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Participant Resources: Technical Requirements

The simulation runs by linking participating universities or high schools to a World Wide Web server at the University of Maryland via the Internet.

A participating school must at the minimum have access to a computer, an Internet connection, and a web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. (While a graphical browser is preferable, ICONSnet was designed to be compatible with text-based browsers in order to support users with older computers or disabilities.) A printer and word processing software (for preparing messages in advance) are also recommended.

ICONSnet runs on a secure server.  This means that you must accept a University of Maryland security certificate in order to access ICONSnet.   You have two options:

  1. One-time installation: Go to http://ca.umd.edu and follow the directions to install the appropriate certificate for your browser. (Currently, only Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are supported.)   Once you have installed the certificate, you will be able to freely access the ICONSnet system from that computer.
  2. Do nothing:  In this case, you will be asked to accept a temporary certificate everytime you try to use ICONSnet.  Just accept the defaults by clicking on the "Next" button on every pop-up screen.  (This option works for any browser that accepts encryption.  Contact ICONS if you will be using a browser that does not.)

ICONS highly recommends that you take the time to install the certificate to avoid having to take extra steps every time that you log in.

Please note that your assigned URL will begin with https://.   This is not a typo.  The extra s indicates that the server is secure.

Please feel free to contact ICONS staff with any questions you may have about hardware or software configurations.

 

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ICONS is located at the University of Maryland.   For more information, please contact icons@gvpt.umd.edu.  Copyright 2000, Project ICONS, University of Maryland