Brief Statement of the Computer Skills Prerequisite
The School assumes that students have basic computer skills, abilities, and knowledge of the type that are normally acquired through a college-level computer literacy course. These competencies encompass the use of personal computers word processing, file management, email, and web browser software and a basic understanding of computer hardware, software and networking capabilities (including the Internet and Web).
All incoming graduate students should have the following computer skills prior to taking any courses in the School: Windows or MacOS or Linux or Unix; MS Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint; basic database, for example MS Access (table creation, simple search); email, including managing incoming and outgoing attachments; Internet and Web, including search and bookmarking; and any drawing or image processing tool.
There is a definite advantage to an incoming student if that student can author, produce and mount a Web page (produce using an html editor and mount by secure file transfer such as SSH or SFTP).
To acquire these skills, students can take courses at a community college, a university, or a computer training center. These skills can also be self-taught with the help of a textbook or instruction manual or by the use of online resources.
There is further detail below.
Computing Resources
Index to this page: Access |
Browsing the Web |
E-mail & Listservs |
| Computer Skills |
HTML (Producing your own Web Page) |
Our Computer Lab |
| Learning More |
Telnet/FTP/SSH/SFTP |
D2L |
| UA Resources |
VPN |
PDF Files |
What You Will Need Access to
Visit the computer access and technical requirements page to familiarize yourself with SIRLS requirements.
Computer Skills
The School requires each incoming student to have computer proficiency in the following areas prior to admission:
- your operating system, i.e.: Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux etc.
- word processing software such as Word or WordPerfect.
- database software such as Access.
- spreadsheet software such as Excel.
- Internet navigation
The faculty will assume that you have a basic understanding of the six areas mentioned above. They will give assignments, exams and projects that incorporate these areas. It is important that you acquire these skills prior to starting your first semester with us.
Virtual Students: Students registering for virtual classes will need basic web authoring (HTML) skills in order to format assignments for submission to the professor. If you have never created an HTML document before, the easiest thing to do is to check to see if your word processing software can "save as HTML." If you want to learn more about HTML, see the HTML section, or the bulleted list of class offerings below.
Easy access to a computer with Internet capability other than those located in the University computer labs is recommended.
Where to Learn More about Computers
Walk-in Computer Classes and Online Tutorials
Internet, Electronic Resources & Software Workshops: the library offers free walk-in computer classes and online tutorials. The classes cover software and computer skills such as Powerpoint and HTML. Each class takes about two hours and has an excellent handout for self-paced study.
University of Arizona Computer Based Training (UACBT) These materials are free to UA users. Check What is UACBT. You will need your UA NetID to sign in.
More formal computing classes are also taught by:
You might also check such online resources as
UA Resources
- Computer Center Support FAQs about using campus wide computer systems provided by the Computer Center and Information Technology (CCIT).
- Campus Site Licenses for Software
- Email and Computer Accounts
- Research Computing Support
- Computer Labs Computers available for students, faculty, and staff.
- Hardware And Computing Knowledge Society (HACKS)
- CATS - Computing and Technology Store for computing hardware and software at special student prices on the bottom level of the UA Bookstore.
Browsing the Web
The World Wide Web is a fundamental tool in accessing research materials and course information, as well as lectures for virtual classes. To access the World Wide Web, you need a graphical web browser such as Netscape, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari. With Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, version 3.0 or higher is REQUIRED; on the other hand, students using Netscape 6.0 or 6.1 may experience problems accessing the library's electronic databases.
AOL Users: The university uses D2L to manage coursework. AOL's built-in browser commonly has problems with course management software. It is recommended that you download a more mainstream browser such as:
- Download Firefox [free and recommended]
- Download Netscape [free]
- Download Internet Explorer [free]
- Download Opera [free]
- Download Mozilla [free]
HTML (Producing your own Web Page)
HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, will be used often in many courses throughout the program (eg for the submission of assignments). It is best to have a basic knowledge of HTML development prior to enrollment, especially if you will be taking virtual classes. Below are a few tutorials and guides that will help you.Using HTML (Web-Editing) Software
A few years ago, people had to learn HTML in order to publish to the Web. Now there are many different brands of software that do this for you. Even word processing software like Microsoft Word can save a document "as HTML." While using Word will produce adequate results, a more specialized piece of software will offer more control and flexibility.
You should write in a WYSIWYG HTML editor. These are no more difficult than any ordinary word processor.
NVu and Netscape or Mozilla Composer
There are plenty of WYSIWYG editors, and there are plenty of free ones. But to shorten this discussion somewhat, get NVu (pronounced 'N-view'). http://nvu.com/ Download it from http://nvu.com/download.html. There are versions for any operating system.
Then, just start typing and saving, or scan through the tutorials
- Designing and publishing a site with NVu
- Nvu Tutorial Chapter 2: Adding Images, Changing Fonts, Changing Colours, Creating a Navigation Bar, Writing Your Content.
- etc
- Now, NVu is both a page editor (which is what we want) and a site editor (which is a bit over the top for most of us). So you just work with the simple parts of it. So go to its View menu, then to Show/Hide, then hide the Site Manager. And when you save your pages make sure they have the suffix .html (eg myPage.html). NVu will put this in automatically for you (so don't take it out).
