Technical Requirements

Reasons Institute courses are taken exclusively online. There are no on-campus meetings. However, textbooks are required. All homework is uploaded to Moodle, our learning platform where you will also find all the lectures. 

REQUIREMENTS

All students must have the following in order to participate in an online course. Please verify that you have these components before registering for a course:

  • Regular, easy access to a computer that is less than 5 years old
  • Regular, easy access to a private email account
  • High-speed internet connection (not dial-up)
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  • Ability to stream video files (test your computer on Vimeo and YouTube)
  • Ability to open and print PDF files (test your computer here)
  • Ability to create .doc or .docx files using word processing software (If you don’t own MS Office, you can use Open Office, which is a free open-source program to create .doc or .docx files.)
  • Ability to view Region 1 DVDs (All RTB lectures are found online but some additional resources are still on DVD)
  • Ability to play audio CDs and DVDs
TECH SUPPORT

Students access course content (e.g., lectures, assignments, message boards) through the Moodle e-learning platform. Because Moodle is open-source software, there is no professional tech support available. RTB will do its best to support you if you experience any trouble with Moodle. Visit the Troubleshooting section of our FAQ page to view a list of the most common problems.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

In order to access all of the course elements, students need to be able to play Region 1 DVDs. The videos produced by Reasons to Believe and SourceFlix are Region 0 and should be playable on all DVD players, but most commercially produced videos (PBS, HISTORY, etc.) are restricted to Region 1 DVD players. While some Region 1 DVDs are playable on computers, others aren’t. We will do our best to help recommend alternative viewing options for international students, but we cannot guarantee all students will be able to play every video.