Hardware & Software Recommendations


Missouri Baptist University is using Blackboard 9, the following hardware and software are minimum specifications to work with the Blackboard application. Please pay close attention to the minimum requirements and the Supported Operating System and Web Browser configurations below. If your computer does not conform to these specifications, you can expect to have problems accessing Blackboard.

Platform: Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7; MacOS X
Software: Microsoft Office (recommended), Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash Player (required for some content)
Hardware: A modern processor (1GHz Pentium III/Athlon or newer, or Mac G4/Intel or newer), 256MB of RAM, 512MB - 1 GB+ recommended; 5GB of free disk space
Browser:
  • For Windows:
    • Firefox 3.5 or later (recommended), or Internet Explorer 8
    • Internet Explorer 7 is supported (except on Windows 7), but the performance is better with Internet Explorer 8, and best with Firefox
    • Internet Explorer 6 is NOT SUPPORTED
  • For Mac
    • Firefox 3.5 or later (recommended), or Safari 3 or later
  • Google Chrome is not supported at this time on any platform.
  • You MUST also have the latest version of Java from Sun Microsystems (Windows users especially)

Helpful Links: You can download the required software for free at the following sites.


Modem: 56 K (Cable or DSL strongly recommended)
Note for AOL Users: The AOL browser is not compatible with Blackboard. This is a known issue with AOL's software which affects all AOL users who try to access Blackboard, thus it is completely outside of our control. If you use AOL for your Internet service, follow these steps to access Blackboard:
  1. Log into AOL as you normally do.
  2. Minimize the AOL browser (you will remain connected to the Internet)
  3. Launch Internet Explorer version 7 or later (not AOL) directly from the Start Menu.
  4. Using Internet Explorer (not AOL) log into Blackboard at http://blackboard.mobap.edu

Supported Operating Systems and Web Browsers for Blackboard 9.x


Microsoft® Windows® Operating System



Internet Explorer® 8
Internet Explorer 7
Firefox 3.6
Firefox 3.5
Firefox 3.0

Windows® XP (32-bit)
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Certified
Compatible

Windows Vista® (32-bit)
Certified
Compatible
Compatible
Certified
Compatible

Windows Vista (64-bit)
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

Windows 7 (32/64-bit)
Certified
Unsupported
Compatible
Certified
Compatible


Apple® Mac OS® Operating System



Safari® 4.0
Safari 3.2
Firefox 3.6
Firefox 3.5
Firefox 3.0

Mac OSX 10.5 "Leopard®"
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

Mac OSX 10.6 "Snow Leopard®"
Certified
Unsupported
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

  • Sun Java™ Runtime Environment 6 is the only supported version of Java for Windows users. You can download it from http://www.java.com. All users should visit this site to make sure that they have the latest version of Java for their computer.
  • Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 5 are not supported.
  • Firefox 1.x and 2.0 are not supported.
  • Safari 2.0 is no longer supported.
  • Google Chrome is not supported.
In the above tables, the following designations may be used:
Certified: fully tested and supported.
Compatible: partially tested but should function properly.
Provisional: future technologies considered supported by Blackboard Support.
Unsupported: either impossible or not tested.
MBU Core Values