Technical Requirements for Classes
GatherPlace (GP7) Meeting System Requirements
- Operating System: Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook are supported.
- Internet: High speed internet (fiberoptic, cable or DSL) recommended. Satellite and mobile (“hotspot”) internet are inherently less stable and may not be suitable for internet conferencing — each location must be individually tested. Mobile internet in a moving vehicle is not recommended, as signal dropout will also disconnect from class. Public access internet (e.g., coffee shops, hotels, libraries) are generally not suitable for regular use for on-line classes.
- Browser
- On a desktop or notebook computer (Windows, MacOS, Linux, ChromeOS), the Chrome browser is the preferred choice with Firefox as a good alternate.
- Safari and other browsers can be made to work with limitations but are not supported because of limited support for some browser features and standards.
- Though GP7 in the browser has been tested to work on Android and iOS devices, TPS provides no support for tablets (because the screens are generally too small for a good class experience, and because there are so many different models and operating system variants) and no support for phones (because the screens are too small for taking live classes).
- Audio: USB Headset with microphone. Non-USB headsets will work, but are not supported. Earbuds and omni-directional microphones (such as are on laptops and web cams) are not suitable for classroom use.
- Camera: Cameras are optional for students unless specified in the course details in the course catalog. They are used for academic purposes (e.g., demonstrations, “round table” discussions, interactive conversations, dramatic readings) in moderated settings.
- Firewalls and content blockers (e.g., parental controls) are at the discretion of each user, and each family is responsible for maintaining their own filters to support GatherPlace and StudyPlace. TPS provides no support for setup and configuration of firewalls and parental controls.
PDF Documents. TPS supports the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on Windows, MacOS, and Linux, and the free Kami extension for ChromeOS. Students may use other apps, but we don’t support them or make accommodations (e.g., late submits, resubmits or regrades) for their incompatibilities.
Office Documents. To minimize compatibility reading and editing compatibility problems between teacher and students across operating systems and word processors, TPS supports the MS Word .docx format for editable word processing files. To save families from having to buy extra software, TPS also supports Libre Office Writer as a word processor that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and produces universally-readable and editable .docx files. For ChromeOS only, we support Google Docs saved as .docx files. Students may use other apps, but we don’t support them or make accommodations (e,g., late submits, resubmits or regrades) for their incompatibilities.