Pick one computer to be your studying home base. Mobile devices can support your work while you're on the go, but identify one computer to be the center of your study space.
Get your machine ready. An updated machine is key to security, stability and reliability.
Install more than one internet browser. Webpages change quickly. Having multiple browsers will ensure that you can always access the content.
Turn on cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer to let a web page know if you've been there before. Amazon uses cookies to remember what's in your shopping cart and Blackboard uses cookies to know if you're logged in.
Disable pop-up blockers for your school website and your Blackboard. Certain features of your online course may use pop-ups, like a video to watch. Add your Blackboard and your university's website as exceptions in your pop-up blocker's settings.
Add Blackboard and other university sites to Trusted Zones. Adding sites to trusted zones will instruct your computer to automatically download files and run related downloads without your permission.
Find a reliable internet connection. Dropping on and offline can really make your workflow suffer. Before you start studying, make sure you have a reliable internet connection.
Install Java. Java is a programming language that gives websites added interactive functionality, such as watching videos.
Back up your computer. Save your files, emails, photos, videos and presentations to external hard drives or cloud solutions. Over 140,000 hard drives crash in the US every week.
Customize your homepage. Add sites that you visit frequently: your university's homepage, Blackboard, and other social media sites that you visit.