College of Public Health

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Educational Technology and Assessment

Contact Us

Office Of Educational Technology & Assessment
USF College of Public Health
13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC 56
Tampa, FL 33612

Technology Requirements

Students in all online public health courses are expected to meet the following requirements to successfully participate in their courses. Failure to meet these requirements may cause problems accessing the course materials. It is the student's responsibility to ensure all requirements are met prior to the start of the semester.

At a minimum, you must have regular access to a computer with internet connection (preferably broadband) and a web browser. Students are expected to be knowledgeable in basic computer skills, such as word processing, spreadsheet, and email programs.

Please review hardware and software technology requirements for COPH online courses in Canvas.


Hardware and Software Requirements

Please review the hardware and software requirements necessary to participate in online courses. Canvas only requires an operating system that can run the latest compatible web browsers. Your computer operating system should be kept up to date with the latest recommended security updates and upgrades.

  • Web Browsers and Internet Speed
    • For best performance, Canvas should be used on the current or first previous major release of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. More information about supported browsers.
    • Along with compatibility and web standards, Canvas has been carefully crafted to accommodate low bandwidth environments. It is recommended to have a minimum internet speed of  512kbps.
  • Microsoft Office 365 is required to view course materials, complete course work etc. Students receive Office 365 accounts when they are admitted to USF. This means that you will have an Office 365 (@usf.edu) email address, and the associated Office 365 services (Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, etc.). Your username and password are your NetID@usf.edu and NetID password. These tools can be accessed at: https://portal.office.com/

Plugins, Players and Readers

Ensure your browser is up to date by installing the latest versions of JavaScript and Java.

Some courses may use audio or video that requires a certain type of media player, such as QuickTime, Windows Media Player, Real Player or the Microsoft Silverlight plugin. Free downloads are available for these players/plugins online.  

Adobe Reader is required to view PDF files, which is used by many courses to deliver content. Download the latest Adobe Reader.

Screen Readers        

  • Macintosh: VoiceOver (latest version for Safari) ·        
  • PC: JAWS (latest version for Chrome and Firefox) ·        
  • PC: NVDA (latest version for Chrome and Firefox)

Also visit the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) webpage for more information about accommodations available at USF.

Additional Software

Browse the USF Application Gateway (apps.usf.edu) and USF Software Catalog (software.usf.edu) where there are over 40 different software applications to use, just by logging in with your USF NetID. More information can be found here: http://www.usf.edu/it/class-prep/downloads.aspx

Canvas on Mobile Devices

Canvas is accessible on supported phones and tablet devices using the Canvas Mobile Apps. To learn more, go to: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Mobile/ct-p/apps

Test Your Computer Hardware and Software

View/Print Documents/Files
  • Open a .pdf file with Adobe Acrobat reader
  • Open a .doc file with Microsoft Word

Listen/View Video and Streaming Movies
Note: There is audio in these test demonstrations

If you do not have the players above and/or the test video does not open, download theVLC Player.  VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.


Listen/View Audio Presentation
Note: There is audio in this test demonstration.