How do I make my personal computer or laptop ready for NWTC?

Answer

Use the following steps to customize your computer/laptop for NWTC coursework:

Go to your browser's Settings and activate the Bookmark/Favorites Bar
- In Edge – Go to Settings, Appearance, Customize Toolbar, Show Favorites Bar, Always. To add a site to favorites, click the "Add this page to favorites" button in the address bar.
- In Chrome – Go to Settings, Appearance, Show Bookmarks, and turn button on. To add sites to bookmarks, click the star on the right side of the address bar.
Add the NWTC Student Login page and any other frequently used college resources such as Canvas, the Student Portal, Student Email, Off-Campus Software Access, Web Print, and NWTC Library to the Bookmark/Favorites Bar for quick, easy access.

Make sure that you have set up Multi-Factor Authentication for your account. This allows NWTC to verify your identity periodically when you are logging in to Canvas, the Student Portal, Microsoft 365, and Student Email. (Watch a short video about how to log in and secure your account.)

If you need the latest version of Microsoft 365, download it from the College for free by following these steps. This includes access to Microsoft Teams for web conferencing! Make sure to uninstall any previous versions of Microsoft Office first.
Add https://www.microsoft365.com/ to your bookmarks/favorites for easy access or access from your start menu.

If you will be web conferencing in your courses, make sure that you have a headset with a microphone.
Check that you have a working web camera. Type "camera" in the search box to open the Camera app.
After installing Microsoft Office, open Teams to test the equipment by starting a test call. In the search bar at the top of Teams, type in /testcall. This will allow you to check how the video looks and will give you the option to talk and hear how your audio would sound to others.