Hi Andrew,
This is not anm insurmountable problem. But I'd best explain why a situation
like this may arise.
If, as I suspect, the student has had a needs assessment and it has been
passed on to the LEA the assessor may have been asked tyo obtain quotes from 2, or
even 3, suppliers. There are 2 LEAS in the W Mids that do this. The DSA
process is such that DfES have delegated their obligation to manage the DSA funds
to LEAs. LEAs are accountable to DfES for the way they manage this. Some LEAs
have been advised by their auditing departments that they must apply the same
purchasing rules to DSA funds as to other LEA purchases. This may or may not be
appropriate but it's the way it is handled. After all the LEAs Council Tax
payers would not be happy if they had to foot the bill if the DfES would not
reimburse the LEA.
Alternatively, the Assessor may have selected the supplier you mention
becuase they have given good service in the past for DSA work. Neither party may be
aware of the particular problem you mention.
I would say that DfES are encouraging assessors to recommend/obtain quotes
from suppliers who are willing to sign up to a Service Level Agreement. The
supplier mentioned is one who is involved in this.
One way to resolve the 3 quotes problem is for the assessor to state that the
equipment must come from a sole or specialist supplier. However, the software
mentioned is not exclusive so that is unlikely to be accepted.
With all DSA equipment the student has the same rights as any consumer and
the supplier must provide equipment that is fit for purpose and works properly.
If the chip set you mention causes this problem then it would probably not be
fit for purpose.
I suggest that you email them and point out the problem. IanSYST read this
list anyway and will probably have something to say by Monday. I am sure that
they will be interested in your comments and be prepared to address any concerns.
As regards the interface. Most suppliers will also obtain and supply one-off
items that are not on their website such as the interface to hook Dragon and
Jaws together.
I hope this explains the situation and offers a way to resolve any concerns.
Regards,
Mick Trott
In a message dated 19/07/03 17:50:10 GMT Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<< Hi,
A VI friend recently contacted a VI group for advice on the
provisioning of equipment for his university course in September.
Apparently, he has been told by his DSA supplier that the equipment he
is going to need will have to be supplied by the company Iansyst LTD.
While their web site is very helpful, the company does look as though
they are very geared for supporting dyslexic students, but maybe not
so much students with a visual impairment. For example, on their
computer specifications page, they specify their systems come with
integrated sound cards using the Live chipset. Now with this chipset,
using Jaws under Windows XP, causes a lot of problems with the speech
stuttering. Furthermore, the company sells voice recognition products
(Dragon Naturally Speaking), but not the interface software to hook
this product into Jaws. While these are only two examples I have come
across after a brief look up of the web site, I am sure there may be
more issues if a VI person had specific requirements.
So what I am interested to find out is if the DSA provider (the LEA?)
can specify specific companies that the equipment must be purchased
from, and what happens if a specific product is not sold by the
recommended companies? I am hoping to reassure him in this matter.
Thanks,
Andrew.
--
Andrew Hodgson, Bromyard, Herefordshire, UK.
Email: [log in to unmask] >>
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