Keyboard Classroom

The Holidays are coming…the Holidays are coming!

Can you believe there are only 40 days, 16 hours, 14 minutes and 54 seconds (as I type this) before Christmas?

Here comes the hard part. What to get the kids. Well, I have a great gift idea that they will use the rest of their lives!

What is this fabulous gift you ask? Keyboard Classroom! It’s a typing program that actually works. I have been working with this program for over 15 years and have never had a student that didn’t learn to type!

It’s affordable and will definitely fit into a stocking. And it can be used over and over again…so it never stops giving!

Go to www.keyboardclassroom.com and learn more about it.

Well, it’s been 1 month and 3 weeks since school has started.  Then it hits….the emails start and the phone rings.  Here is what I hear from parents.

“My kid takes forever to do his homework.  It is causing so much tension!”

“HE gets so frustrated when he has to write an essay or do anything on the computer.”

“I am so tired staying up until 1:00am typing his homework!”

I am sure it sounds familiar to some of you.

I have been working with a unique typing program called Keyboard Classroom that will end this nightmare for both the kids and for you.

Computers are a way of life!  Just look at what Steve Jobs has done in his short career!  Keyboarding is a fundamental skill in today’s society. It provides our connection with the rest of the world through electronic communication.  Students who become efficient keyboarders “compose better, are prouder of their work, produce documents with a neater appearance and have better motivation”.

Please take a look at our website, www.keyboardclassroom.com

Learn how typing can help all students, with or without learning disabilities!

I would be happy to answer any of your questions about this life skill.

Carrie

While shopping the other day I noticed something happening over and over again.  As I was at the checkout counter I noticed how the sales associates typed.  Some were hunting and pecking….and taking forever to get the basic information into the machine.  Others were fast and smooth!  I decided to mention to each associate that I teach typing.  Well the responses were interesting.  Those that hunt and peck said they always wanted to learn typing but never did in school.  They said it’s a skill they use everyday and were surprised that they weren’t taught in school.  The proficient typist said they took one class in high school and were thankful they could always depend on it!

Which is exactly why I market Keyboard Classroom….we went back to the basics while developing this curriculum.  We saw the typing programs on the market and realized they lacked what was needed in order to teach a skill to mastery.  We call Keyboard Classroom the ‘once and for all’ typing program.  Because you only need to teach it once!  As you move throughout the levels your fingers are actually developing muscle memory.  This is the exact skill needed to learn keyboarding…ONCE AND FOR ALL!

So, all of you out there who regrets not taking a typing program, remember to put it on THE LIST when talking to your kids teacher, or your afterschool program, or your HomeSchool group!

Checkout the website at www.keyboardclassroom.com

Carrie

When we launched Keyboard Classroom nearly four years ago, it was after testing the product in a classroom environment for over a decade.  Parents of children with and without learning disabilities embraced it as a way to complement what their children were doing in school.  Now it appears, educators have caught the KC bug as well.

A three year old school in North Carolina recently created a new typing curriculum completely around Keyboard Classroom.  The school, built on a philosophy of inclusion, brings children with special needs, children with average abilities, and children who are academically gifted, together in a friendly and charitable environment.

One of the school’s teachers wrote to us.  ”I was drawn to your program because of its specialization for helping children with special needs.  Besides autism, we also have children with ADD and serious handwriting difficulties.  There are other disabilities our children have, and we’d like to be able to accept them with any level of difficulty.  We understand that in developing their writing skills, they need the tools to conquer their physical limitations.”

Keyboard Classroom’s curriculum works one on one with the student. The student needs to master the skill he/she is working on before the program lets them move on to the next skill. This is what makes this program perfect for a school. The teacher doesn’t need to do the teaching, the program does! And once the student finishes the program the teacher just erases the data and starts a new student on it!

I am available for consultation if you think this is something that your school system wants to have for their students. Please contact me at carrie@keyboardclassroom.com

I ask myself this question every time I see a young person sitting in front of a keyboard. I’m not talking about an i-Pad or a cell phone where their thumbs do their talking, but an honest to goodness computer keyboard. It’s what they’ll use to do their homework, fill out those college applications, and most likely, make their living in the real world. I stand over their shoulder and watch… and shudder.

More than 75% of our children can’t type. Oh, they can hunt and peck, and some of them are pretty fast. But put a book or a pile of notes next to the computer, ask them to type without looking at the keys, and they’ll crumble like a wounded video game character. So I ask the question again….

