Typing: Only for High Schoolers?

With all the new and emerging technology our digital native students are using in and out of the classroom, most of the younger students are still “hunting and pecking”. In my school system, students do not learn the correct way to type until tenth grade, but computer use begins in kindergarten. This is a huge gap and while letter recognition and language development come first, keyboarding should be taught much earlier than high school.

Letter recognition is developed in kindergarten and students are readers and writers by the end of first grade. I think second grade would be an appropriate time for students to begin using correct keyboarding style. This way they can begin using the tool of their generation for educational tasks more effectively at a younger age. In order to use Web tools for research, projects, and assessments students must be able to type effectively.

Students are using computers, laptops, iPads, smart phones, and other technology in and out of school. If students learned the correct way to type, all of these activities would be easier. Many tools are becoming touch-screen but the layout of the letters remains the same. Keyboarding is simple to learn and there are many fun, interactive activities to teach children how to type.

We, as 21^st century educators, want to use Web tools to teach our students 21^st century skills. These skills could be developed much more effectively if students were comfortable and competent with the keyboard layout. They need this skill to be able to communicate. This issue is one that comes up in my mind as I think about integrating technology into my instruction in an elementary classroom and even in middle school.

                Some of the students with special needs that I work with are learning to type because they do not have the dexterity to write. They carry and iPad with them to help them communicate and complete instructional tasks and assessments. They use computer programs that use simple steps to teach them to type using the correct hand positions. It also teaches the different features of a keyboard. I would like to see all elementary age students have access to this kind of program.

                A blog on “Ask a Tech Teacher” suggests 18 kid-friendly sites that are fun and easy ways to teach typing to elementary age children. They suggest using both computer programs and online games. There is also an online keyboarding course for elementary students at Keyboarding Online.org.

Online Keyboarding Course

18 Kid-Friendly Sites for Keyboarding

Safety First!

Before we can begin to teach and assess our 21^st Century students using Web tools, our students must know how to use the Web and technology safely and responsibly. If your school has already implemented the use of technology, your students may already have this knowledge. If you are at the beginning of this journey, it may be your responsibility as a classroom teacher to teach these critical skills. Many students are familiar with if not experts with technology. However, they may or may not come to you knowing how to use technology safely and responsibly. These skills are important not only as the students use technology for academic reasons, but as they continue to use technology throughout their lives for various purposes.                                                                                                                                                           

 The way you teach acceptable use can build a sense of responsibility, community, collaboration, and safety in your classroom. If age appropriate, the year could begin with groups of students researching and presenting information about safe and responsible use of technology and the Web. The students could work collaboratively with their group, each student having a specific job. The students could use various resources such as the Internet, books, articles, parents, police, and the school’s Acceptable Use Policy. This activity can cover state standards, get the students using technology, and start the year off with a sense of classroom community. If the groups work together effectively, the groups may be used throughout the year to complete collaborative projects using Web tools. This activity also gives the teacher an idea of how the students work together and what problems may need to be addressed early on.

                Using the Web gives students the opportunity to connect with many different people around the world and use various resources to gain knowledge. Unfortunately, our students are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and harm. It is critical to give students guidelines so that they communicate safely and appropriately. There are many warning signs that your student is communicating with an online predator. Teachers, parents, and students must understand and be able to detect these warning signs.

Children and teenagers are naturally curious, and with the plethora of information available, students must know what sites are legitimate.  Our students must learn how to tell if a site is legitimate and if it contains trustworthy information. Our students must also know what sites are appropriate. Most schools have a filter that blocks most inappropriate content, but they can never be trusted to block all inappropriate content. While we can give our students guidelines, close monitoring is still a must.

