Prerequisites: a lesson for us all

This class on HTML by O'Reilly publishers looks expensive and does not give enough information in its preview to merit comment--

except

it is definitely worth seeing how they carefully explain what prerequisites the student needs to do the class online. There is a separate topic on technological requirements, in addition to an excellent page called "Before You Begin." Not enough courses do this. Consequently, students must face the frustration of trying to figure out how to download plug-ins or upgrade their browsers while trying to also focus o content. The organization and layout of this site is a model for online courses.

I think every online class should begin with a reference to something like Webmonkey's primer about the web for those who are brand new to the medium and then include references explaining how elements like listserves, chat, plug-ins and other items work.