Online Learning

You are about to start another life journey.  Sometimes it will seem overwhelming, sometimes it will be very rewarding, it will always feel challenging.  The Computer Services department is one of the many departments that are here to help you and provide you the assistance and resources to succeed.  Before you start we feel there are a few things you should know.

In General:

• Older technology may detract from your learning experience.
• What are the Computer Requirements?
• We recommend that you become familiar with any new computer equipment you purchase before you arrive on campus so that you don't have two learning curves to go through at the same time.

Using a workplace laptop or network:

• If you will be using a laptop from your workplace for accessing course resources, please ensure that your workplace tech support department has given you full access to the computer and that it is not "locked down" with security software and settings that could prevent you from accessing some websites are installing software applications required for your courses.
• One great test is to take the laptop home (before you need to use it for your course) and connect through your personal Internet Service Provider.  
• Now we recommend that you go through the LaunchPad course found on Moodle.  If you run into configuration issues or questions, please check with your workplace's tech support department.  As always, you are also welcome to contact us anytime.
• If you intend to use your employer’s network to access your course, please check with your Information Technology department to ensure that you will be able to use POP, FTP, and HTTP(S) through their firewall.

E-Mail & Internet Providers:

• Please be aware that there are known issues with some mail clients and/or Internet service providers that may result in technical challenges for you.
• For example, some free e-mail providers can mistakenly filter e-mail as SPAM (the initial username and password email is a perfect example). You may want to check your “Junk Mail” folder for any stray emails.  Then mark them as “Not SPAM”.
• DND and Government addresses have a very strong filtering behaviour and they are not recommended for use with you RRU.  It has been our past experience that emails can be blocked, without warning to the sender, because the messages contain certain files types or information that is deemed unacceptable by the server filters.  (“Request new password” emails, for example, consistently get blocked).
• If you are currently experiencing difficulty in receiving your emails (if they are redirected to a free e-mail account, or Government/DND e-mail account and you feel like you are not getting all your email), you can review other options for receiving email at RRU.

Special note about Government networks:

Government networks, particularly law enforcement and Department of National Defence (DND) network, can be very stringent on what sites you can access and what sites you cannot.  Particularly you may have difficulties accessing RRU webmail (should you wish to use it) and may have some difficulties downloading and installing software that may be required for your courses like Blackboard Collaborate. It is best to contact your local technical support to discuss the restrictions that may be in place and see if special arrangements can be made. 

Final note about Computer Services:

We are here to help.  We don't bite (often) and we promise to treat you with respect and dignity.  If you are not sure who to contact about an issue, you can start with us because if we cannot help, we probably can help figure out who can. 

The hours of operation and contact information for Computer Services are located throughout this site.  We offer Telephone, email and walk-in support and will do what we can to provide you with the answers you need.  Please review this page for detailed information on what we support and don't support, but never be afraid to contact us for assistance even if it is not something we support.  Our goal is to provide you with whatever assistance we can to make sure the technology helps you to learn not hinder you.