Are you using an older version of Microsoft Office at home?
Some of the documents on DISCourse may be in the new Office 2007 file formats. In order to open them, you will need to download the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack for Windows or the Open XML File Format Converter for Mac. These will enable you to open the new Office 2007 documents in older versions of Microsoft Office.
If you don't own Microsoft Office, you can download the free OpenOffice.org. The new version 3.0 can open the 2007 Office file formats. OpenOffice.org is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Another option for Windows users is purchasing Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 which can be installed on up to 3 home computers. Mac users can purchase Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student which also supports the new file formats.