Here is a selection of student feedback we’ve recently received.
“These training sessions have been unbelievably great and have revolutionised the way in which I learn at university. The sessions, most importantly, taught me how to integrate various software such as Audio Notetaker, MindView, ClaroCapture and Dragon Naturally Speaking together to make fantastic plans for essays, which undoubtedly account for my current good grades. Without these training sessions the software, although useful, would not nearly have had the same beneficial impact.”
“I’d like to mention that I had an awesome trainer and I think she was a very good fit – easy to talk to, very knowledgeable and doesn’t have you feeling bad for asking questions. There was always a conversation about what I wanted to get out of the sessions and what areas I wanted to work on first. It was good that I could ask for training on different things in the order I needed to use them. Thank you.”
“I had an intelligent trainer that really knows her job and was very helpful, caring and patient. She is an extraordinary trainer.”
“My trainer was great! One example of her tailoring the training to me that was super helpful is when we were going over MindView – I wasn’t totally sure how mindmapping could be helpful at postgraduate level but she helped me mindmap the essay I was actively planning at the time. It made the whole thing so much easier! My sessions were so great! My trainer was fun and likeable and made the teaching enjoyable while making the software clear! Thanks!
“My trainer was fantastic. She went through everything at a good pace, and if I had any concerns I felt comfortable asking her about them due to how welcoming and friendly she was.”
“My trainer continuously tailored the training sessions to my needs, for example, we worked on how I can use audio notetaker to build my capabilities to practice presentations. I could hear myself back enabling me to develop the quality of my presentations and my confidence in delivering them. Thank you and I hope to work with you again in the future.”
“Thank you for all the help that I was given…I liked the encouragement and advice that was given as we progressed through the sessions. I believe it will help with my punctuation and attention to detail with writing.”
“I had an attentive and very experienced trainer. She made sure to equip me with all the skills that I would need to benefit the most from the software. She always showed up early to sessions and informed me of suitable study places in the library that I wasn’t aware of before our sessions. She took a flexible approach with appointment scheduling and breaks in the sessions to work with my fatigue and attention deficit.”
“Sarah-Jane restored my faith in my abilities. She was professional and approachable. I also saw how talented she was through her dedication and commitment to the training. She went above and beyond in ensuring that I could understand the training as I have some short term memory issues.”
“When I first met my Sarah-Jane she was very lovely. I was really nervous but she made me feel comfortable and talked me through everything that we were going to do at the start of each session. She was really polite and easy to talk to, and was really helpful when I didn’t understand something. She was always really nice about repeating things as many times as I needed so I could fully understand how to use the software. Also, my trainer brought her step by step guides for me to refer to that were really easy to follow. The way she taught me to use the software was amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher to have taught me. She is incredible at simplifying difficult information/software and without her I wouldn’t have known where to start or what to do. I am really glad that she was recommended for me, because I honestly don’t think that I would have enjoyed my sessions as much as I did if it hadn’t had been for her personality and teaching ability.”
“Thanks to Sarah-Jane and Launchpad for their constant support and brilliant training and advice.”
Rob, studying MSc Psychotherapy and Psychodynamic Counselling
Launchpad/Sarah-Jane helped me identify what areas were causing me difficulty, which of these could be addressed by technology, and guided me with the best ways of getting the most out of the technology. Sarah-Jane’s enthusiasm, patience and compassion allowed me to be honest about the things that cause me difficulty and get to the bottom of the problem. She was able to respond to this with real strategies I could apply to my work straight after the lessons.
Sarah-Jane was able to appreciate my inability to learn just by demonstration. I had to have a go myself. Sarah-Jane allowed me to work out how to do it for myself after receiving basic instruction, and as a result, the knowledge and experience have stayed with me. Sarah-Jane also took into account the fact that I can only work in short bursts and needed processing time after demonstrations and exercises.
The idea of having a stranger coming in to your home to show you how to use the software can be a bit scary. Whenever Sarah-Jane arrived, she arrived with a smile and was genuinely interested to hear about my course and other things cropped up over a cup of tea and biscuits before getting started on the software.
In very broad terms, the sessions with Sarah-Jane have helped me in two ways. Firstly, they’ve obviously helped me to identify areas of difficulty and suggested strategies to overcome these. Secondly, and perhaps unexpectedly, the sessions helped me to identify additional things that I am already good at and which I have started to do more. For example, Sarah-Jane has a brilliant method of helping students to organise their study materials using the technology. Sarah-Jane helped me to realise I’m actually already really good at being organised, I just don’t always remember to do it. Since meeting with Sarah-Jane, I’ve really started to understand how the skills I already have can be used even better.
Additionally, using ClaroRead and ClaroCapture, Sarah-Jane has shown me ways I can complete my weekly seminar reading in less than half the time it used to take me and formulate notes to jog my memory when I’m in class. This all helps to consolidate my learning by making the process more efficient and being more strategic – concentrating my energy where I’ve going to get work done more quickly and to a better standard.
The discussions I’ve had with Sarah-Jane over the time we spent together have also meant that we’ve come up with ideas together. For example, my ability to get started with reading and then continue reading for lengthy periods of time is really not great. Since working with Sarah-Jane, I’ve discovered that I can set a timer for 10 minutes of reading. Usually now I find that I can read for 50 minutes at a time with a short break. My reading speed and reading comprehension have become much more advanced.
I would highly recommend Launchpad for Assistive Technology training. Sarah-Jane’s friendly approach mixed with cutting edge knowledge and close relationship with software developers makes the sessions highly useful, easily understood and have direct applications to my studies.
