computer for school

[simon8]

We have finally got a statement for my 9 year old son who has high functioning autism. The statement includes the provision of a computer at school. The school have asked us to recommend what he should get and i don't really know where to start. Should it be a tablet or a laptop - my gut is a laptop so he can take it to and from school and has a proper keyboard etc. Also what software should we initially put on other than microsoft office? Any advice be really appreciated. Thanks

[Mihaela]

Welcome, Simon,

 

I'd recommend a small, light-weight laptop (the type I generally use). They are just as good as the larger ones but so much easier to carry about. It uses a touch-pad rather than a mouse, which I find much easier, an having a proper keyboard is big advantage too. As for software I only use the basics and find them more than adequate for all my writing, and video/image viewing. Dictionaries are useful too. I have Excel but I rarely use it. There may be software specifically aimed at schoolwork, but I'm ignorant in that area.

[Laddo]

Definitely laptop. Software-wise, it will be worth making sure he has Flash and Java installed on his internet browser (I do not recommend using Internet Explorer - might be worth installing Firefox or Chrome for him) and possibly VLC for video and audio playback. To be honest though, if the school is willing to pay for it ideally I think he should have a Mac. They are so much simpler to use than Windows and much less prone to crashing, which for a young aspie can be infuriating, and Apple's support is really good.

[Waterboatman]

Agree "Laddo" the lightest Mac laptop "Macbook Air", I am on my second one, very hardy unit.

One major plus with going with Mac OSX is that they are BSD UNIX based, so "shell script" and Perl programs can be written and run, may like to use the inbuilt editor "vi" to write scripts and documents, I used to write all my programs and web pages using "vi". "man ???" where ??? is a unix program/command will give you information.

 

A little fun your first program, something like this was mine on unix. Start up "Terminal", its in "applications/utilities" via the finder, I place "Terminal" on the tool bar.

 

write the script using vi go into insert mode, when done press "esc", then ":w" and "return", then "ZZ".

"vi hello.world", "i"

!/usr/bin/perl

print "hello world\n";

print "it chilly in here\n\n!\b\n";

next make it executable

"chmod +x hello.world"

then run it

./hello.world

I was allowed to use a typewriter for english essays, going to school very pre portable computers.

The mac keyboard and touch pad are I think, much better than anything else, and better for the hands than struggling with pens and pencils.

As with linux there is a version of "Open Office" which is free.

Good Luck and I hope all goes well for you.

[matzoball]

I'm assuming this will be his first laptop?

 

For a 9 year old a netbook will probably be the best way to go - ask for one with office home edition if they are paying for software, if they aren't there are free versions such as open office which Waterboatman suggested.

 

Netbooks are light, and you can store his work on a usb drive which aren't very expensive.

 

If you want to go full laptop - lenovo thinkpads are absolutely the way to go. They aren't very pretty - but their functionality is off the charts and they are extremely reliable.

 

Once you get it - it's probably a good idea to have child restrictions and really good anti-virus software on there. It's very easy to download a virus these days, so make sure the school techie guy has it all sorted for you.

[Mihaela]

 

 

If you want to go full laptop - lenovo thinkpads are absolutely the way to go. They aren't very pretty - but their functionality is off the charts and they are extremely reliable.

 

I have one of these installed with Ubuntu (a Linux OS) which was brilliant. I took it to the computer repair shop for a minor damage repair, and when I got it back it was completely dead. I really miss playing with it. It had a pen to use on the screen, fingerprint ID recognition and a screen that could twizzle round! If I could afford it I'd get it working again.

 

By the way, I avoid IE and Chrome like the plague. Firefox for me!

[Sally44]

If the Statement says he needs a computer, then a professional must have given that recommendation.

Which professional was it.

Why was a computer recommended - for what need.

What is the computer to be used for and what kind of software has been recommended?

Are all or some of his lessons to be on the laptop.

 

Really you should be getting answers to those questions and speaking with school and the professional that recommended it to come to a decision on what type of computer would be best.