Netscape Composer is also a good choice for beginners because it is free and fairly simple to use. If you have any recent Netscape browser, Netscape Composer is included as part of the package. It is also available at all the campus computer labs.
- Web Pages 100, a Composer Tutorial from the UA Library.
- Web Pages 150 [pdf], a Dreamweaver Tutorial from the UA Library.
Web 2.0 Solutions
There are also Web 2.0 solutions to authoring Web Pages. For example, Writely http://www.writley.com This is so good, in fact, that Google has bought it, and we now wait for Google to re-release it.
Open Office
Open Office provides a free alternative to Microsoft (and other) office suites. The software provides word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation and html editing components. The software is available in 45 languages, and on numerous platforms including Solaris, Linux, Windows and OS X.
Beginner's Guides and Tutorials
If you want to learn how HTML works, here are some places to start:
- HTML Tutorial [pdf] from the UA Library
- A Beginner's Guide to HTML - From the NCSA, this site contains a good overview of how to get started with HTML.
- Beginner's Guide to Publishing to the Web from the LSO Student Handbook
- Webmonkey- Updates on the latest HTML tricks for the future.
- Writing HTML - a tutorial from the Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction.
HTML Reference Guides
- Bare Bones Guide to HTML - This site provides a quick overview of HTML tags with usage and implementation notes.
- Yale C/AIM Web Style Guide - An excellent guide to overall web management.
- Developer Shed - HTML, graphic, and FTP tools available for download.
Web Design Dos and Don'ts
- The Seven Deadly Sins (of Website Design) - Helpful tips of what to avoid when designing a website.
- The Top 15 Mistakes of First-time Web Design by Holly Burns.
Graphics and Color
- Barry's Clip Art Server - A resource for Web graphics, containing clipart selections as well as an extensive guide to other collections. Not all of these are free.
- CoolText.Com - a free collection of fonts, textures, logos and buttons for use on the Web.
- Anthony's WWW Images - for when you just need a basic bullet or arrow.
- Absolute Background Textures Archive - nearly 4,000 free backgrounds organized by color.
Telnet, FTP, SSH, and SFTP
Telnet and FTP have been replaced on campus by SSH and SFTP, secure versions of software which provide a degree of encryption and security previously unavailable. Windows does not natively support SSH, although Mac OS X does.
For Windows Users, Download SSH software
For Mac Users, Download Fugu [this is a terrific program]
VPN
Virtual Private Networking [VPN] is a method of allowing off-campus users to have access to on-campus network resources without additional authentication. This is especially useful when accessing library resources and electronic databases. In order to use VPN, a client must be downloaded and the user must have a UA NetID.
The VPN is also required for wireless users on campus.
Email and Electronic Mailing Lists (Listservs)
You must provide the School with an email address which will be used as the primary way of reaching you regarding all academic matters, advising and scheduling of appointments. If you are taking coursework as a non-degree student it is recommended that you obtain an email account. In almost all cases you will be asked to subscribe to an electronic list for each of your classes. Subscription to the School's general list, IRLSADMIN, is required. The office will add you to this list upon your acceptance to the program. For more information about listservs:
- SIRLS Course listserv subscription information provides you with complete instructions on joining class lists and general mailing lists.
- Listserv creation information (listserv.arizona.edu) for information on how students can create an electronic listserv at the University of Arizona.
- L-Soft's CataList is the official worldwide list of listservs.
- Liszt - a searchable database of over 90,000 mailing lists.
- Tile.Net - The Comprehensive Internet Reference, providing information about lists, as well as Usenet and FTP.
See also:
- Creating a University of Arizona email account
- Everything Email for great email tips.
Our Computer Lab
Our computer lab includes a mixture of PCs and Macs and is equipped with word processing, spreadsheet, Website design software and more. Space on college servers, for websites, document storage etc., is also available on request (email sbstech@u.arizona.edu).
Equipment available in our computer lab includes:
Gateway E-2600D P4 2.8Ghz 1GB RAM w/75GB HDs DVD/CD/RW, Software: Microsoft Office XP, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Quicktime, Nero, Macromedia Dreamweaver MX2004, Macromedia suite. (9)
iMac, OSX 10.4.8 1.83Ghz Intel core duo 1GB RAM w/160GB HDs combo drive, Acrobat Reader 4.0, Firefox, Safari, MS Office, Quicktime, Dreamweaver and Macromedia suite. (1)
Hewlett Packard HP Laserjet (networked)
Hewlett Packard HP ScanJet 5590
Scanner
Cisco Aironet 1200 Series A/B/G Wireless Access Point (requires NetID authentication)
D2L
Desire 2 Learn (D2L) is the software SIRLS uses for virtual education courses. Students should familiarize themselves with D2L's organization and interface. You will need your student netID and password to login to D2L.
PDF (Portable Document Format) Files
In virtual courses or on the Internet, you may often come across PDF files. Portable Document Format allows you to view documents just as they appear in printed versions complete with all graphics and illustrations. You must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view these files. You may have it already if you have a current version of Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.
