[dsa_assessor]

(Original post by petromasha)
hullo!

I was wondering if you have any idea of how many cases are given notetakers/scribes/mentors?
I have a great deal of support but the main costs, as far as I can see from the original quotes, came from human support. Is it common?

Hi,

All support is obviously given on an individual basis, what works for one student will not always work for another student, but in my eight years working in this area, human support is pretty common under DSA - mostly study support, proof reading, and sometimes readers and scribes (some students find it hard to work with a scribe though).

What funding bodies really want to see though, is students "weaning themselves off human support", and this is in your best interests as well, if at all possible.
It makes you a more independant learner, and prepares you better for the real world in a job, where obviously readers, scribes etc wont be available.

Thats why its so important for students to really learn how to use the assistive technology they receive through DSA - employers have to follow the same Disability Discrimination Act as uni's do, so you can ask employers to make reasonable adjustments for you as well (like text to speech software on your work computer)

[RA3]

So that being the case then dsa_assessor: What is the justification for getting a mac? Because surely if "your course needs mac software" then you've said yourself - the Uni should be providing facilities for you to use.

[dsa_assessor]

(Original post by RA3)
So that being the case then dsa_assessor: What is the justification for getting a mac? Because surely if "your course needs mac software" then you've said yourself - the Uni should be providing facilities for you to use.

There is no hard and fast answer to your question, as each student is assessed on an individual basis, and as such the needs will differ on an individual basis - but let me give you two examples of students I have recentely supported for a DSA claim on a mac:

1: A student who suffers from cystic fibrosis, a serious condition which has "good periods and bad periods". During the bad periods, the student can at the very least be housebound for a significant period of time, and in many instances hospitalized (so unable to make it into campus). Because the course this student was on required access to mac only course specific software, she needed to be able to continue with her work when possible.

2: A student with a serious visual impairment, with very little useable vision. This student had always used macs, as the accessibility options built into OSX as standard are way ahead of what Windows offers, especially for those with a visual impairent.
When the student turned up, as a first year fresher, they were struggling on with an ageing mac book. There was no way I was going to force the student to change the platform they are used to, so a new mac book was the obvious and most appropriate recommendation (btw, this student is on a Business Management degree, so there was no course related reason for a mac....it just made sense to meet his disability related needs).

Hope these two examples help clarify what assessors are trying to achieve, but as ever, always happy to answer queries as best I can.

[Unlimitedsoph]

Hi dsa_assessor,

I just last week got a MacBook Pro via dsa, and I had never used a mac before. So would you say the reason I got a macbook was the fact that I have seizures which can leave me house bound for a few days at a time, unable to use the Mac's in my university labs?

[BigV]

(Original post by kerily)
You will definitely be allowed to pay to upgrade it (I was offered this option, for no reason other than that I might have preferred a more expensive laptop ) and considering that your university requires it, you might be able to get it covered by DSA.

Yeah, there was no way my assessor was going to upgrade my recommendation because most of my course is windows based.... which is fine but kinda frustrating as some lab work is being done on Macs and I struggle with labs, having the option of using both systems at home would help.

But anway,

I have been offered an upgrade to an IMac desktop; intel i5, 4gb DDR2, 500gb drive, ATI HD6750 256mb graphics...... cost to me is an extra £870 quid. Although this includes windows 7 and a dual-boot setup.

Upgrade to a macbook would be even more....

I'm wondering if that is worth it or if I should just go with the free laptop and buy a second hand mac from my own pocket.

Advantage of going DSA ofcourse is the 3 year warranty.

Any suggestions?

[dsa_assessor]

(Original post by Unlimitedsoph)
Hi dsa_assessor,

I just last week got a MacBook Pro via dsa, and I had never used a mac before. So would you say the reason I got a macbook was the fact that I have seizures which can leave me house bound for a few days at a time, unable to use the Mac's in my university labs?

Without knowing the specifics of your situation, I cant really comment on your individial reasons, but from what you have said (and your course is Mac based?), it sounds an entirely plausible justification for you being recommended a mac book.

Hope your enjoy your course, and you get all the support you need

[Flightless Fly]

Just want to say i get DSA, i have received the newest 15" MacBook Pro, printer/scanner/ Dictaphone, paper, ink, books, accommodation reimbursement, chair, 2 tables ect ect.

