Can anyone recommend a laptop / scribe software for uni?

[Worriedmummy2400]

I know it’s not an aibu but traffic wise it makes sense.
For A levels my child used read write on the sixth form laptops and hated it. It stopped working during the exams 3 times in one exam and they hated using it. We need a laptop / software recommendations for essays. We are totally overwhelmed with choices for uni. Does anyone have any recommendations from experience? Thank you everyone.

They are likely to get Microsoft office at uni. All their applications word etc. have a voice recording capability if that helps

Contact the uni. My DD was provided laptop with software by the disability access office.

Is it reliable? I’m wary as the sixth form said read write was great but it really wasn’t. They were lucky the uni course took them as the exam tanked their results.

We have a call with the disability department Wednesday so I will ask. We thought we had to supply the equipment.

We applied for dsa

Thank you.

Second speaking to the uni op.

A number of my students' assignments were flagged for cheating due to use of scribing software - those who had approval from our disability support team were processed much quicker as they could check their Adjustment Requirements automatically. Go for whatever system the uni recommends.

Laptop Recommendations

• MacBook Air (M1 or M2): Known for its reliability, long battery life, and excellent performance. macOS also has built-in accessibility features that could be beneficial.
• Dell XPS 13: A top Windows alternative with great build quality, strong performance, and a vibrant display.
• Microsoft Surface Laptop 5: Lightweight, with a touchscreen and compatibility with Windows apps. Also offers excellent typing experience.
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon: Renowned for its durability, keyboard quality, and robust security features.

Scribe Software Recommendations

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking: Highly recommended for voice-to-text software. It's known for its accuracy and can be customized for specific vocabulary.
• Ginger Software: Offers grammar checking, translation, and text-to-speech features, which can be helpful for essay writing.
• Grammarly: While not a scribe tool per se, it offers real-time grammar and spell checks, which could complement scribe software.

Thank you! I was thinking Mac book and dragon speak from our research. But was a bit overwhelmed.

Oh no! Not thought about the possibility of this. So the disabled students were not in trouble?

DS14 chose this one recently and he says it's excellent - very smooth, and the pen he got with it works very well. He uses it for violin music and detaches from the keyboard so it can sit on the stand.
NB he got it direct from Microsoft and got a 10% student discount, I think.
www.johnlewis.com/microsoft-surface-pro-copilot-pc-qualcomm-c10-snapdragon-x-plus-processor-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd-13-inch-pixelsense-flow-display-black/p112051945?s_ppc=2dx92700080435419196_mixed_technology_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz7C2BhDkARIsAA_SZKZF1kJXpq7zuYYq-fkYiVar1-689Lgyt-I5l2e7eb-3c_mHo4BypQ0aAoDMEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks it looks great just expensive!

i use Dragon speech to text software and it’s fantastic

Another vote for Dragon and Grammarly.

Long term user of Dragon software here and I recommend. It's pricey, but worth it - I've tried the built in Microsoft equivalent and it's nothing like as good (though will probably improve over time). The University I used to work for offered Dragon to students who needed voice recognition assistance, so definitely worth speaking to the support team.

Can't comment on software, but for a Uni laptop, I'd suggest a Samsung 360 where the screen folds back to become a touchscreen tablet with pen, which is ideal for dual use, i.e. using the pen provided to draw and annotate, or the keyboard for typing. The "pen" and touchscreen is ideal for making notes and drawing illustrations, etc. People often ask whether a laptop or tablet is best for Uni, with usually mixed responses, so one that is both is a good option. Samsung laptops have a very good reputation and the 360s are pretty light so easy to handle. Obviously assuming that the OP's child isn't fully reliant on speech recognition and does have some writing/drawing capability which isn't really said in her OP.

these days even Grammarly is also risky, its a mix sometimes

If they qualify for DSs they will be given a laptop and any software they need. The contribution is about £200

The University will supply software for this through the disabled students fund. Wait and see what they offer. I believe you do now have to supply your own laptop as this is a necessity for every student now and not a disability adaptation.

Sorry I didn’t go into detail but yes my child has the ability to draw and write but not as much as needed in uni.

This must be a new change then since ds got one six months ago.

Can't help you with hardware recommendations, but the very best voice transcriber we have ever used in our business is Aqua Voice. It knocks everything else out of the park. I don't work for them! Just love an efficient bit of software that saves SO much time.

withaqua.com/

Please don't buy anything until speaking to the university, they arranged everything for my dc, the dsa covered the recommended laptop (wouldn't cover just any), the software etc. but they had to sign it all off

It pinged their work up which is always a red flag but with the requirements plus some human intervention the majority went through with no further action.

My DD met with the DSA assessor and he recommended Glean. It records then translates to text. You can even press a button to highlight important bits while recording. He also suggested a directional mic which is separate I believe.