Technology Requirements

Minimum Basic and Premium Remote Learning PC Requirements

Contents

Buying Computer Hardware

College of Information students benefit the most by using a PC running Windows 10.

If your future plans include data science or analytics, you should strongly consider getting the minimum premium computer.

Item

Minimum Basic Computer

Minimum Premium Computer

Degree Programs

Linguistics

Learning Technologies

Information Science

Library Science

Information Science MS

Data Science MS

 

Processor

Intel i3, 2GHz

Intel i5, 2GHz

Memory

8GB

16GB

Storage

50GB SSD or NVMe
 

 

50GB SSD or NVMe

 

Additional 250GB internal or external data storage.

Display

1280x768 resolution

1280x768 resolution

Wired Headset (with mic)

Dell UC350 or similar

Dell UC350 or similar

Wired Web camera

Logitech C920S, C922, or similar

Logitech C920S, C922, or similar

UNT students can get discounts from the following vendors: Dell UNT Store for Education, HP Education Sales, and Lenovo.

While buying a computer remains expensive, you may find it costlier to lose a semester of work—so spend the right amount of time setting up your computer to protect your scholarly work!

Protecting Your Scholarly Work

Information happens when data conveys meaning.

Your success, as a student and as a future scholar or employee, relies on you protecting information:

  • Confidentiality: Only allow people access to the computer, software, and data on an as-needed basis.  Cf. Principle of Least Privilege.
  • Integrity: Protect data from corruption and loss.
  • Access:  Ensure only the people who need access, can access the information (e.g., via login ID or your home’s network configuration).

From our experiences working with students, the following should provide you the most benefit.

Assuming you use a Windows computer:

  1. Limit unnecessary physical access, which limits damage/theft/compromise risk.
  2. Ensure each person who uses the computer uses a separate login ID.  This prevents accidental damage/compromise and web site access cross contamination.
  3. Use a password-protected screen saver and/or WindowsKey+L to limit the risk of someone else damaging or compromising your information.
  4. Encrypt data storage with a backed-up "key" so, if stolen/compromised, your information remains safe.
  5. Back-up and/or synchronize local data so that, if your data became corrupted, you can retrieve a previous version.  UNT provides each student with Microsoft’s One Drive, which provides 1TB of storage (combined email and file storage) and protects your information in transit and at rest.
  6. Make your life easier and more secure by using a password manager, like the commercial Last Pass or free KeePass Password Safe.  Password managers enable you to create/maintain strong passwords for each of your services—without having to memorize all of them.

With a well-managed computer set up, you can now put it to good use by installing software, most of which UNT provides in support of your coursework.

Installing Software

Almost every student needs the following software, much of which requires an activated UNT EUID  (or your first.last@unt.edu email address shown at that site) to download and/or use.

  • Install the UNT-provided antivirus software to protect your computer software and information from most threats.
  • Use UNT-funded, web-based Office 365 and/or download/install a local version as well (Windows upgrades available from that site as well):

Install Office screenshot

The above should provide the basics, but your instructor may ask you to use other UNT software and/or recommend you install software from third parties. 

Most College of Information courses provide on-line components, so a good network connection remains vital to your success.

Making Your Network

For remote learning, you need good network speeds and a reliable (consistent) Internet connection:

  1. Buy service from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that consistently (reliably) provides at least 10Mbps of service.
  2. By default, deny everyone access to your network except the express people who need access.  This keeps your speed faster and safeguards your scholarly work.
  3. Use SpeedTest.net or similar service to verify your ISP provides at least 10Mbps of service.
  4. Once enrolled, login with VPN (see Software section) and use CAS’ SpeedTest to verify you get at least 10Mbps.  Note: It is normal for the additional VPN security overhead to make a connection run more slowly than your ISP.

If ISP speeds appear slower than expected or you want to improve Internet speeds, try the following:

  • If you share Internet service connection with others, ask them to suspend their Internet use (e.g., games, video streaming, music streaming, etc.).
  • If wireless, move closer to the wireless access point.
  • If wireless, try using a ethernet cable instead.
  • Report problems to your ISP—you pay them to troubleshoot issues from your connection to their service, and from their service to other providers between them and UNT.

Getting Help

For help with course content, contact your instructor.

If your connection and/or computer do not seem up to the given task, try using a campus computer lab or the CoI-specific computers labs on the first and second floors of Discovery Park.

For general login or system access issues, contact the UIT Helpdesk.