Speedskins
Teaching ideas August 9th, 2007I believe teaching keyboarding skills to our students is critical to prepare them for life in the 21st century. People who “hunt and peck” are at a real disadvantage when they use computers, and their efficiency suffers. One of the best classes I took in high school was typing.
I have been using SpeedSkin covers with my students for a few years now, with considerable success. SpeedSkins are orange rubber covers that fit onto keyboards, obscuring the identifying letters and numbers on the keys. When using a SpeedSkin you cannot look down and see the keys your are typing; you must rely completely on touch memory. I implement SpeedSkins after my students have gained confidence with the keys they will be practicing. I find SpeedSkins have accelerated my students’ touch typing abilities.
Alternatively, you could cover the keyboards by cutting out part of a box and laying it on top of the keyboard so students could reach through the hole and type beneath the box. I’ve also had success by simply placing a piece of paper on top of my students’ knuckles when they type.
If you have any ideas or success stories, please discuss here.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Cool idea, I could do with one of those!
August 10th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Hi Andrew, I think this is a great idea too! I am glad to see someone blogging about keyboarding skills – it’s amazing to me that more isn’t done to prioritize this incredibly vital skill. Thanks for leaving such an encouraging comment on my Judy’s Web 2.0 notes blog. I will keep it up-to-date with new finds – but since much of the blog is in “pages” I don’t think you will get much in our RSS feed. The blog is designed as an alternative to a wiki – why? I just wanted to keep it in the one place alongside my Heyjude blog in wordpress. I hope you enjoy using the information or providing the blog as a professional learning tool. Aussies have got to stick together!! Keep in touch, and keep up the great work too
Cheers, Judy
September 6th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
My keyboards are also covered for typing at the seventh grade level. But, I think the real question is “At what age should typing be taught?” Seventh is too late for many of my students. They have already developed their own style. They type quickly and accurately. However, I am not sure that they can type without looking at the keys.
I want to see the skill of typing taught at the 3rd or 4th grade level. I would continue to use the keyboard covers for practice and reinforcemnt. I do believe that you lose what you do not use.
September 17th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I have always said that typing was the most useful glass I took in Jr. High (7th grade, early 90s), but I think 3rd or 4th grade would be the best time.