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 21st century
educators, want to use Web tools to teach our students 21st 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.
Beth,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very great blog topic. Teaching typing at an early age makes sense because children are able to recognize letters and use computers now. Students should learn the correct way to type early to make the use of the currenty technology easier. The use of the I-pad for assisting children with typing skills sounds like a great tool that would teach children the components of a personal computer. This tool will also help students build their technological skills.
Beth,
ReplyDeleteAfter all this technology talk, we have forgotten about one important aspect of using computers. Thank you for putting the awareness out there. In the elementary schools that I sub for, they attend a technology class about every two weeks. I am not sure what standards are being meet there but I do hope these children are learning to type. When I was in fifth grade, the internet and using computers more in the classroom was just getting big. I remember our technology teacher teaching use to type. Because we all did not have access to computers yet, she gave us a pair of gloves. On these fingers or the gloves we wrote each letter that we typed using the finger. When we put them on, she would give us sentences to type and we would have to practice using the correct fingers to type. I though the was the coolest thing and it really did help me learn to type correctly.