Typing is a very essential skill that most of us need in todays technology world. My children have been introduced to Typing through games and using a word process. At first they have had their own method of how they maneuver around the key board. I wanted them to learn more then just how to get around. We have been using The Typing Coach Online Typing Course by The Typing Coach to learn how to type accurately and more quickly.
The Typing Coach Online Typing Course is really not like a lot of your learn to type programs. It’s not flashy and it doesn’t have games. This Program gets right down to the point of teaching you to type accurately and faster with out looking at the keyboard. You can use this with both older and younger students. The older students can follow the lessons on their own, but the younger students might need a little extra help. This course has audio, video, printable pages to use for the lessons, and you will need a word processor to do the lessons. There is also a teacher resource center that gives you special instructions if you are working with younger students and special need students. There are incentive charts and tickets to earn in the resource center as well.
There are 7 lessons to master:
- Having Good Posture
- Home Row
- Top Row
- Bottom Row
- Shift Keys
- Typing Practices
- Number Row
How We Used This:
I used this with my son. We did a lesson a week. We would practice at least 3 times a week. This program is a struggle for him because he wants to do things his way and not the proper way. In his mind he thinks he doesn’t need to learn how to type. In reality of the way the technology world works, he really does. The reason I am pushing this so hard is because of the fact that he has trouble with writing. He tremors when he writes and his writing is sometimes not readable. So there were a lot of grumbles as we worked through this program. The nice thing about this program is that even though it is designed to be 10 weeks, you can go at your own pace. That’s exactly what we have had to do was to go at our own pace. When we first started out I had him watch the course introduction. He really wasn’t happy with me but I needed him to understand the point of this program. Then the next step was to take our before snap shot to see where he was when we started. Needless to say he didn’t get to far in the couple minutes that he had to do this the before snap shot. I think by the time he is done with the program he will actually be surprised as where he is, rather then where he started. So that in itself is a very nice visual.
We started out with Having Good Posture. You start out by listening to the audio, watching the video, then another audio and more video. Then you practice your posture. I can’t tell you how many times we had to watch this video to practice the good posture. This was really difficult for my son as he likes to sit the way he likes to sit. So this alone took us a little longer to master. Once we mastered this we moved onto the home row.
The home row is a 20 minute audio that teaches you the home row. You have to listen so you can type the letters he said. There is music and you practice typing off your sheet that you printed as well. This was very hard for my son. This took us a while as it was hard for him to have the correct fingers on the correct keys. Many times I had to remind him about where his fingers were. For my son it was really hard to get out of the old habit. I had to really show him as well how your fingers are placed on the keyboard. I did tell him that in time things become automatic. You can look at your screen to see what you are typing with out looking at the keyboard. We finally just mastered this and are about to move on to the next section.
I have noticed from this program that his posture is better and he is getting better with his hand and finger position on the keyboard. It just takes us a little more time to master things then most with his autism/cognitive disability. It’s nice to see improvement. I like the fact that this isn’t flashy and more like a game. It’s really teaching you the way it is in the real world today. It’s teaching you a skill that you need, especially if you are going to be using a computer of any sorts.
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