Installing the FirstClass client for Macintosh OS X
Background
The Open University currently uses the proprietary FirstClass conferencing system for all online student conferencing. An important benefit of this system as used by the OU is that it can be accessed in two basic ways -1. By use of a standard web browser via a student's personal StudentHome web page.
2. By use of a dedicated client application on the student's computer.
The web facility is laudable, as it allows universal access to OU online facilities from computers with different operating systems. However, it can be slow and glitchy. Many students prefer the faster and more versatile client software. This is provided on CD as part of a student's course materials, but is only available for use on the Windows platform. No support for FirstClass client software is provided by the Open University for students using Macs.
Fortunately, all this is not a problem. FirstClass client software is provided free on the web to users of Macintosh computers, and the following instructions are intended to provide an easy-to-follow guide to installation. It is written to be accessible to new students and for all levels of technical proficiency. Apologies to those who may find these instructions simplistic.
The Future
In 2005 the Open University announced a major change to their online educational software or Virtual Learning Environment as it is known. In future, the OU will use Moodle for it's online community software. Moodle is free and Open Source software with excellent support for Macintosh hardware. It is hoped that such a move will herald a much greater universality in OU personal computer access going forward, which will be great news! This site will keep Mac users posted on developments. This also means that the days of FirstClass at the OU are numbered, so these instructions will in time be superceded by newer informationInstructions for Installing FirstClass
These instructions will install the FirstClass conferencing software
for use on the Open University Online Campus. This will enable users of
Macintosh OS X systems to access all the online services necessary for
tutorial discussions, without having to use their web browser. 1. Download the free firstClass client conferencing software from here.
2. Select your language and click on your operating system from the list that appears. (Macintosh is for System 9 users or earlier, OS X is for the latest system) :-
A part of the international download page showing the British versions
3. Click on the required link and your download should start immediately.
OS X Installation
4. When the file has finished downloading, you should find a disk image file which looks something like this ( the version number might be different) :-
5. Double-click on this (or it may open automatically) - the image file will expand to reveal a disk image window containing a single file - the FirstClass Application Installer:-
Double-click on this file to start the installation process.
6. The FirstClass splash-screen appears :-
press the "Continue" button.
7. Then comes the License page:-
when you've looked it over, press "continue" - then in the little box that opens, press "Agree"
8. Here (at last ;-)) is the install window:-
Simply press the "Install" button and FirstClass should start to install in your "Applications" folder. During the process, ythe installer will ask you if you wish to add FistClass to your Dock - for new Mac users, that's the application launcher at the bottom of your screen. As you'll be using FirstClass quite a lot at the OU, it might be handy, although you can always add it later.
When it's finished installing (barring unforeseen problems) it'll tell you :-
Press "Quit" - Congratulations, you've installed the FirstClass client! - now to configure it.....
FirstClass Configuration for OS X
1. Now, if you opted to place FirstClass on your Dock, then click on it now. Otherwise, go to your "Applications" folder, which is on your Startup Disk - you should now see an icon that looks something like this :-
That's your FirstClass client app - double-click on it to start it up.
(*Hint* if you would like it on your dock, then just drag the icon onto your dock now, and it'll put a copy there - that way you'll easily be able to get to it in future)
2. A window will open which looks something like this:-
*Note* If you can only see the top half of the above window on your Mac, then you need to click on the little blue arrow next to the word "Advanced" to bring up the extra options.
Now, before we can connect to a server at the Open University, we have to put some of our particular student details in.
In the window above, you will notice the following sections - Address:, Server:, User ID: and Password:. These are the important things we need to fill in.
First, the "Address:" field. If you don't see "home.fc" in the "Address" box at the top, then click on the blue arrow on the right of the text box to select the "home.fc" option.
When that's done, Press the "Setup..." Button.
3. Now you will see the Service Setup window:-
Don't worry if the "Connect Via:" tab doesn't look like your one - we'll come to that in a minute.
4. Where it says "User ID:"and "Password:" near the top, you need to put your Open University Computing username and password that were sent to you in a letter when you registered for your course.
*Tip* The Username is the one which is two letters, followed by 3 or 4 digits - e.g. "ab123" or "ab1234" - put that one in the "User ID" box.
Leave the "Login as guest" and "Log in automatically" boxes blank.
