instructional technology and distance education services

The following are a list of software resources that are available to users.

Free Software Downloads and Plugins

Web Browsers (Recommended for eLearning)

Blackboard does not support Internet Explorer. Students and instructors should avoid using Internet Explorer for online coursework. The following browsers are recommended for students and instructors and are free to use:

• Mozilla Firefox
• Google Chrome

PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE/SITES

• Dusty Email/OneDrive (Inside of Email for Life) - (Students/Alumni Only) Create and work together on Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents. Store docs online. Access them from any PC, Mac, or phone. Store up to 100 GB of documents in OneDrive.
  • Instructions for Downloading Microsoft Office 365 - During your time as a student, a student license is provided for using the Microsoft Office suite on a personal computer. (License expires after student graduates or during semesters when no longer enrolled.)
• Google Drive - Create and share your work online through Google apps, such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.
• OpenOffice - This is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, databases, and more.

DOCUMENT READER

• Acrobat Reader - PDF file viewer that can open and interact with all PDF documents.

MEDIA PLAYERS

• RealPlayer - Free media player.
• VLC Media Player - 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.
• Windows Media Player - It has built-in support for many popular audio and video formats.

Campus-Licensed Software

• Respondus LockDown Browser^® - A custom browser that locks down the testing environment within Blackboard. Visit our page on Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor for more information and links to download the software (customized for TAMIU students only).

Discounted Software for Purchase

• TAMU Software Store - Purchase software at a discounted price. Software included (depending on student/staff/faculty role): Camtasia, SharePoint Designer, MS Office, etc..

Virtual Lab Access

• Uvirtualdesktop - Access a computer lab instance through the browser or software download. Be able to access computer lab software, such as IBM SPSS, Hawkes Learning Systems Statistics 2013-2014, WarpPLS 4.0, Microsoft Office 2013, Audacity, etc.