Notebook for school - which one to choose - can anyone advise? Help, running out of time.

[kitkatco]

Any IT bofs reading this or parents who been in this situation?

My son is starting yr 10 on Tuesday and has been advised he needs to work on a notebook (netbook)(laptop) ???? as his hand-writing is too slow and he can't keep up in class or in tests/exams where there is a lot of writing required. (even though he gets extra time)

He does type quite fast, much faster than he can write.

I went in to John Lewis and left without buying anything as I really don't know what to get.

We have a normal desktop that he does his homework on so presumably this will just be for word-processing at school. I am a Mac fan and work on a Mac but he needs a microsoft machine for school.

The assistant at john Lewis said

1. battery life
2. weight
3. price
4. sturdy

but then showed me £400 laptops which seems a ridiculous amount of money for a glorified typewrite, or is there more to it than I realise. The school have not recommended any particular model or brand.

Any opinions?

He doesn't need a microsoft machine he needs a machine capable of runnining microsoft office.

You can either get a standard notebook and buy office or could could just buy a mac and put office for mac on it.

There are how ever several free sets of software that can be used instead of microsoft office.

You just have to be careful with how you save the work.

Most netbooks come with open office as standard.

I would suggest a laptop rather than a netbook as the keyboard on a netbook is too small to type effectively.

I'm surprised that if the school is insisting that he needs a laptop that they aren't providing one for him given that it's for an SEN.

The school might also be able to provide him with a copy of Microsoft office.

What is his typing speed?

There is no point whatsoever in moving to a keyboard unless typing is faster than writing.

I think we got the 2 DCs who needed to type cheap netbooks from PCWorld. They did try out the keyboard in the shop, and both were fine with it. Sorry, I haven't got details to hand, but they cost about £200 each earlier this year.

One of my DC has dyspraxia and has to type rather than write in school.

We were recommended to use an alphasmart neo in school rather than a laptop. They are much more durable (ours has been dropped lots) and are not a target for thieves.

Have a look at an alpha smart

www.portabletechnology.co.uk/acatalog/AlphaSmart_NEO2.html

It is a key board designed for note taking, it is light and can be plugged into both mac and pc.

It has a full sized keyboard which is important to stop cramp. It does not have the temptation of games / the internet. No one will be interested in stealing it, and as it is designed for students with disabilities it can be bought VAT free for about £100-£150

Thanks so much for the help.
BoneyBackJefferson maybe that's why the salesman showed me uber expensive machines because I looked like a numpty.

His typing speed is 40 wpm - writing speed varies depending on hand fatigue, but about half that.

I am really surprised the school is not providing one. I offered to buy my DD a notebook to use in school but the school offered her the use of a laptop instead. She only uses it for long English pieces as a rule and occasionally uses the teacher's PC if it is not available.

If you were buying one, I would say that battery life and weight would be important considerations.

I assume they want him to use it now because in order to use it in public exams, it has to be part of his regular provision (as least according to the Senco).

Just found out that from the 1st Sept schools have new duty to provide equipment see here

creamteas thank you for thel ink. I have a meeting with the school on Tuesday, so I am going to take a printout along to the meeting.

I have got a Samsung N145 plus netbook - cost about £190.

Works well and does everything I need.

My favourite aspect is that because it is small it is easy to cart about. It is light enough to easily read the screen and hold one handed if necessary. Easy to use/read the screen whilst lying in bed. Fits on a train table easily.

Negatives - the screen isnt huge but its perfectly big enough for most things. It isnt fast either, but that has been teaching me a lesson in patience.
Also mine has only got Microsoft starter 2010 which I
It hasnt got Microsoft Office either.

And at £190 not too expensive - I got a cover for it from Tesco for £2 and an old zip up thingy is handy for the power cable (which I only plug in when the battery needs charging) mouse etc.