If you wouldn’t give a child a book without first teaching them to read, why would

you sit them at a computer before teaching them to type?

Why is “typing class,” if it’s offered at all, relegated to just 30 to 60 minutes a week? Isn’t it something a person will use throughout their school and working career? When typing is taught, most school systems resort to an off the shelf, video game based program that can’t possibly produce touch typists in such a limited time span. I maintain that proper typing skills are critical to future success and we must find a better way to teach it.

Think of an athlete. Hitting a baseball, throwing a football, or kicking a soccer ball is effortless… a result of repeated practice. They perform basic skills naturally, without having to focus on the fundamentals because they’ve created muscle memory in their arms and legs. Now, think of a child who knows how to touch-type. When students can learn to type fast without thinking about where their fingers are, they can concentrate on the words they will use to express their thoughts. It’s a life-long learning skill. That’s the science behind the “fluency” approach to touch-type teaching.

The fluency, or timed approach to teaching is not revolutionary but twenty years of research has taught us to break up the exercises into learning opportunities so students can maintain a sense of accomplishment and slowly build muscle memory in their fingers. Most children learn a new skill by first practicing simple moves, then adding more difficult ones as they gain confidence. With a dedicated commitment by the student and teacher/coach, our studies show the average student can begin to see results in their keyboarding skills in just a few months, practicing just 15 minutes a day!

We also maintain a strong belief in the use of incentives. In our curriculum, the use of games as a teaching method is frowned upon. Our society is built upon the premise that success should be rewarded, so we prefer to give the student a limited opportunity to play pre-selected games each time they master a new skill, not as a means of learning the skill itself.

It is no secret that we live in an age where the ability to effectively and efficiently use computers is paramount.  Teachers and administrators spend countless hours and thousands of dollars developing new ways to prepare students for the digital future.   It’s time to place an effective typing curriculum near the top of the list.

Carrie Shaw is a veteran educator and President of Keyboarding4Kids, a unique, “fluency-based” learn-to-type curriculum (www.keyboardclassroom.com). She can be reached by email, carrie@keyboardclassroom.com.

Eric from South Carolina was much like any other 6th grader with learning challenges.  His mother has been trying to teach him to type for more than three years now but nothing has worked.  Eric has ADHD and has serious trouble physically writing as well as organizing his thoughts. His Mom was hoping to free him from the physical task of writing by having the typing become automatic.

Eric started using Keyboard Classroom two months ago and the results have been remarkable.  ”It really helps me type because I can go at my own pace and it’s more interesting than other programs and I don’t get bored,” he says. “I like that it doesn’t show me how fast I am, because that would put me under pressure. But I can tell I’m getting better.”

Eric’s 3rd grade sister doesn’t have the same learning issues as her brother but Mom says she’s become “jealous” of her older brother and wants to start typing herself.  The family recently upgraded to a dual user license so they can both practice at the same time.

“I now realize how obsolete the pencil is in this computer age society.  I am glad my kids have the skills to express themselves through technology whether they are in school or at their job”…..

For more information on this unique typing program please go to www.keyboardclassroom.com

Summer is on the downswing and I am gearing up towards another great school year.  My experiences at the HomeSchool Conventions this past year rejuvenated me!  We  received the warmest of welcomes.

While Keyboard Classroom was designed for children to learn typing in a home environment, we’ve always said that the key to long term success is the involvement of a parent.  Mom or Dad should act as a coach, insuring proper finger placement and practice at first, then encouraging success as the child advances.  HomeSchool parents do this anyway.

At these conventions, I repeatedly demonstrated the software, using dozens of children who had either never typed before, or who had long ago given up on the more “popular” learn to type programs on the market.  Without exception, they took to Keyboard Classroom immediately, passing levels and having their fingers dance across the keyboard in astounding fashion.  Parents were amazed and we were thrilled with the response.

My main goal this year is to make more parents/teachers aware of how important the skill of typing is to students.  Composing essays become easier, thoughts and ideas flow endlessly, corrections are simple, writing tasks are done quicker!  It’s a skill they will use throughout their whole life!

For those of you who have been the wind beneath my “sales” I thank you for getting the word out about Keyboard Classroom!

We’ll be ratcheting up our appearances at HomeSchool conventions around the country.  Keep an eye out.

