DSA and laptop/Tablet Help
I am thinking of doing biomedical engineering at university but unsure if I have the technical equipment for it.
So as I am wondering if
1. I qualify for a laptop through DSA (I've severe dyslexia and been with SENCO for 8 years now but never qualified for a laptop since I was also quite a slow writer but a slower typer) and
2., if the laptop the DSA offer are able to run the CAD software that is needed for the course and whether or not I should just try and get one by myself by working crazy after the exams at my job?
P.s I already have a laptop but it's about eight years old now and the screen keeps flickering and there's barely any battery life on it so it's probably worth replacing if I can.
I was also thinking whether or not it was worth getting a secondhand tablet with a stylus that I found on vinted for about £60 for note taking as a laptop doesn't offer the same flexibility of writing equation and diagrams (plus I'm so used to taking notes by hand now). Is this a good idea or should I just focus only on a laptop?
Thank you all. And wishing the best of luck for your applications.
So as I am wondering if
1. I qualify for a laptop through DSA (I've severe dyslexia and been with SENCO for 8 years now but never qualified for a laptop since I was also quite a slow writer but a slower typer) and
2., if the laptop the DSA offer are able to run the CAD software that is needed for the course and whether or not I should just try and get one by myself by working crazy after the exams at my job?
P.s I already have a laptop but it's about eight years old now and the screen keeps flickering and there's barely any battery life on it so it's probably worth replacing if I can.
I was also thinking whether or not it was worth getting a secondhand tablet with a stylus that I found on vinted for about £60 for note taking as a laptop doesn't offer the same flexibility of writing equation and diagrams (plus I'm so used to taking notes by hand now). Is this a good idea or should I just focus only on a laptop?
Thank you all. And wishing the best of luck for your applications.
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 1
10
Original post
by JazzyHands:DI am thinking of doing biomedical engineering at university but unsure if I have the technical equipment for it.
So as I am wondering if
1. I qualify for a laptop through DSA (I've severe dyslexia and been with SENCO for 8 years now but never qualified for a laptop since I was also quite a slow writer but a slower typer) and
2., if the laptop the DSA offer are able to run the CAD software that is needed for the course and whether or not I should just try and get one by myself by working crazy after the exams at my job?
P.s I already have a laptop but it's about eight years old now and the screen keeps flickering and there's barely any battery life on it so it's probably worth replacing if I can.
I was also thinking whether or not it was worth getting a secondhand tablet with a stylus that I found on vinted for about £60 for note taking as a laptop doesn't offer the same flexibility of writing equation and diagrams (plus I'm so used to taking notes by hand now). Is this a good idea or should I just focus only on a laptop?
Thank you all. And wishing the best of luck for your applications.
So as I am wondering if
1. I qualify for a laptop through DSA (I've severe dyslexia and been with SENCO for 8 years now but never qualified for a laptop since I was also quite a slow writer but a slower typer) and
2., if the laptop the DSA offer are able to run the CAD software that is needed for the course and whether or not I should just try and get one by myself by working crazy after the exams at my job?
P.s I already have a laptop but it's about eight years old now and the screen keeps flickering and there's barely any battery life on it so it's probably worth replacing if I can.
I was also thinking whether or not it was worth getting a secondhand tablet with a stylus that I found on vinted for about £60 for note taking as a laptop doesn't offer the same flexibility of writing equation and diagrams (plus I'm so used to taking notes by hand now). Is this a good idea or should I just focus only on a laptop?
Thank you all. And wishing the best of luck for your applications.
Hi! I imagine it differs between unis but how it worked for me (and friends I've spoken to in similar boats) is that at uni it is much easier to qualify for a laptop than you might expect. For me it was a £200 contribution but you can contact the university to have that reimbursed so the laptop was essentially free, although not all universities offer reimbursement. When checking if you qualify/need a laptop they will ask for the specs of your current laptop if you have one. There are also different laptops you can get (but the better you go for the larger the contribution will have to be, you can even get a gaming laptop if you had something silly like £1,000 to contribute- point is if you need a better one than the £200 one then it will still work out cheaper than buying it yourself, so its better to work towards a financial contribution you might be able to get reimbursed than a full new fancy pants laptop). The basic laptop they offer is.... a hp wkh notebook i think? cant remember the name exactly but it should come up if you search that or just 'standard dsa laptop' so you can see if it has the specs you need for the cad software. I personally know nuthin about the cad stuff though, I use some pretty advanced digital art/animation software on mine though and I haven't had any issues if that is at all helpful to you? Any specific universities youre looking at might have information about the contribution reimbursement on their website and if not you might be able to email their learning support/disability support team and be nosy. People who already go to whatever uni(s) youre fancying may have already posted something useful about that too so it's worth a look. Hopefully this was at least slightly helpful but if you have any more questions id be happy to try and help. With your course needing that software (presumably) they usually do understand that it is necessary- they won't want to waste their money on a laptop that doesn't work with a basic requirement of your course. But every Uni is different, this is just my experience with Uni of Sheffield and they do have an abnormally good DDSS team.
Reply 2
The dsa laptop spec is i5 processor, 8GB RAM 500gb hard drive
Dsa won’t cover the higher spec required for your course only what is essential to access the assistive technology recommended.
This may be the spec above, or lower, depending on what software they recommend during your assessment.
With a dyslexic learning profile you may find text to speech software like Clark read or read&write software useful. Or a dictation tool like dragon or talk type
If they recommend a laptop it will be valued around £400, you pay £200. However you can upgrade to the spec you need for your course.
Ref tablets- these can be difficult to get approved - but worth asking your assessor about
Dsa won’t cover the higher spec required for your course only what is essential to access the assistive technology recommended.
This may be the spec above, or lower, depending on what software they recommend during your assessment.
With a dyslexic learning profile you may find text to speech software like Clark read or read&write software useful. Or a dictation tool like dragon or talk type
If they recommend a laptop it will be valued around £400, you pay £200. However you can upgrade to the spec you need for your course.
Ref tablets- these can be difficult to get approved - but worth asking your assessor about
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