9/12 Typing
Typing Tutorials
When I was growing up, I was expected to take a typing class in high school. We had manual typewriters, and a few electric typewriters with the automatic carriage return. Typing was taught in the vocational education program, and nobody learned to type until high school. People were expected to type college papers, but typing wasn’t usually expected until the high school level.
Things have changed.
With the advent of computing, high-end word processors, and electronic documents, typing has shifted from being a vocational skill needed at the high school level to something that’s now expected of elementary students. In fact, typing can be a terrific help for those who struggle with handwriting.
There’s no question that typing is now an absolutely necessary skill, and it is useful at a much earlier age than our generation learned. The issue is how to teach typing in a way that will be practical and useful. Fortunately, typing is a repetitive skill that is ideal to teach through computing technology. There are many great free apps for teaching kids (and adults) how to type well. This month, I highlight a number of great typing programs. All are completely free and work on any reasonably modern computer. They do require an Internet connection, but it doesn’t need to be terribly fast.
I recommend a full-size keyboard for typing instruction, and preferably a real keyboard (not a laptop.) You can get a USB keyboard quite cheaply and it should work with no problems on pretty much any computer. Laptop keyboards are often a bit non-standard, and aren’t always full-size. Typing instruction is one place where a traditional computer may be a better option than a tablet.
TypingWeb
Typing web (http://www.typingweb.com) is a complete web site for typing instruction. It has a number of interesting features. It is one of the more complete sites available. It requires a login, but the content is completely free. (You can purchase an upgrade, but as long as you don’t mind advertisements, the free version has everything you need.) You can create multiple accounts to keep track of each student independently, and you can also set up a teacher account to manage all your students. You get complete feedback from each lesson including the problem keys, speed and accuracy reports.
The site also includes a very nice typing test that helps you determine each students’ current skill level. As you type, the program recognizes problem keys and generates custom letters that let you focus on those keys that are giving you trouble. There is also a large number of lessons that range from quite simple to more complex. You should know from the typing test which lessons you need to begin with. You can take the test many times to gauge your skills. When you’re ready, you can take an ‘official’ test which leads to certification by the Typing Institute of America. Successful completion of the test results in a certificate you can print displaying your speed and accuracy. This is a nice benefit, especially for older students who are interested in adding certifications for job placement.
The lessons are sensible, but not exciting. However, the games are quite good and very motivating. The site comes with a number of interesting games. I especially like the ‘Fruit Ninja’ clone, where you type letters to slice up innocent produce. There are a number of other fun typing games, where you kill zombies (another functional skill), play a form of “dance revolution” (if you don’t know this one, your kids do) using the keyboard, and even a cup-stacking game. The games are pretty fun, and have very appealing themes and graphics. You might have trouble getting kids to do the lessons, but the games will be highly motivating, and might be all you really need.
If you need more practice, you can also find lessons based on current headlines from various sources. My oldest son will type sports headlines all day long, even though it’s actually a bit trickier than he’s ready for. Note that you may need to keep an eye on the content, as the stories are pulled from actual news web sites, and may contain content you may need to talk with students about. (The sports stories today 'feature’ a number of drug-testing scandals, for example.)
Overall, Typingweb.com is an excellent resource for teaching your family to type, and it’s totally free.
Dance Mat Typing
Dance mat typing (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/) is a really great typing site produced by the BBC.
This program is very interactive and colorful, with students guided through lessons by animated animals There is far more instruction in this program than the typingweb site, and it feels much more guided. However, the animations may put off older children, and the animals speak with thick accents which may be difficult for some students to understand.
The entire program is treated like a game with multiple levels and stages. Each level is a mini-game. You can print off a worksheet to help you practice the concepts for each of the mini-games. The game requires no login, but it also doesn’t keep track of individual progress.
Dance Mat typing works in Flash, so it requires you to be online to play the games. It will work on nearly any computer supporting Flash. There is a non-flash version of every game, but the flash versions are much more interesting.
Dance Mat Typing is ideal for younger learners. It does not support full words or sentences, but focuses on learning all the letters in a fun and interactive way.
Free Typing Games
Free Typing Games (http://www.freetypinggame.net/play.asp) is another site with dozens of great typing resources. This site focuses on games. There are many interesting games that can be played at a number of levels. As usual, the games involve typing various sequences to zap aliens, race cars, or other high-interest activities.
The site also includes a number of typing tutorials. Each tutorial focuses on two letters at a time. If a student walks through all the tutorials, she should be well prepared for the games and for typing beyond. The games can be customized to go with each lesson, so you can adjust the difficulty of the game to focus on whatever skills the student is currently working on.
You can also take a timed test to check your current speed and accuracy. There is a leaderboard to compare your scores with others, but this could be discouraging for kids. (I typed 79 WPM with 100% accuracy and scored only 62nd on the leaderboard.)
This site does not keep track of individual student progress, so you’ll need to track your students manually, but this can still be a great addition to your bag of typing tricks.
With these sites, you should have no trouble finding great tools to help you teach typing to your kids. Let me know if you find any other great resources!
Blessings....
Edit:
I got a wonderful message from Ms. Griffin's teen mentoring program. Apparently, she challenged her kids to find new resources I hadn't mentioned. If they found a resource I was willing to add to my article, she offered the kids a picnic lunch.
Well, here's the site they found...
http://www.gopromocodes.com/keyboarding-resources-for-your-computer
You guys are AWESOME! Looks like some really nice additional typing games and tutorials. Let me know when the picnic is. I prefer creamy cole-slaw, and my burgers medium-well.
-Andy