Critical Instructions and Documents > Computer Requirements

Thank you for registering for the Project Lead The Way Summer Training Institute (WTI) at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Due to the nature and speed of the campus network, you must take some steps to protect your computer before you arrive. In order to provide you with trouble-free computing throughout your experience, please follow the suggestions outlined in this document.

There are many updates that must be installed on your computer before you will be allowed to connect to the network. Be aware that having network access is a requirement of all PLTW course curricula. If you do not attend to these requirements you will not be able to use the computing resources that are necessary to complete your course.

The following criteria must be met before arriving on our campus

• Have a laptop that meets or exceeds the minimum requirements listed on the Project Lead the Way website (http://www.pltw.org/curriculum/08compspecs.cfm)
• Have Windows XP Professional or Vista Business installed on system.
• Install ALL critical Windows updates (Be aware that you must visit the Windows update site multiple times to fully complete this task.) Visit http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate to let Microsoft perform the task automatically.
• Update the Microsoft Office Products on your computer. Visit http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate to automatically perform the update. At the top, left hand side of the page under the word Download is a Link to Office Updates (see figure1). After checking to be sure you have genuine Microsoft Office, the program will check for updates. You may be asked for your original installation CDs during this process or you can select the option to skip your disks but it will take a little longer.
  
  Figure 1
• Know an “Administrator” login and password (this is necessary to install the software that you will use at the WTI).
• Have a network interface card. Some colleges only have wireless, please check in advance.
• Install and update Virus detection/prevention software.
• Know the contact information for your school’s technical support department.

It is also recommended that you bring

• An external mouse
• A 10 – 15 foot network cable (Cat5 or Cat5e).
• An external USB storage device (thumb drive or memory stick 256 Megs).

If you are unfamiliar with any of these terms/devices, please contact your home school’s technical support professional.

Project Lead The Way®, working with its vendors, will specify computers each year that we estimate will run our course software for the next three years.

Many schools have developed policies under which new, more powerful computers are placed in PLTW labs, and the existing computers are moved to areas with less demanding applications. In doing this, they insure the longest useful performance of their computers.

Computers should meet or exceed the specifications stated here:

PLEASE NOTE: Basic Intel graphic chipset or other chipsets with shared memory are not recommended for video display. All graphic chipsets must be 3D capable and support OpenGL and DirectX. A third party Graphic card is usually necessary