Keyboarding, also known as typing, is an essential skill for college students that increases efficiency and helps them focus on the content of their work instead of having to look for keys one letter at a time. Practice your keyboarding skills to do better quality work, faster.
Every college student's nightmare goes a little something like this: You're happily working away at your major assignments, and right before everything is due, technology decides to self-destruct. Plan ahead to keep this from becoming your reality. Your Microsoft Office 365 access through Rasmussen allows you to save, organize, and manage your work in the cloud, or OneDrive.
Make friends with your technology; we're here to introduce you. Rasmussen University peer tutors offer online appointments for various academic skill areas. Computer Basics appointments focus on getting you acclimated to online navigation, typing skills, file management, and more. You can schedule this session as soon as you have access to your student email (SMAIL).
