Technology Requirements for Coursework

Leadership

Name: Catherine Verrier Piersol, PhD, OTR, FAOTA
She / Her / Hers
Position: Department Chair & Professor
Organization: Department of Occupational Therapy

901 Walnut Street, 6th Floor
Suite 644
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Contact Number(s):

Admissions

Contact Number(s):

Technology Requirements for Online & Hybrid Courses

The Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences (JCRS) uses Canvas as the learning management system. All documents and files are distributed this way. Lectures may be live using the webcasting application from multiple sources such as  Zoom, Nearpod, or VoiceThread; they may be recorded and played back on demand if needed. Throughout the curriculum, exposure to other technology applications may be required.

Below are the general hardware and software requirements to access the curriculum. The system will prompt you to download the free player if you do not have the necessary viewer applications. For synchronous sessions, the University uses Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and Zoom. Internal microphones typically work with Collaborate Ultra and Zoom and must be used with earbuds or a microphone and headset.  The program recommends that your computer have a wired high-speed internet connection to the internet (no dial-up or air cards). A wireless connection works well if it is high-speed. You must use a wired connection to participate if your wireless speed is not fast enough. 

Students are strongly encouraged to test their equipment before the first asynchronous/synchronous session by scheduling a test session with Academic Commons Educational Technology Support. Call 215-503-2830 or email [email protected]

Minimal Requirements

Hardware

  • Printer
  • All programs use Examplify for testing purposes. Please follow this link to access the computer requirements for this program:
  • PCs and Macs are supported
  • Tablets (except Surface Pro and Chromebooks, which are NOT supported by this program).
  • Safari, Google Chrome, or Firefox - please make sure it meets Canvas’ requirements
  • Need a microphone and headphones or earbuds
  • Need Webcam

Software

Jefferson uses Microsoft Office for documents (MS Word), spreadsheets (MS Excel), and presentations (MS PowerPoint). You do not need to purchase MS Office if you use a different suite of tools, but you will need to save your files in that format.

You will receive access to Microsoft services, such as Office365 Apps, and 1TB of storage at OneDrive. You may access your OneDrive storage and all Office365 Apps from your e-mail account.

Visible Body (required for East Falls, optional for Center City)

Visible Body Courseware is a web-based teaching and learning platform loaded with Visible Body's award-winning 3D anatomy and physiology content Students may use it to explore anatomy and physiology and engage with the material and their assignments in a new and interactive way. Courseware can be accessed anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection on many devices. Access to Visible Body from the Scott Memorial Library page:

  • Select Find
  • Select Databases
  • Search for “Visible Body”

Once you access the page, please select “apps” for information about downloading the student version. 

Grammarly: This resource benefits you in three ways when you upload documents to this handy editing tool. First, it allows you to check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Second, it reports noticeable error patterns, so you can learn not to make them. Finally, turn the plagiarism feature on. You can see any part of the document that reads too much like another found in the Grammarly database of “16 billion web pages and ProQuest's databases.”

All Jefferson students, faculty, and staff with jefferson.edu email accounts can sign up for the premium version (or upgrade it from the free version). Please utilize the link below:

Additional Resources 

You will find additional software with descriptions accessible to the Department of Occupational Therapy on the Scott Memorial Library page, including SPSS and NVIVO.