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School of Extended Studies, 1515 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 102, Portland, OR, 97201

Java Is Important for Online Courses at PSU

Java is a program that allows many of the tools in Blackboard to function. You may already have one or more versions of Java on your computer. In Blackboard, it is critically important that you:

Java version 6 (also referred to as 1.6)  which comes installed on most new Windows PCs is now validated for use with Blackboard. If you have a PC with Java version 6, you no longer have to replace it with version 5. Version 5 still works, but it's important to have only one version of Java on your PC.

To find out which version of Java you’re running, click on the Start button at the lower left corner of your Windows screen, then click Settings and Control Panel. Look for Java on the list and double-click it. Click on the About button for details. Either version 1.5.0 or version 1.6.0 is acceptable for Blackboard. If you do not have one of the recommended versions, click here and scroll down to the Java - Get It Now link to download a free copy.

Mac Users: The Mac OS X operating system comes with the correct version of Java installed.

You should remove any versions of Java other than one of the recommended versions. Click on the Start button, then click on Settings and Control Panel. Double-click Add or Remove Programs and delete previous versions of Java.
After you’ve installed the correct Java on your computer, run the browser checkup as described above.

NOTE: New Java versions come out occasionally, but updates are not recommended unless and until they are validated by Blackboard for use with Blackboard. Please do not download any newer versions before they have been validated, and we recommend that you turn off automatic Java updates on your Windows PC as follows:

  1. From the Start menu, click Settings and Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Java (or Java Plug-in).
  3. Click the Update tab.
  4. Make sure the checkbox next to Check for Updates Automatically is unchecked.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Click the "X" to close the Java Plug-in control panel window.