Keyboarding and Your Child:
Keys to Success

Learning to keyboard is an important skill. It potentially frees those students whose writing output is slowed by the act of putting pencil to paper. This writing effort may inhibit the student's ability to be creative and to do their best. It is recommended that students begin to learn to keyboard by the second or third grade. Keyboarding is differentiated from other computer skills as follows:

Keyboarding is defined as the correct finger placement on the keyboard and entering words at about the same speed that the child can write using paper and pencil. When students become proficient in keyboarding, they will be able to enter words faster than they can be produced by using paper and pencil.

Word Processing is defined as the use of a specific computer program designed for writing. Keyboarding should ALWAYS precede word processing.

If you are introducing and/or encouraging your child to use a word processor, here are some ideas to consider:

• Computers can make the writing process go more quickly, particularly if handwriting is difficult for a child. Using the computer speeds up the processes of revising and editing. Computers give writers many new options. With a click, your child can insert pictures, change fonts, or even hear their writing read aloud. This can bring more excitement to the writing task.
• Computers do not increase the quality of children's writing. It would seem that a tool that makes it faster and easier to write would improve quality, but studies show that this does not happen. No tool can ever replace the creative, mental juggling that comes through the process of the writing task.

It is recommended that all students learn to keyboard.

For some students it is important that they learn to keyboard early. Consider the following:

• Has your child traditionally had a difficult time writing?

 
• Does your child have handwriting that is difficult to read?

 
• Does your child complain that writing hurts his/her hand?

 
• Does your child take a very long time to complete writing assignments?

If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then keyboarding might be a strategy to employ as soon as possible.

Learning to keyboard will take time and effort.

It is important for each child to learn correct finger placement. This needs to be automatic and rapid. Although your child will be exposed to keyboarding at school, the practice time required to learn this skill is greater than the time given to this task in the school setting.

Tips for Teaching Keyboarding At Home
 

Decide whether your child needs a coach or instructor.

Perhaps you feel keyboarding is best done with a course after school, a qualified instructor, or a coach. This depends on your needs. Consider:

• How much keyboarding instruction does your child need?

 
• How important or imperative is it that your child learn to keyboard?

 
• How motivated is your child to learn?

 
• Does your child understand how keyboarding will help in the writing process?

 
• Do you have the time, energy, patience, willing child to supervise instruction yourself?

If you choose to pursue teaching keyboarding in the home with you and your child, here are some ideas to consider:

• Develop a plan: Learning to keyboard requires perseverance, time, patience. Your child may or may not be as dedicated to this end as you are. Decide on reasonable goals, motivators and rewards for your child.

 
• Goals: Given your child's current keyboarding speed and knowledge of the layout of the keyboard, what is a reasonable speed and level of accuracy that he or she could attain? What time frame will you set for the attainment of target speed or accuracy? Set reasonable goals with your child's input.

 
• Motivators: Like anything that requires practice, keyboarding does not happen quickly. Providing motivators keeps your child well motivated. The best way to learn to keyboard is through short, regular practice sessions. Incorporate the practice of keyboarding with activities that will allow your child to see immediate results and success. What motivators can your offer to help your child keep up the practice pace?

 
• Rewards: Rewards are different from motivators. A reward is something relatively big, perhaps to be enjoyed by you and your child together to celebrate the reaching of the goal. Decide on rewards together with your child.

 
• Modifying the goal: What if it becomes apparent that they goal is not attainable in your set time frame? Do not be afraid to modify. Setting a realistic goal is far preferable to failure.

 
• Setting a new goal: Once the goal is reached, will you set another? Breaking the task into smaller pieces and constantly rethinking and resetting goals is preferable to setting a goal so far in the future that your child becomes discouraged. Remember, your child cannot defer gratification as long as you might.

The following is an example of how you might go about structuring goal, motivators and rewards:

• Setting the goal: "Let us see if you can learn to keyboard at 20 words a minute with no errors by January 15."

 
• Providing the motivator: "If you practice 15-20 minutes 5 days a week for 5 weeks, I will buy you (a new pair of shoes? a new computer program? what is reasonable for you and your child?)"

 
• Rewarding the attainment of the goal: "If, by January 15, our goal is met, I will (take child to favorite restaurant? give a monetary reward? what is reasonable for you and your child?)"

 
• Modifying the goal: If four weeks into your plan your child is nowhere near 15 wpm, think about modifying. Perhaps you could extend the deadline or increase the error margin.

 
• Setting a new goal: Did your child meet the goal? Great! Now set a new challenge. Rethink goals, modifiers and rewards.

Software Suggestions
 

Ghost Typing, Sierra

Macintosh, Windows (excellent for younger children)

 

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, The Software Toolworks

Macintosh, Windows

 

Success With Typing, Scholastic

Macintosh

 

Typing Tutor 7.0, Davidson

Macintosh, Windows (excellent for beginners and older)

 

Type to Learn!, Sunburst

DOS, Macintosh