Anyone using a laptop in all lessons except maths instead of writing?

[christmascandy16]

Just wondered how you manage the logistics ie do they print the work off and stick it in the exercise books? If they have a class test do they hand a memory stick in at the end of the lesson? My son is the only child in the class using a laptop. School provide it and store and charge it overnight but do not appear to have explained anything further in managing the process. He may have to wait several weeks to bring home the exercise book for certain subjects or would they stick it in during lessons?

[Wonderflonium]

Does he email his work or upload it to a dropbox of some kind? Maybe uses OneNote? (That's what my students do, no printing)

[SaltyMyDear]

DS either prints off stuff or emails it.

But only stuff the teacher wants to mark. Most stuff just stays on his laptop.

But it's our laptop and he brings it home every night. As far as I know he doesn't have an exercise book for most lessons.

[christmascandy16]

No email as it is a school laptop and not connected to the internet. He is not allowed to bring a home laptop into school. He is year 7 if that makes a difference. The teachers give quite a few handouts and he sometimes has to handwrite to fill in a worksheet map or science diagram etc so they would need to go into a book or be scanned in I guess for revision purposes. Wonderflonium - is that the whole class emailing you or would that work for just one child?

[HardcoreLadyType]

DS does most work on his laptop. He's a bit disorganised with it, but we are working on it.

Printing out and using a holepunch to put it in a binder is a better idea than sticking in, in my opinion, though.

[Wonderflonium]

It's the whole class but it'd be fine if it were just one student.

[Lazybeans50]

DS saves work onto a memory stick and then either prints it out at school or home for teachers to mark. Somethings get stuck in his exercise book but other things - particularly the longer pieces of work are keep at a4 print outs in folders.

[Fridayschild]

DS has a memory stick given to him by the school. IME school, child and parents all need to get into the habit of making sure the stuff on the stick is collected and also to realise there is more than one way of doing this. For example a memory stick at Home, emailing homework from home, printing it out and bringing it in. DS is in year 7 now but has been using a laptop since year 5. It has taken us about 2 years to get this properly established so we all remember.

As you say there are some thing which still need to be labelled, especially science and geography, so you need to carry on with the handwriting

[NotMeNoNo]

DS has a memory stick. Sometimes he emails work to the teacher from home (school laptop is ancient/has no internet connection). Memory stick is attached to a huge bright lanyard with name tag BTW.

Labelling stuff on worksheets - if just a few words he writes it, but if it's say a little description under a picture I suggest numbering boxes and then making numbered notes on the PC to match.

[CrowyMcCrowFace]

My ds does this (dyspraxia). He mostly keeps his work in Google drive folders which he shares with his teachers.

I teach at the school & G drive is increasingly how we do stuff. I do impress on ds though that it is his responsibility to ensure work is printed out for my ahem, more old fashioned colleagues.

He also emails everything to the teacher concerned & cc's me, so if a teacher needs a hard copy ultimately I can print the bloody thing.

It's a pain all round tbh, but we're getting there. I've made it clear to colleagues that I expect ds to be sanctioned like any other student if he does not submit work in their preferred format.

He's gradually getting his act together!

[christmascandy16]

Notme - Yes we have the huge tag and lanyard with name and contact details attached to the memory stick too and similar ID on everything else that he is also likely to lose!
Crowy - How long has it taken him to get his act together?

My Ds is only year 7 but we have been given to understand that if he continues to type for all lessons then he will be able to type external exams. Is this correct or would he need to be assessed and diagnosed at a later date? Just concerned that he is not now doing any handwriting so if he has 5 years of only typing he wouldn't then be able to handwrite the exams but may not get any diagnosis. It was his choice to push for the laptop and he is very happy not to have to write anymore. Great that teachers can now read his work and realize some of his ability.

[NotMeNoNo]

I think going from our EdPsych report, ideal would be continued work on handwriting but also rely on typing for speed and fluency. We were also told that if it is his usual method of working it will be allowed in exams. He's only Yr8 so this is a long way off.

DS can barely write "Maths due Tuesday" in his planner. He's quite disorganised but more motivated about anything to do with computers and I believe teachers have had what they need from him.

[Fridayschild]

I have been told the same as NotMe. However in practice it turns out some handwriting is required. Science, for example, to write in the words when a piece of apparatus has to be labelled; geography the same for a volcano. DS' handwriting has got better though it's still terrible and I think he will just have to keep working on it. I should also say though he is y7 he is in the private sector and not at his senior school yet. This handwriting question is quite high on my list when he starts senior school.....

