[senco-forum] Alphasmart

The Neo with CoWriter will help him spell the words he wants correctly -
everyone can recognise more words than they can spell out of their heads
- depending on the level of support he needs, he can have the prediction
on all the time or just turn it on when he wants help with a particular
word - you can upload a subject specific dictionary, but only one at a
time - so if you need several you would have to merge them before
uploading.
The Dana with Write Outloud provides a robust mobile talking
wordprocessor - with headphones he can listen to text on the screen
privately - this might be a worksheet that was produced in Word or his
own writing, which means he does not have to keep asking to have work
read to him and he is given more support with writing his own work.

Ideally both CoWriter and Write Outloud would be available together (as
they are on a desktop machine or full pc laptop), but it takes time and
money to develop these new versions - the OS is different on an
Alphasmart - but I understand they are in the pipeline.  The robustness
and battery longevity of the Neo and Dana make them such a reliable tool
for producing written text - they are rarely at the menders and don't
need to be plugged into the wall after an hour, which are vital factors
for pupils who come to rely on using them as notebooks - this is what
they are and it is quick and easy to upload the notes to a desktop for
producing essays etc or notes can be printed out at the end of a lesson
if needed to hand in.

They do have excellent SEN application, but are not exclusively SEN -
some schools have class sets on a trolley that can be used in ordinary
classrooms especially for English lessons

Cheers
Judith
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Judith Stansfield
SEN ICT Consultant
BDANTC (Associate member)
Farm Cottage, 24 East Road, Melsonby,Richmond DL10 5NF
stass at onyxnet.co.uk 
01325 718139   07990572365
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of Laura
Cosnett
Sent: 24 November 2006 05:11
To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Alphasmart

Hi everyone,

This is linked to the Alphasmart thread. We have a 12year old boy with
dyslexia who really hates writing. He is interested in trying technology
to support his literacy. His parents are happy to fund anything that can
help him with writing assignments and taking notes as long as he uses
it- he has a histry of losing enthusiasm quickly!! Laptops did not work
-too cumbersome..
We are researching AlphaSmarts with Co-writer and Write aloud - what
exactly do these additional software do in terms of supporting him in
the classroom and for homework? We are looking for independence.
I have visited the Don Johnston's website but appreciate further
feedback as to what/how they can support this student. Parents do not
mind how expensive it is their main priority is will it work for him.

Thank you,

Michelle

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of
Olanys at aol.com
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 7:55 PM
To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: [VIRUS FREE]Re: [senco-forum] Alphasmart

Tha Alphasmart Neo has its uses but there are drawbacks like the small  
screen. There is a version called the Dana which has a larger screen and
is much  
more versatile and is also wireless. I have no commercial interest but
know my  
son couldn't get on with the Neo. We now have a laptop and he found the 
keyboard  difficult to use at first, as did I, one of the features of
the Neo that  
also bothered him, another skill to learn even for a child very able on
a  
standard PC keyboard and something else to consider - allowing time for
them to  
familiarise and learn how to use it, before use in a classroom
situation.

Best wishes,
Aly

Chair Auditory Processing Disorder in  the UK/APDUK
www.lacewingmultimedia.com/APD.htm 
www.apduk.org

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