My course in no way requires a MBP, I do a course very similar to politics.

Not going to lie to no-one. I BLOODY LOVE MY LAPTOP and don't care who knows it.

[NJones]

I'm am a DSA Assessor also.
More and more students are attending assessments saying they want a Mac, but rarely do we agree to such requests unless there is a specific 'need' to back it up. Some of the funding bodies, Student Finance England being the main one, have issued guidance as to why such recommendations are rejected, cost being the main implication. For most dyslexic students we are trying to meet needs such as difficulties with writing and reading, so even they are on a Mac based graphics course it doesn't mean a Mac is needed to write an essay or read text.

Unless student is on a course which requires Mac specific software, or has solely used a Mac for some time, one would not be recommended.
We have students with Macs who need hours of training to get them to use a Mac as they say the need one for their course and haven't a clue how to use them. This a waste of our time and tax payers money.

[NJones]

(Original post by Flightless Fly)
Just want to say i get DSA, i have received the newest 15" MacBook Pro, printer/scanner/ Dictaphone, paper, ink, books, accommodation reimbursement, chair, 2 tables ect ect.

My course in no way requires a MBP, I do a course very similar to politics.

Not going to lie to no-one. I BLOODY LOVE MY LAPTOP and don't care who knows it.

I'd assume this user is used to working on Mac OSX and not using Windows based machines. DSA Assessors won't recommend Mac for just for fashion or vanity purposes as they have a duty to ensure tax payers money is spent correctly.

[OU Student]

Isn't there also sometimes issues with certain software being required (such as software which changes the background colour) not working on macs / there not being suitable alternatives? Therefore, sometimes it's better for the student to have Windows based.

[NJones]

(Original post by OU Student)
Isn't there also sometimes issues with certain software being required (such as software which changes the background colour) not working on macs / there not being suitable alternatives? Therefore, sometimes it's better for the student to have Windows based.

Most software now comes in Windows or Mac versions- background colour changing software or screen masking as its known is available in Read&Write Pc and Mac versions, as well as in some free products like MyStudyBar (SSOverlay)

[RA3]

I must say I got a mid-spec Toshiba and I've been quite happy with it.

[leyland1]

Hello I just joined TSR to ask a question on this topic. Would a dsa assessor or finding body be likely to recommend a 17in MBP for the following reasons. I have Aspergers.

Reasons for needing a Mac
I am more motivated to work on Mac OS
I find it more intuitive
I have Office for Mac 2011
I have Adobe CS5 Mac
I have VMware fusion mac
I have adobe acrobat mac - very important as I use this to convert PDF documents to Word or to edit PDFs

Reasons for needing 17 inch
I do not get eye strain working with high dpi
I find it easier to work the more I can see on screen at one time
I find it easier to use a touchscreen and already have a 17inch 16:10 ratio overlay that I order for my current 2nd hand laptop
Psychologically I do not feel motivated to work on low resolution screens.

Please let me know what you think, also would it affect their depiction that this would be my 2nd laptop from them - I got a toshiba that failed and insurance refuse to cover it cos it was a had failure and they thought it's my fault. I am going to get a pc shop to declare it beyond repair.


Regards

[Acei]

(Original post by leyland1)
Hello I just joined TSR to ask a question on this topic. Would a dsa assessor or finding body be likely to recommend a 17in MBP for the following reasons. I have Aspergers.

Reasons for needing a Mac
I am more motivated to work on Mac OS
I find it more intuitive
I have Office for Mac 2011
I have Adobe CS5 Mac
I have VMware fusion mac
I have adobe acrobat mac - very important as I use this to convert PDF documents to Word or to edit PDFs

Reasons for needing 17 inch
I do not get eye strain working with high dpi
I find it easier to work the more I can see on screen at one time
I find it easier to use a touchscreen and already have a 17inch 16:10 ratio overlay that I order for my current 2nd hand laptop
Psychologically I do not feel motivated to work on low resolution screens.

Please let me know what you think, also would it affect their depiction that this would be my 2nd laptop from them - I got a toshiba that failed and insurance refuse to cover it cos it was a had failure and they thought it's my fault. I am going to get a pc shop to declare it beyond repair.

