Internet Connectivity Requirements

• You must have a reliable Internet connection of at least 512 Kbps for Canvas use.
  Many classes utilize Zoom or another video conferencing solution, this will require 1.5 Mbps(Mb/s) Download and 1.5 Mbps Upload speed.
  
  

• Check your speed at  https://speed.measurementlab.net/, and follow the below guide to see if your Internet meets our recommendations.

  Test Server 🏙	This is just informational, it will typically pick a city within a few hours of you.
  Download 🔽	Should be greater than 512 Kb/s or 0.5 Mb/s Greater than 1.0 Mbps for online class use with video, 1.5 Mb/s is preferred
  Upload 🔼	Should be greater than 0.8 Mbps for online class use with video, 1.5 Mb/s is preferred
  Latency ⌚	Should be less than 200 ms, if it's more than 200 ms try moving closer to your router or hotspot. Typical number is 30 ms.
  Retransmission	Should be close to 0.00%, if it's greater than 1.00% try moving closer to your router or connecting via a network cable

  If you don't have internet connectivity at home and are current enrolled for a course, see COVID-19 IT Student FAQ for information on getting Internet access.

Computer Requirements

• A computer less than 5 years old is recommended. 
• ChromeOS/Chromebooks will not support most of our test taking software, it can be used for most classwork but you may not be able to take the tests.
  

  If you are looking for a new computer

  1. We recommend shopping online at first and looking for at least three retailers or manufacturer websites.
     Sometimes a specific vendor will run a discount promotion, some retailers also have student discounts.
  2. Look for a "tech specs" or "specifications" page and compare to the below items
  3. Once you have the laptop, install any software you'll need for class from the course Syllabus as well as under Software Recommendations 

  Typical Class Requirements

  The below are the requirements for most classes
  Classes such as graphic design or engineering will benefit from a more powerful machine in order to run the software at home. 
  Some music classes use software only available on Mac OS, review your syllabus to see if the class uses any Mac specific software.

  Specification	Recommendation	Examples
  Operating System	Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 (Switch out of S mode)              Click here for info on switching out of S mode Mac OS 10.13 or greater	Windows 10 Windows 10 Home in S mode Mac OS
  Processor/CPU	Dual core CPU 2 Ghz or higher A 6th gen and newer i3, i5, i7 or AMD Ryzen are preferred We recommend against Celeron, Pentium, AMD A4, AMD A6, AMD A8, AMD A9.	Core i5-1035G1 i3-8145U Ryzen 3 3250U Ryzen 5 3500U i7-9700 Intel 10th Generation Core i5
  Memory/RAM	At least 4 GB, 8 GB is preferred	4 GB DDR4 8GB DDR4 8GB LPDDR3 8 gigabytes LPDDR4X
  Hard drive	At least 128 GB, a Solid State Drive (SSD) is preferred Don't purchase a Windows laptop with an eMMC drive	128 GB M.2 Solid State Drive 256GB Solid State Drive 256GB NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD 1 TB HDD [Note: Slower than SSD]
  Screen resolution	1024x600 minimum, 1366x768(HD), 1920x1080(FHD) or greater recommended	15.6" HD Display 14 inch FHD display 2560 x 1600 Retina 1600 x 900 HD+
  Webcam (For Video Conferences/Zoom)	If your course meets over Zoom or is a language course, we recommend having a webcam that also has a microphone. Zoom/Video will also work on a smartphone if you have one.	Front-Facing HD Webcam Front-facing Camera

  Game Design

  Game design will require a good video card, we recommend looking at gaming computers.

  Engineering

  Engineering will want a better processor, video card, and more memory. Not all engineering applications support Mac OS, so we recommend Windows.
  We recommend looking for an AMD or Nvidia video card, and an i5, i7, Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 processor.
  We 8 GB of RAM is the minimum for many applications.

  Video

  Look for an Nvidia or AMD video card, we've had issues with Intel cards in the past when using video software.
  We recommend also moving up to 8 GB of RAM or more, and an i5, i7 ,Ryzen 5, or Ryzen 7

• If you want to borrow a laptop for the semester and have already registered for your classes, contact helpdesk@howardcc.edu.

Software Recommendations

Web Browsers

Modern browsers are supported by most websites, the Safari browser can have some issues on some sites including Canvas.

We recommend Chrome or Firefox.

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox

Office Suite

• As a credit Howard CC student, staff or faculty member you also have access to install Office 365 on 5 devices
  See Installing Office 365 for more information
  • Note: Mac OS cannot install Microsoft Access.
• You can also access Office Online or Google Docs for free
  Office Online
  Google Docs
• Mac OS has Pages
  If you are using Pages on Mac please remember to Export to Word so faculty members on Windows can open the files
  See the following guide for more information https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202227#pagesformac

Video Conferencing Software

• Zoom.us
  Many online courses utilize Zoom for teacher office hours as well as synchronous class meeting times.

Screen Readers (If applicable)

• NVDA - Free of charge, works with Firefox, Edge, Chrome
• JAWS - Popular screen reader for Windows
• Mac VoiceOver - Built in screen reader for OSX