Technical Requirements

Technical Requirements

DVHS students require a laptop or Chromebook to participate, as tablets and phones will provide only limited access to courses and assignments. If a personal laptop or Chromebook is not available, please contact the student's local school. Local schools do not provide devices for home use for students in our supplemental and Expanded Eligibility Pilot Program options.

All courses are delivered via the Schoology Learning Management System (LMS). Schoology requires only a web browser with JavaScript and cookies enabled. All DVHS students should have access to a computer/Chromebook (as outlined on this page) to complete their work via Schoology (https://schoology.dodea.edu). Use of the Schoology app on phones and tablets is permissible, but should not be considered as a replacement for a computer/Chromebook. There may be frequent occasions when assignments cannot be completed or submitted on these devices and a computer/Chromebook is necessary.

Please consider the following for any device used to access DVHS courses:

  1. All students need to have an active DoDEA student Google account as it will be necessary to access Schoology.
  2. Reliable Internet access is essential for any work that is to be completed at home.
  3. Chrome is the recommended browser for DVHS courses, thought Edge will also work. Please note: The Safari browser often has issues loading course content. If on a Mac, please download and use the Chrome browser for DVHS courses. 
  4. Chromebooks will work with content in all courses.
  5. Some courses contain Microsoft Office files. Students can use their DoDEA student Google account to convert them to the appropriate Google file type.
  6. Student devices will need sound capability and a microphone (internal or headset) to complete many instructional activities and for students to work with their teachers.
  7. A camera (internal or USB) is preferred but not mandatory.

Recommended Technical Specifications

DVHS courses are delivered via the Schoology Learning Management System (LMS). Schoology requires only a web browser with Javascript and cookies enabled.

Additional browser plug-ins may be needed to display rich content. Some of the most common are Microsoft Office applications or viewers, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Apple QuickTime. Types of plug-ins required will vary based on the types of files being uploaded by the instructor or shared by participants.

Minimum System Recommendations:

  • Windows 2000, XP, or Vista
  • Mac OS X
  • 4 GB RAM, 1GB of free hard disk space
  • 1 GHz processor or better
  • 1-4 Mbps download speed
  • XGA (1024x768) capable monitor

Hardware Requirements:

  • Headsets with microphones
  • Access to printers and scanners

Recommended Browsers:

  • Google Chrome 20.X and above
  • Mozilla Firefox 3.x and above (for both PC and Mac)
  • Internet Explorer 6.x and above (for PC only)
  • Note: The Safari browser will not always work with our courses. If on a Mac, please download and use the Google Chrome browser.

Recommended Browser Plug-ins and Applications:

  • Sun Java Run-time Environment (JRE) 1.6 or later
  • Apple QuickTime 7.0 or later
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.x or later

Required browser settings:

  • Enable JavaScript
  • Accept all Cookies

Schoology supports the following types of files:

  • Word documents (doc)
  • PowerPoint presentations (ppt)
  • Excel Spreadsheets (xls)
  • Image files (jpg, bmp, gif, tiff, png)
  • Media files (mpg, avi, wma, mp3)
  • Zip files (zip)
  • QuickTime (mov)

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