Very unlikely, and current gen 17" MBP's are no longer produced, after their recent conference the largest they manufacture is 15". Macbook Pro's are not often recommended and if they are they're recommended as the base package and only in specific circumstances. On your list there is no proper reason for wanting a larger laptop, motivation is not sufficient for DSA to pay out so much more.

Also DSA don't generally pay out for a second computer. If DSA paid for your Toshiba laptop they will likely refuse to pay for another one as your insurance should have covered it, you can argue with the insurance company if you want but DSA is unlikely to cover the expense of another one; this is especially true if your original supplier is stating that they believe the original one was damaged intentionally.

[leyland1]

Thanks for your reply, I think I will just ask if they can supply me a 1-2tb backup drive so if anything happens to current 2nd hand Dell XPS M1710 I would not lose all my work again; I have one backup now but that is just my work - no space for a system image; also the backup is also on a computer so may fail too, but an external drive should be more reliable. Do you think they would supply this? Meanwhile thanks for letting me know there is a new MacBook pro. I better start saving the pennies as that resolution sounds fantastic!

[Acei]

(Original post by leyland1)
Thanks for your reply, I think I will just ask if they can supply me a 1-2tb backup drive so if anything happens to current 2nd hand Dell XPS M1710 I would not lose all my work again; I have one backup now but that is just my work - no space for a system image; also the backup is also on a computer so may fail too, but an external drive should be more reliable. Do you think they would supply this? Meanwhile thanks for letting me know there is a new MacBook pro. I better start saving the pennies as that resolution sounds fantastic!

What type of work? If your work is within the range of a few MB or GB then wouldn't Dropbox, Skydrive or Google Drive be enough for backup of work? The DSA is very specific with the requirement of equipment being for work only. I've not heard of them recommending an external hard drive as it isn't a disability matter; plus because all students would be expected to backup their work it would usually be considered a normal student cost and not an additional cost caused by a disability.

[leyland1]

Virtual machines are used in my course for practical work than can be continued at home; when I lost mine several times I had to start again each time, which takes forever reinstalling and setting up everything again. Sizes are over 5 gb each upto 20gb.

[OU Student]

Wouldn't you still need an external hard drive if you weren't disabled?

[homebythefence]

(Original post by leyland1)
Hello I just joined TSR to ask a question on this topic. Would a dsa assessor or finding body be likely to recommend a 17in MBP for the following reasons. I have Aspergers.

Reasons for needing a Mac
I am more motivated to work on Mac OS
I find it more intuitive
I have Office for Mac 2011
I have Adobe CS5 Mac
I have VMware fusion mac
I have adobe acrobat mac - very important as I use this to convert PDF documents to Word or to edit PDFs

Reasons for needing 17 inch
I do not get eye strain working with high dpi
I find it easier to work the more I can see on screen at one time
I find it easier to use a touchscreen and already have a 17inch 16:10 ratio overlay that I order for my current 2nd hand laptop
Psychologically I do not feel motivated to work on low resolution screens.

Please let me know what you think, also would it affect their depiction that this would be my 2nd laptop from them - I got a toshiba that failed and insurance refuse to cover it cos it was a had failure and they thought it's my fault. I am going to get a pc shop to declare it beyond repair.


Regards

I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't see how you need a Mac rather than a Windows. Maybe they'll recommend you a large screen Windows laptop but there's no specific reason why you should get a Macbook. Having Mac software already won't influence it as they'll recommend you Microsoft Office.

Also, DSA require you to have full insurance for your laptop, they even give you money back for it so your insurance is taking the piss. How was it broken? Is it a hardware or accident damage issue?

Also, in regards to needing a 17inch screen, is the eye strain directly caused by your Aspergers? If not, they won't recommend you it.

[homebythefence]

(Original post by leyland1)
Thanks for your reply, I think I will just ask if they can supply me a 1-2tb backup drive so if anything happens to current 2nd hand Dell XPS M1710 I would not lose all my work again; I have one backup now but that is just my work - no space for a system image; also the backup is also on a computer so may fail too, but an external drive should be more reliable. Do you think they would supply this? Meanwhile thanks for letting me know there is a new MacBook pro. I better start saving the pennies as that resolution sounds fantastic!

I would probably argue that all students should have an external HD as a backup, so its not directly caused by your disability.