5. Now for the "Server:" box.
Open University students connect to FirstClass using different servers. Which server you use depends upon which kind of course you are doing. As a rough guide, the servers are divided as follows:-
- Server 1 is for Open University Business School, Arts, Social Sciences, Faculty of Education and Language Studies, Institute for Educational Technology, School of Health and Social Welfare courses
- Server 2 is for for Science and Technology, Mathematics and Computing courses
So the server addresses would be written as follows: -
- oufcnt1.open.ac.uk for Open University Business School, Arts, Social Sciences, Faculty of Education and Language Studies, Institute for Educational Technology, School of Health and Social Welfare courses
- oufcnt2.open.ac.uk for Science, Technology, Mathematics and Computing courses
Finding Your Server
a) Go to the OU student web site, by pointing your favourite web browser at:https://msds.open.ac.uk/students/
b) You'll come to the OU "Sign In" page - insert the User ID and Password that we used above :-
Press "Proceed", and you'll be taken through to your student home page.
c) Now, if you look down on the left of your Student Home page, you'll see a little box called "Links" . At the top of this box is a link to your OU mailbox and - very helpfully - the number of your server. This is the number you use for x above.
Here's a part of my homepage with the Links box on :-
As you can see, mine's server 2 - yours might be different. This means that my server address is -
oufcnt2.open.ac.uk
Make a note of your number and its corresponding address, and return to your FirstClass "Service Setup" window.
6. Okay, now enter the new information into the "Server:" box in the "Service setup" window. Let's say, for example, you're on server 2 - your window should now look like this:-
7. We're nearly ready to press "save" and try the thing out - but first, a word about the "Connect Via:" box. It's set on "Dialup Internet.FCP" in my example.
The setup illustrated presumes that you want to connect by dialup ISP to the OU server - but of course that's not always the case. Many people now have broadband for instance, and will have a slightly different setup at home. Don't worry - there's an option for you - it might just be a case of "trial and error" till you find the most appropriate one.
Here's what I mean. Press the little blue triangles to the side of the box that says "Dialup Internet.FCP" . A little box should appear, presenting you with the following options:-
Dialup Internet.FCP
High-speed Internet.FCP
Internet.FCP
Local Network.FCP
I use a cable modem at home, so I need to use the option "Local Network.FCP" to connect.
If you find that you're having trouble with "Dialup Internet.FCP", then try one of the other options by going back over the setup steps above and selecting a different option in the "Connect Via:" box.
8. When you've made all your chosen connections - press the "Save" button - which will return you to the "login" window seen in number 2.
9. Your login window should now look something like this :-
Your Username and password can now be seen - and also the server address has been added below them. Press the Save button to save your setup.
We're now ready to connect to the server.....press the little green arrow button to the right of the password text box. Now, if all is well, this should connect you through to your student home FirstClass desktop at the university.
10. If you get an error message, then try and work out what is wrong - for instance, if you entered the ID or password incorrectly you'd see something like this :-
If you've entered everything okay, then click on the "setup" button and try changing the "Connect Via:" setting, as suggested above.
11. If everything goes okay, then you should be presented with a shiny new OU FirstClass window which looks something like this :-
A typical desktop window - *note* you won't see as many icons as this -
probably about five or six to start with.
12. Congratulations! You're now connected to the OU website using the FirstClass client for Mac OS X. For a full explanation of what the icons mean, and where to go from here - you can refer back to the OU's own web pages at :-
http://www.open.ac.uk/lts/software/FirstClass/Documentation/Desktop/section1.html
The FirstClass desktop will look and work identically to the Windows version - so the OU's instructions are (finally) fully relevant to you.
Further Problems or questions?
If this document hasn't got you up and running then please don't hesitate to contact The Mac General Conference via your OU web page desktop. You can leave a message there, and somebody will be sure to help with anything Mac-relatedWhere is the Mac General conference?
1. Sign into the OU student website, like you did in the "Finding Your Server" section, above.2. On your "OUstudenthome" page, click on the link that says "FirstClass Desktop"
3. On the next page, click on the link that says "Open University"
4. On the next page, click on the link that says "OU Students Association"
5. On the next page, click on the link that says "OUSA Signpost"
6. Halfway down the (huge!) list on the next page - click on "OUSA Mac General"
This is the conference - leave your message!
By Stephen McGann and Nicola Good - updated March 2008