Computer Hardware & Software Guidelines

College of Information Sciences & Technology

Computer Skills

Students must have proficiency in the skills described here to take classes at the iSchool.

Computer Hardware

Students must have access to a Windows PC with the following minimum configuration:

* Some courses may require software packages that are only compatible with MS Windows. For this reason, students using non-Windows based computers must also have access to a Windows PC as a backup.

Computer Software

The following software packages are required:

• MS Office 2003 or later
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, or Mozilla Firefox 2.X.

Other software may be required for particular courses.

Computer Skills Prerequisite

All incoming graduate students must have the following computer skills prior to taking any courses in the College of Information Science and Technology: Windows; MS Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and basic Access (table creation, queries on a single table): e-mail; Internet; Visio (or any drawing tool); telnet; and ftp.

The information that follows is intended as a guide to assist students who need to acquire any or all of the skills listed above. Please note that fulfilling this prerequisite is the responsibility of the student. To acquire these skills, students can take courses at a community college, a university, or a computer training center. For example, Drexel Information Resources and Technology Center offers workshops and support through their website.

In order to determine if you have these skills, you should be able to perform the following:

Working with browsers and webpages etc:

   1. Create bookmarks & favorites on browser toolbar
   2. Create RSS feeds on browser toolbar
   3. Open and listen to podcasts
   4. Navigate video files in various formats
   5. Interact with online chat interfacing
   6. Add plug-ins or add-ons to browsers
   7. View html code page source on web
   8. Familiarity with editing and commenting on blogs and wikis
   9. Embed code for widgets and apps

Using Email:

 1. Attaching files to an email message

Functioning in the Windows Environment

   1. Understanding the Windows Environment
   2. Download files
   3. Moving files and folders with Windows Explorer
   4. Understanding the terms select, drag, button
   5. Saving/Convert files in various formats. (i.e. Word to PDF)
   6. Download and install software
   7. Understand how to navigate the hierarchy of files and folders to find information.
   8. Create a hierarchy of files and folders
   9. Uploading/installing a patch
  10. Open a zip file
  11. Create a zip file

Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel, Powerpoint):

   1. Copy and paste text or object from another application to Word and then resize or reformat as necessary.
   2. Take a screen shot, embed in Word or Powerpoint and edit/format
   3. Be familiar with functions of Word, where to find special characters, etc
   4. Create a simple Powerpoint presentation
   5. Create tables in Word or Excel (and transfer them to Word)
   6. Enter data into an Excel spreadsheet and set up simple formulas for data analysis
   7. Use formulas in Excel
   8. Create charts in Excel

Viruses and Computing Security:

   1. Keeping virus detection up to date (e.g. automatic updates)
   2. Using a fire wall.
   3. Safe browsing and email protocols

Other Skills:

   1. Insert hyperlinks in Word, Powerpoint, e-mail, etc.
   2. Create a simple diagram using Word, Powerpoint, Visio, or another application.

Additional Skills Needed for Online Students

In order to participate fully and successfully in our online graduate program, you will be expected to know how to perform the additional tasks:

  1. Use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to download a file
  2. Create a web page using any HTML editor
  3. Use a Telnet client
  4. Use an FTP client
  5. Set up an Internet connection
  6. Unpack and create a .zip file