Carrie

A recent survey of Keyboard Classroom users
showed a certain percentage of students practicing just five minutes a day.
 Like anything else, just a little more time would make a world of
difference.  Our studies show that fifteen minutes a day is the optimal
practice time.  A few minutes in the morning and then an equal amount of
time at night begins to create the muscle memory necessary to show marked
improvement.  Fifteen minutes a day for six months can result in typing
proficiency of 35 words per minute.   Encourage your child to work just a
little longer and they’ll take pride in their results.

Sometimes the best inventions are the most simple and straightforward.  Teaching a student how to type, teaching anyone how to type, can be only as effective as their motivation!

Keyboard Classroom has developed a unique product called Finger Guides. These Guides attach to a standard computer keyboard with velcro pads and guide a student’s fingers to the correct keys, allowing them to learn touch-typing without incorrect, error-prone moves. Learners want to look at their fingers.  It’s only natural and in our case, it’s OK at first.  But we wanted a way to insure that they would also use the proper finger placement and not resort to hunting and pecking with their index fingers.

So we invented these simple plastic Finger Guides.  You attach them to a typical keyboard, placing them diagonally between the “W” and the “E” on the left side, and the “I” and the “O” on the right.  By placing the middle and ring fingers on either side of each guide, hands are guaranteed to stay in the correct position.

We’ll ship you a free set of Finger Guides with every purchase of Keyboard Classroom.

It’s just that simple.

For more information on our typing program Keyboard Classroom and a picture of our exclusive Finger Guides, go to www.keyboardclassroom.com

WHY JOHNNY CAN’T TYPE…

“Johnny” from Massachusetts was your typical homeschooled 10 year old.  The oldest of four, his mother “Susan” had carefully constructed his program of study from the time he was just a toddler. She attended conventions throughout the northeast, and spent a small fortune on curriculum, books, and games, that would give Johnny the skills he would need to lead a successful life as he got older.

Early on, Susan recognized the importance of the computer to her son’s education and development and tried to incorporate the latest electronic software into his homeschool day. There was only one problem. Johnny didn’t know how to type. So, Susan went out and bought a popular learn-to-type software program. It was filled with fun exercises, flashing lights, sound effects, and typing games, and Johnny was able to advance at his own pace, “completing” the course in less than a week. He still didn’t know how to type.

Think of an athlete. Hitting a baseball, throwing a football, or kicking a soccer ball is effortless… a result of repeated practice. They perform basic skills naturally, without thinking. Willie Mays didn’t become the “Say Hey” kid in a week. “Air Jordan” wasn’t an overnight phenomenon. It’s the same with any skill, even typing.

Along with educators at the renowned Ben Bronz Academy in West Hartford, Connecticut, we’ve studied children in various learning environments for over two decades, watching and developing methods to improve the learning process. We’ve paid specific attention to children with attention problems, special education needs, and learning disabilities and concluded that young people with and without these learning issues, can succeed more effectively through the use of computers for drill and practice. And when they learn to touch type, they are able to channel their focus on what they’re learning. Their fingers actually become an unwitting extension of their brains!

It’s all about muscle memory. Great typists, like great athletes, need to learn the fundamentals by practicing them day after day, building new skills only after they master something less difficult. An effective keyboarding program should be systematically designed so a child must truly master a skill, before advancing to a more challenging one.

To teach children to type, we developed a program that incorporates the following elements.

• Lessons are broken down into one minute fluency exercises to build muscle memory and cater to students with limited attention spans.
• We work at a systematic pace. Students cannot go to the next level of difficulty without mastering an easier level.
• The program stresses returning fingers to the “home position,” the key to touch typing proficiency.

· Everyone likes to have fun but games sometimes get in the way of good learning. We use games as incentives (not a teaching method) and as a reward for a job well done.

In a lot of ways, we’ve just gone back to basics, creating a structured but simple way for children to learn how to type… a skill they’ll use nearly every day for the rest of their lives.

By the way, Johnny has been using his new typing program for six months, practicing his keyboarding skills for just 15 minutes every day. Susan wrote us a note last week telling us he’s now fluent at 35 words per minute and she’s noticed a marked improvement in his other work as well. Now she says, “Johnny knows how to type.”

Carrie Shaw is an educator and the President of Keyboard Classroom, one of the fastest growing learn-to-type software programs in America. Her website is www.keyboardclassroom.com and she can be reached via email at carrie@keyboardclassroom.com.