[imip]

Dd is in y5 and currently learning to touch type due to hyermobility. Interesting thread thread for things I may need to think of in future.

The expectation is she will use it in all subjects bar maths. She can't manage to write a full page of text, which we are told is the expectation. So I'm hoping she will catch on quickly (and that it won't be as painful).

[NotMeNoNo]

As I said below, we concluded the best approach for say labelling diagrams is to carefully print single words, but if a small description or sentence is needed , number the spaces and type a corresponding numbered list. I've mentioned this to teachers and they are OK with it.

DS can print neatly if given enough time, but this is not really writing, it's more like "lettering" so you would only use it when no alternative.

Often the teacher produced the worksheet on the computer in the first place and can email it to the student or put it on the memory stick.

[NotMeNoNo]

That was to Fridayschild. External exams I have no idea but really we have so many hurdles before then it's not on my radar!

[Fridayschild]

Thank you!

[CrowyMcCrowFace]

Hi OK, ds is in year 8 now & we moved to all/vast majority of work on laptop about midway through last year I think.

Part of his SN is that he's incredibly disorganised so we're still working on that. He's also v bright (most able in year group according to CEM tests) but quite lazy by his own admission - although his occupational therapist points out that his hypermobile joints etc mean he finds just sitting for long periods exhausting. He's just not all that 'school shaped' - huge gulf between attainment in subjects he likes & ones he doesn't.

Makes staff meetings interesting for me ...

Anyway, our arrangements are pretty much as pps have said - we are establishing laptop as his normal way of working for exam purposes, but keeping up with printing - cursive writing a non starter - for eg maths, labelling diagrams.

Bizarrely - we're at an international school - his written Arabic is reasonably neat!

[christmascandy16]

Crowy - interesting that your son can manage Arabic. My son is very keen to learn Chinese or Japanese and I thought it was a crazy idea due to the handwriting and I also thought school might say that if he could write another alphabet then he could manage without a laptop.

Your son sounds similar to my son but we have no diagnosis. He got 140 on his CATS (which I think is as high as it scored) but is very unsuited to school and is also very disorganized. Whilst lazy would be an unfair description as he is always extremely busy reading or doing something that others would think educational it is never what school want doing and there is zero effort on homework.

However so far secondary school is an improvement on primary where he didn't engage at all. A different teacher every hour and separate subjects seem to help as does the laptop as he is not refusing to write and the teachers can actually read it!

[MrsC24]

Interesting to read this thread as my son is dyslexic and also scored highly for dyspraxia relating to fine motor skills and more than likely has dysgraphia. He is in year 7 and is alos much happier than at primary which he hated and was an awful experience and prefers the structure with different teachers and classrooms. Although he struggles with writing and it is very difficult to read the school do not provide him with a laptop. I am looking into purchasing him an alphasmart but they only seem to sell them on eBay from USA. Should the school provide him a laptop as it was in his dyslexia report that he would need one or is it totally up to the school to allocate them to students who they think may need them as I know they only have 6 laptops for 180 students?

[christmascandy16]

I offered to provide a laptop and then they gave him a handwriting test and said he could use a school one as they were not allowed home ones at school. We don't have any independent report stating he needs one although he did have a transcribe in his sats which I mentioned. No idea if the handwriting test was speed/legibility or what but presumably not too hard for a child to be motivated to fail if they know they may get a laptop.

MrsC24 - if you have a report recommending use of laptop I would be fighting for one continually and asking if all 6 children out of the 180 all have reports stating they need them. Also request a handwriting test/school assessment. Maybe do all homework typed and then get subject teachers to support your case as it will be easier for them to read.

Also if you can offer to supply one as it will show you are serious and they are unlikely to accept as they wont want the risk of home equipment at school but need to be prepared that they may accept. Personally I would pay a lot to ensure my child could type at school if needed as it may make the difference between GCSEs and not. The sooner they start typing the more chance of speed at GCSEs and also more likelihood of being in higher sets if teachers can actually read their work.

[Bluebonnie]

The school should have a policy on word processing, specifying who may word process in class, who makes the decisions about permitting it, who provides laptops etc.

If it's not available on the school website, ask for a copy of the policy.

[superram]

We share on google drive. However, I do
Like them to print it out (usually specific things) and keep in a file for revision. One student wants his book hole punched so he can put work in his book whilst still draw diagrams-the thought makes me queasy as I like a neat book but if he is happy I am (not).