Online Learning at OU

Online learning is an active learning process that allows you to fully participate and become involved with the course material. Through the learning management system, Moodle, students can have direct communication with professors, online discussions and forums, and chat sessions for brainstorming and connection.

Technical Requirements
Technical requirements will be different from course to course, but in general, your computing device (desktop PC, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, etc.)* should:

• Connect reliably to the internet
• Run the most current version of your preferred web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• Run the most current versions of common web software (like Flash, Java, and the Adobe Acrobat PDF viewer)
• Scan for viruses using an updated virus scanner
• Update installed software automatically and regularly
• Desktop PCs and laptops should have at least 6GB RAM and a 64 bit processor

Some courses may have additional requirements such as:

• Playing video and audio files, either over the Internet or via a downloaded file
• Broadcasting audio and/or video via a microphone/webcam
• Viewing files created in programs like Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

We do not recommend using software or hardware for which support is no longer available (i.e., the software/hardware is past its “end of life”, as defined by the vendor).

*Properly configured Windows, Mac, and Linux desktop/laptop computers are able to run Oakland University's online course software without any problems, except in special cases, noted below. Tablets and smartphones may have reduced functionality with some programs, such as live WebEx sessions. Please be aware that there may be some cases where you will need to use a desktop/laptop computer to access all the functionality of Oakland University's online course software.

Specific courses may use technology that is incompatible with specific combinations of hardware and software. In those cases you should work with your instructor and e-LIS to identify a solution.