Keyboard Classroom

There have been a lot of articles written recently about the “Fluency” approach to teaching. Some criticize it, calling it robotic… that learning by rote or memorization isn’t really learning. We beg to differ.

You become fluent in something when you can do it almost subconsciously, that is, you don’t have to think about it. Educational experts have shown that when a student expends energy trying to decode words or sentences, he or she has difficulty with comprehension. Likewise, a child who cannot form or locate the letters on a keyboard will find composition almost impossible.

Typing skills are complex tasks but when broken down into sub-skills as we do with Keyboard Classroom, a learning disabled child can advance quickly. Once a sub-skill is mastered, the student moves up a level and is introduced to the next one, while practicing the one already mastered.

Practice should occur at least twice a day for just fifteen minutes each. Our studies have shown that this is sufficient to become a proficient typist in just 6 months. By that time, homework should become easier, note taking should become less of a chore (using a portable keyboard like an AlphaSmart), and above all, learning will become less of a chore.

Steve Shaw

“What are you crazy,” said a good friend the other day when the stock market took a 800 point hit.  Why would anyone want to launch a new business venture in an economy such as this?

The answer is, why not?  If you believe in the quality of your product, understand that there is a need for something truly unique, and realize that it is priced fairly and provides amazing value, you go for it.  Keyboard Classroom, when it becomes available next month, will be the only learn-to-type program on the market specifically designed and tested by students with learning disabilities.  We have nearly two decades worth of data showing that with dedication and commitment by both student and parent, it turns kids with ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc. into touch typists who can excel in the classroom.

So is launching a new business during an econimic downturn a risky venture?  You bet.  But as my favorite baseball team (that shall go nameless) used to say, “Ya Gotta Believe.”

Steve Shaw

Stefan is an incredible 12 year old who’s intellect far surpasses his age. He has Dyslexia but when he learned to type at a computer keyboard using our program, found his learning disorder went away. He no longer mixed up his Bs and Ds and Ps and Qs. The keyboard wouldn’t let him. His Mom says it has opened up a whole new world of opportunities and that once he receives an AlphaSmart for note taking in school, he’ll have no problems keeping up with his classmates.

Richard Wanderman is an adult with Dyslexia who has helped himself and others by using the computer instead of a pen or pencil. He tours the country explaining why it works. “Writing with pen and ink is like sculpting stone: mistakes are costly, and that knowledge feeds back into the composition process. Writing with a computer is like sculpting clay: mistakes are fixable at any time, and that knowledge feeds back into the composition process.”

I couldn’t say it any better. To learn more, visit his web site at http://www.ldresources.com.

Steve Shaw

The Keyboard Classroom product site is coming along and we should have a beta version of the software available for testing soon. It teaches typing skills in fast in one-minute sprints, quickly developing speed and accuracy. As I said in my previous post, when a child with a learning disability like Attention Deficit Disorder or ADHD, Dyslexia, Asperger Syndrome or other forms of Autism, can 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.

There are five fluencies in the Keyboard Classroom learning system. Each is designed for students to master certain sub-skills before advancing to the next level of difficulty. As they advance, they earn points, “redeemable” for playing a series of games built into the program as incentives.

To guarantee success, parents act as coaches, ensuring that children practice their fluencies every day, using our patented finger guides to place their hands in proper keyboarding position.

With a dedicated commitment by the student and parent/coach, our studies show the average student can become a basic touch typist in just 6 to 10 months, practicing just 15 minutes a day! It really works. We’ve been watching kids use the original software developed at the Ben Bronz Academy and it is amazing to see their progress. And best of all, they love doing their fluencies. Passing levels of difficulty is like a badge of honor, and they wear it proudly. I can’t wait for everyone to see our product.

Steve Shaw

More than ten years ago, my wife Carrie went to work for an incredibly talented educator by the name of Dr. Ian Spence at the Ben Bronz Academy in West Hartford, CT. Ben Bronz specializes in giving bright students with learning disabilities the study skills they need to succeed in the real world. Ian had found in several decades of research, that children with learning disabilities like ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, Dyslexia, even some forms of Autism, were not incapable of learning in a mainstream environment, they just needed to “learn how to learn.”

Along with his wife Aileen, Ian built the school around an approach to learning called fluencies. A fluency is basically a timed exercise, repeated over and over again until the skill becomes second nature. 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.

Now apply it to a learning disabled child. If you can teach them a skill like touch typing where they don’t have to think about how hard to hold their pencil when they take notes, how to shape their letters correctly, or whether their writing is neat enough to be read, they can focus on the important stuff… learning!

Anyway, after ten years, Ian has allowed us to license his fluency-based learn to type computer program for children with learning disabilities, ages 8 to 14. It’s the only program of its kind anywhere. We’re calling it Keyboard Classroom and hope to be launching a web site, and making the product available for sale by the fall of 2008. We’ll keep you posted so check back here every few days.

Steve Shaw