Software

Every effort has been made to ensure students are not required to install or configure additional software. However, some courses require the installation of additional software. Where this is the case, your teacher is available to walk you through the process. Below is a list of the standard software requirements as well as additional software requirements. Do not attempt to download or install any of the additional software until you have contacted your teacher- you may not need it. Standard Software Requirements: 

• Web browser: Chrome current version, Firefox current version OR Safari current version 
• Word Processor - Microsoft Word or Open Office - Download
• Adobe Reader - Download
• RealPlayer - Download

There are often special software requirements in courses. These are course-specific and you will be notified of any special requirements by your teacher.

Email

To receive emails from Online Learning Night School/Online Learning Secondary Summer School, add the following domain addresses: @yrdsb.ca and @yrdsb.elearningontario.ca to your 'safe-email list' or address book to ensure the emails aren't sent to a junk mailbox.

Pop-Ups

In order to view content accurately on this site and at Desire2Learn, we recommend that you update your browser settings to enable pop-ups or add these sites to your preferred list where pop-ups are allowed. Online Learning Night School/Online Learning Secondary Summer School can assume no liability for software or issues related to installation. 

Display

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the modem you have has a big impact on your success online. Much of what we require has to do with your computer's display characteristics -- how things appear on your screen. For best viewing results select a screen resolution of 1280 X 1024 pixels and a colour depth of 32.

A minimum setting would show a width of 800, a height of 600 and a colour depth of 8. Is your system ready for e-Learning?

Hardware

Personal computer with an Intel Pentium 233-MHz or faster processor (Pentium III recommended),

• 56k modem [as a minimum requirement] or faster [strongly recommended],
• 8X (multi-speed) CD-ROM drive,
• 16 bit sound card and speakers,
• 128 MB Random Access Memory (RAM)
• 100 MB of free hard disc space.
• Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher-resolution monitor

Note that these are minimum requirements. Your ability to quickly and efficiently move through course modules is related to the amount of computer power you possess as well as the quality of your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

To ensure a timely solution to your technical problems include: your full name, the course with the issue, and the specific issue you are encountering, in your email message.

Assistance with the online application

If you require assistance with your application for an online course with Night/Summer School e-Learning, please email: online.learning@yrdsb.ca

Initial Login to the Learning Environment Support

If you encounter login issues once you have been registered with the Night/Summer School e-Learning program, please email: online.learning@yrdsb.ca

Desire2Learn tool Support

If you have successfully logged in to the learning environment, have access to the online course(s) but have trouble with the tools in Desire2Learn[D2L], please email: supportON@d2l.com OR call the D2L helpdesk at 1-800-222-0209.

Internet Safety

How to Protect Yourself Online: No action is foolproof, but there are steps students can take to protect themselves online and lessen the chance of becoming the victim of unsolicited messages:

• Never give out personal information, passwords, PIN numbers etc.
• Remember that personal information includes your name, age, email address, the names of family or friends, your home address, phone number (cell or home) or school name.
• Choose a username that your friends will recognize but strangers won't (such as a nickname used at school).  This will help you to identify yourself to friends and lets you know who is trying to communicate with you.
• Do not submit or post pictures of yourself to any website, including your own. These can easily be copied and pasted to any other website.
• Passwords are secret. Never tell anyone your password except your parents or guardians.
• Do not respond to "spam" or unsolicited email.
• Set up email and instant messenger accounts with your parents. 
• Do not respond to, or engage in, cyber abuse.

Social Networking Sites

Many teenagers visit websites to communicate with friends and meet new people.  Facebook a social networking site, has become popular with students today.  The site allows students to create a personal website (for free), post pictures, add comments and use it to meet "online friends."  The website often includes their full name, telephone number, address, school name and a picture.  YouTube is a similar site dedicated to hosting video clips. 

Millions of people reportedly use Facebook, and millions more use other social networking sites such as friendster.com, livejournal.com, nexopia.com MySpace etc... 

The danger lies in that the Internet is vast, public and constantly expanding.  And, if students have not developed critical thinking skills, are unsupervised or create websites that are not monitored, they can be at risk of unknowingly communicating with predators, spammers or pornographers.

Students should be warned not to post identifying information to the site and never to meet someone in person they have met through the site unless an adult accompanies them.  And parents should conduct frequent reviews of the site to ensure that identifying information or pictures have not been posted.

Facebook or other Social Networking sites Admin staff will cooperate in shutting down a site created solely to harass another individual.

Cyberbullying

As young people embrace the Internet and other mobile communication technologies, bullying has manifested itself in a new and potentially more dangerous way - through cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can generally be defined as sending or posting harmful or malicious messages or images through email, instant messages, cell phones and websites.  It is emerging as one of the more challenging issues facing educators since it has a direct impact on students but often occurs away from school property. Examples of cyberbullying include:

• Sending cruel, vicious and sometimes threatening messages,
• Creating web sites that contain stories, cartoons, pictures and jokes ridiculing others,
• Posting pictures of classmates online with the intent to embarrass them, 
• Breaking into an email account and sending vicious or embarrassing material to others,
• Engaging in IM (instant messaging) to trick another person into revealing sensitive or personal information and forwarding that information to others and
• Taking a picture of a person using a digital phone camera and sending that picture electronically to others without consent.

If you are the victim of a cyberbully: 

• Don't reply to messages from cyberbullies.
• Tell an adult you know and trust.  Just as with any other kind of bullying, ignoring it often leads to escalation.  
• If the bullying is occurring through text messaging, use call display or dial *69 to identify the phone number and have it tracked through your cell phone/pager service provider.
• Instant messages (e.g. yahoo instant messenger, Microsoft Messenger) are best handled by blocking messages from certain senders. 
• Bullies are likely to register for an anonymous email account such as Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail using a fake name. 
• If you receive threatening email messages, instruct your email program to block messages from that address.  Then inform your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
• If physical threats are made or the bullying escalates, inform your local police.
• Do not erase or delete messages from cyberbullies.  You don't have to read them, but keep them as evidence.  You may get similar messages from other accounts.  The police, your ISP and/or your telephone company can use these messages to help you. 
• If necessary, get a new phone number, account or email address and give it out to only one person at a time.

Suggestions for Parents:

• Ensure that your children understand how vast and public the Internet is. 
• Remind them that anything they post or send in a message is virtually available to be seen or read by anyone in the world.
• Talk to your children about cyberbullying. Make sure they understand what it is. 
• Let then know that cyberbullying is no less serious and unacceptable than other forms of bullying.  
• Set up the family computer in an open, common area so that you can monitor what your child is sending and receiving.

* Re-printed with the permission of the Ontario Principals' Council