Jump Directly to List of Downloads and Tutorials

Getting Started: For full functionality in this online course, we recommend that you download and install the following Applications and Plugs-ins. All of them are free. (If a web site offers you a better version for money, skip it and download the free one--it works just as well.) You may have downloaded from the internet a lot or not at all. If you haven't downloaded from the Internet it can be quite confusing the first few times. We have therefore included a step by step tutorial for each download that we recommend. Note: Once you have set up your computer and are studying online, if you have problems we have a Troubleshooting Checklist as well as a telephone contact page for Emergencies and Frustrations.

Set up your computer by downloading required and recommended performance-enhancing programs from the web

Links to Downloads. You can download programs off the internet that enhance your computer's performance and give it extra capabilities. The downloads which we require or recommend are all free of charge; the are also relatively standard so your computer may already have them. Further down this page you will find links to web sites where you can make free downloads.

Tutorials. Since many people haven't had a chance to learn to download from the internet, we provide a printable, step by step tutorial for the downloads on this page. If downloading from the web seems unfamiliar and confusing, we can at least suggest that downloading from the web is an important computer literacy skill in the current technological age. If you haven't done it before, learning to do it by reading our tutorials may be one of the most useful things you learn in this class.

We suggest that you print each Download Tutorial and refer to it as you download the corresponding product.

Tutorials and Links for Web Downloads
Page Contents:
Click on "GO!" to jump down this page where you will find a particular download link and its tutorial.

GO!

 JAVA download and tutorial
GO! Netscape Navigator download and tutorial
GO! Macromedia Web Player download and tutorial
GO! Adobe Acrobat Reader download and tutorial
   
 

JAVA

JAVA is a computer programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. One of the powerful features of JAVA is that it allows its programs to run on the internet. Other programming languages cannot do this. Consequently, "Applets" (JAVA programs that run on the web) are becoming very common. Both Netscape 4.7X and Internet Explorer 5.X in theory run JAVA applets. But we have found that that is not the case. In particular, Internet Explorer does not run well with a few of our applets (such as Virtual Lab). So if you like to use Internet Explorer we suggest that you go to the Sun web site and download the JAVA plugin. If you use Netscape, the plugin is less necessary but won't hurt Netscape's performance and in some cases improve it.

To Download JAVA Plugin Click Here
For Java Plug-in Tutorial Click Here

 
 
 

Netscape Browser. A "BROWSER" is a program (an "application") which your computer needs to be able to surf the net. If you are looking at this page you are using a browser. We recommend you use the most recent version of Netscape (at least 6.2 or higher) as a browser for this online course. Click on the Netscape Download Tutorial and print it before you download if you're not practiced at downloading. [NOTE: We do not recommend Internet Explorer unless you download and install the JAVA plugin (PC only).]

Netscape Navigator/Communicator
Netscape Download Tutorial

We attempt to support all browsers. The innovative interactivity of this online course requires that we program in a programming language called JAVA. JAVA is the only option for full computer interactivity on the web. Netscape supports JAVA programs especially well. Explorer still has trouble with JAVA.

Slightly more technically, we have used only JAVA 1.0 because JAVA 1.0 functions well in browsers. Higher versions of JAVA are a lot more fun to program in, but most browser don't run higher versions of JAVA.

You must make sure that whatever browser you use is set to take "Cookies."

 
 
 

PC Version: Macromedia WebPlayer (Full Version) [PC]
MAC Version: Macromedia WebPlayer (Full Version) [MAC]
WebPlayer Download TUTORIAL

If you want to use the recommended (but not required) Authorware presentation of the course content, you will have to download the Macromedia WebPlayer. It comes in a version for the PC and a version for MAC. Just click on the the PC or MAC link above and you will go to the correct Macromedia download site.

Brief Note: if you did NOT print out the WebPlayer tutorial and are not reading along as you download: When you are downloading WebPlayer make a note of where it is downloaded to, so that you can find it. Netscape usually will put it on your C drive, in the Program folder, in the Netscape folder, in the Communicator folder, in the Program folder. Look there. When you find it, just click on it and it will set up Webplayer. After that, it will run automatically whenever you use Netscape.

 

 
 
 

Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Acrobat Reader is necessary for reading certain kinds of files (PDF files) that are commonly posted on the web. It is an extremely useful tool and is used quite generally on the web for substantive information transfer. Most computers have it loaded as a matter of routine. If you don't already have Acrobat Reader click on the link to download it.

Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Acrobat Reader Tutorial