There are many resources that give information on internet safety and acceptable use. Here are just a couple:

Internet Safety Guide

Internet Safety Policy and Acceptable Use Policies

Social Bookmarking

              I recently got an account on a social bookmarking site called Delicious. Social bookmarking is a Web 2.0 tool that can be very useful. As I found a site I liked or thought would be useful, I added the link, gave it a name, gave a description of the site, and added tags. Tags are key words that can be searched and can help organize links by subject. Social bookmarking is a more effective way to sort bookmarks rather than saving to favorites on a Web browser. When bookmarks are saved on a Web browser, they can only be accessed by that particular computer. Social bookmarking allows anyone to access the links from any device with Internet.

                Social bookmarking sites can be used by anyone. Even if someone does not have an account, they can go on the site and search tags and find links to what they are looking for. This tool can be very useful for research, finding recipes, writing an academic paper, professional purposes and many other uses. It is also useful for sharing resources with others. This tool is “social” in that the user becomes a part of a large network of users in which everyone shares information with each other.

                Social bookmarking is useful as a teacher in several ways. As teachers find sites that are considered professional development, they can save them to their account for future reference, or to share with colleagues. Teachers can use this tool to collect appropriate links for students to access for a research project. Students can also create their own account to organize and save sources for educational purposes. For my purposes as a graduate student and teacher, I gathered sites that relate to my blog topic and class content as well as sites that I found personally interesting as an educator. Some of my favorite resources on my list include blogs by teachers, articles about Web 2.0 tools, some informative videos, professional development information, and sites with helpful tips for teaching 21^st Century learners. My bookmarks can be accessed and used by other professionals in my field to improve their teaching practices.

                As I created my bookmarking site, I realized how user-friendly this tool was and how helpful it is to be able to access these sites so quickly. The site has a button that you can drag to your browser toolbar so that when you find a site you like, you can just click the button and it will automatically save to your Delicious account. The tags are a way to keep the links organized, and another way is a feature in which you can “stack” your links into lists by topic. This site also allows you to import bookmarks from “favorites” in your browser. You can follow profiles or stacks that you find interesting in order to build your repertoire.

                I will continue to use this tool to organize and save links that I find interesting. I highly recommend social bookmarking for anyone who wants to be able to find sites quickly and easily without having to search for them all over again.

>Here is a link to my Social Bookmarking site<

Students Collaborating with Experts

I recently read in Best Teaching Practices for Reading by Randi Stone about a teacher that found a creative and innovative way to motivate her struggling students to become successful at reading and writing. Carla Hurchalla of Salisbury, Maryland is a Title 1 teacher whose students had little support at home and did not view themselves as readers and writers. She designed “Authors in Residence” in an attempt to change their attitudes toward this subject. This program gives students an audience to write for as the final product is published on a Web page for all to see. The students collaborate with real authors through e-mail and other Web tools to complete a writing project. The students search the Internet for information on their topic and their assigned author. The goals of the program include strengthening students’ communication, letter-writing, creative writing, and informal writing skills. The ultimate goal is for students to become life-long readers and writers. The collaboration with authors was intended to motivate students by giving them authentic opportunities to interact with real published authors. After brainstorming, the students develop rough drafts and work with their mentor author to turn it into a publishable piece for the audience.

This teacher saw her students make progress as they participated in a meaningful learning process. Her students learned how to use e-mail, create a Web page, and search for new books. This real-world application proved to be an effective strategy and some of the students continued to keep in touch with their mentor author. Hurchalla suggests that this strategy can be used in any content area as tudents may collaborate with experts from various fields.

This program engages students in the writing process and implements connectivist ideas as the students collaborate with a mentor author through Web tools. The students learn to communicate effectively using the Internet. Students are not simply told to write about a certain topic, but are given the opportunity to interact with an expert to help and encourage them in the process. I think “Authors in Residence” is a great way to develop 21^st Century skills while also developing an appreciation for reading and writing. I think this type of strategy would be effective in almost any content area. Students can use various Web 2.0 tools to communicate and collaborate with experts of different fields. This strategy is another way for students to create something not only for a grade, but as a presentation that they can show off and be proud of.

Article discusses the importance of online collaboration for students