Technical Requirements

Students planning to use their own personal computers need to make sure the following requirements are met:  (If you encounter problems with your personal computer, you will need to find an alternate means to complete your online work.)

  • Basic Skills Requirements

    Students taking an Internet class should have the following skills and be able to do the following.

    • Basic word processing (saving files, opening files)
    • Locate a file on a hard drive or external drive
    • Send and receive e-mail (including attachments)
    • Download and install necessary utilities, updates, and plug-ins
    • Complete a basic search on the internet using a search engine (example:  Google)
    • Run virus scans on your computer
  • Hardware Requirements

    You need to have regular access to your own laptop or desktop computer. However, many functions can be completed using the Canvas Student App, which is a free download for iPhones and Android phones. If you are taking an online course, but are regularly on one of the main college campuses, you may use the computers in one of our labs or The Learning Commons to complete work for that online course. 

    Chromebooks are not suitable for any student majoring in Administrative Support Technology (AST) or Information Systems Technology (IST).  Many classes in these disciplines require full versions of Office and sometimes other software which a Chromebook does not support.

    For other programs requiring the ITE 115 or ITE 152 courses, use of the Chromebook creates a challenge.  The ITE 115 and ITE 152 curriculum is built on the full version of Microsoft Office.  There is no way for students to complete the in-depth use of application software using the online or app version on a Chromebook. 

  • Software

    Adobe Reader:  This is free software that will allow you to view PDF files.  This is a file type that is commonly used in the online environment.  Adobe Reader Download

    Microsoft Office:  As a student at SVCC, you have access to Office 365.  Please see the latest information here:  Office 365 Information and Sign-In

    Additional Note:  Generally it is a good idea to have both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers installed on your computer.  If you are experiencing a problem with Canvas it could be a problem with how your browser or a browser plug-in is responding to the system.  If you have more than one browser on your computer, you can easily and quickly switch browsers to see if this alleviates the problem.  NOTE: Canvas does not work with either Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge. Please plan to use Chrome, Firefox or Safari as your browsers when accessing Canvas.

  • Canvas and Canvas Mobile

    GO MOBILE -- CANVAS STUDENT AND TEACHER APPS

    Canvas is very friendly with mobile devices IF you use Canvas' own apps, which can be downloaded free of charge. 

    Students, there is a student app for both iOS and Android products.

    Canvas Guide to the Student App

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