Open Learning Initiative

OLI System Requirements

Please read this page carefully. It will help you ensure your device meets the minimum requirements for displaying and interacting with your OLI course. For further assistance, please email OLI Help.

Devices that meet these requirements can display the vast majority of OLI content, and your interactive exercises will operate as designed. The few exceptions to system requirements can be found farther down the page.


Operating Systems

OLI courses are delivered online in your browser, so the only technical requirement of your device's operating system is the capability of supporting the latest release of major browsers.
  • Laptop and desktop computers: Windows | Mac OS | Linux
  • Mobile: iOS | Android
  • NOTE: If your operating system is out of date and incapable of supporting the latest browser releases, you must update your operating system or try a different device to ensure your browser is up-to-date.

Browsers

Your browser must be up to date, and should be one of the five major options:


Cookies

Cookies are required in order to create an account and sign in to the OLI website. If you were able to sign in successfully, cookies are already enabled in your web browser. Follow the link corresponding to your browser for instructions on enabling cookies.

Pop-ups

Pop-ups must be enabled in your browser.



Exceptions: Additional requirements

As OLI continues to migrate toward HTML5 and away from Java and Flash, a few courses still contain labs and other interactive activities that employ these technologies.

Java

Courses with Java activities include:

  • Biochemistry
  • Chemistry (Introduction to Stoichiometry, Chemistry II Video Course, Virtual Lab Course, Chemical Equilibrium and Acid-base Chemistry)
  • Causal and Statistical Reasoning
  • Educational Research Methods
  • Logic & Proofs (older releases; releases starting in September 2017 contain no Java)
  • Media Programming
  • Modern Biology
  • Principles of Economics


To load Java content you'll need Internet Explorer or Edge in Windows, or Safari in Mac OS. The latest releases of Chrome and Firefox no longer support Java. Java is not mobile-compatible, so users must access this content on a computer.

* If you disable Java for all websites, you can override that setting by placing OLI on Java's Exception Site List in the Java Control Panel (Windows | Mac). Add an exception for https://oli.cmu.edu and/or https://community.oli.cmu.edu depending on which site is hosting your OLI course.
** Step 3 in Java's instructions for Safari directs the user to click Manage Website Settings on the Security tab. This is incorrect; the user must click Plug-in Settings on the Settings tab.


Flash

Some OLI courses have a limited number of interactive exercises or videos that require Flash. The Flash player plugin is not mobile-compatible, so users must access this content on a computer. A user may encounter an alert when Flash content appears on your OLI course page.

An alert message reading 'Flash Player needed. Please click here to install Flash.' The URL of the link is https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
If Flash content is encountered, OLI may detect whether Flash is installed and display an alert if not.
  • Remember, downloading Flash is not enough to see Flash content in your browser. It must be downloaded, installed, and enabled. Here you can find support for Flash on your computer: (download, install, enable, troubleshoot)


Course-specific system requirements:


Statistics (Concepts in Statistics, Probability & Statistics, Statistical Reasoning)

Many of the exercises in this course require you to use statistical analysis software outside the OLI environment, such as Excel, or an account with an online software tool. Instructions are provided in the OLI activities for all of the following software packages. The software you use is determined by your instructor or program of study, and in some cases the decision is left up to the student, so consult your class syllabus or your instructor for information about which piece of software you'll need.

Your OLI course includes data sets and instructions for using the data sets to complete learning exercises with your statistical analysis software. THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SOFTWARE ITSELF IS NOT INCLUDED WITH YOUR OLI COURSE, AND NEITHER IS AN ACCOUNT WITH ANY ONLINE SOFTWARE TOOLS. 

  • StatCrunch

    StatCrunch is a web-based statistics package. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. It does not require users to download or install any software. Students can acquire a 6- or 12-month license. Instructors can request a free license. For license information: http://www.statcrunch.com/register.php Note that you may first need to set up a Pearson account in order to get a StatCrunch license.



  • TI Calculator

    Several versions of the TI Calculator can be used to complete most of the activities in the course. Supported versions include:

    • TI-83
    • TI-83 Plus
    • TI-83 Plus Silver Edition
    • TI-84
    • TI-84 Plus
    • TI-84 Plus Silver Edition

    A cable may required for connecting the TI Calculator to your computer to download datasets. Many TI Calculators come with such a cable. If you need to purchase one, additional information can be found at the following links:

    Note that while most of the activities in the course include instructions for the TI Calculator, there are some activities that are difficult or impossible to complete on the TI Calculator. For those activities, we suggest using one of the other software packages, such as R.