Students Dive Into Keyboarding Lessons With Typing Club

Students Dive Into Keyboarding Lessons With Typing Club
By Rosie Delacruz, Instructional Technology Specialist

typing_content.jpgOn a recent Friday afternoon, Mr. Macomber’s third grade students did a three - minute typing test on TypingClub.com, the district’s latest keyboarding program. I walked around the lab to observe how the students performed. Some were just starting out at 3 WPM (words per minute); others typed close to 15 WPM. Not bad for starters! Afterwards, students went to the lesson menu and started lesson one.

One of the best features of this keyboarding program is that it gives immediate feedback on student performance, offering up to five gold stars based on speed and accuracy. I ask students to aim for four or five stars on any given lesson. Should students get less than that, I encourage them to redo the lesson. Amazingly enough, many students are eager to repeat a lesson if it means getting more stars!

With a 1:2 Google Chromebook - to - Student ratio in every Grade 3 - 5 classroom, students will be doing more writing and Web - based research and activities. Having strong keyboarding skills will help them make the most out of those learning experiences. And that is why I have chosen developing student - keyboarding skills as my student - learning goal for this year.

typing.pngBy giving periodic typing tests and feedback to students on their technique, I have outlined typing goals for each grade. By the end of the school year, many third graders should type 10 WPM with 80 percent accuracy; fourth students, 15 WPM with 80 percent accuracy, and fifth graders, 20 WPM with 85 percent accuracy.

For many of Mr. Macomber’s students, this particular lab session was their first time putting their fingers on the home row of a keyboard and typing text that someone else had written. Mrs. Eid, the classroom - teaching assistant, shared that she once typed over 125 WPM. “Did she learn how to do that in one lesson?” I asked. “No,” they all replied. “It takes lots and lots of practice,” she added.

“So what does it take to be a good keyboardist?” I asked the students. “Technique, speed and accuracy,” they responded. With that, I am hoping that all of our students will meet the grade - level typing goals by the end of the school year.

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