Keyboard Classroom

I want to take the time to thank each and every homeschool mom who wrote a review for Keyboard Classroom this summer!  I know you are all extremely busy and I appreciate the time you put into understanding the uniqueness of Keyboard Classroom!

Developer Dr. Ian Spence was the Headmaster of a school for learning disabled students when he created Keyboard Classroom.  He understood that handwriting imposed significant cognitive load on many students with or without learning disabilities.  Handwriting for some was painfully produced and frequently illegible.  After using this newly developed typing curriculum the school found  that students who learned how to type were able to generate more written output, make more meaningful revisions in drafts and make fewer spelling errors. This allowed the students to be more creative in their written work.

When marketing this product I became instantly aware that Homeschoolers had an upperhand when introducing their children to typing.  When creating their school year curriculum they were able to put aside a 15 minute block of time DAILY to introduce and to practice this new skill.  They understood that consistency is the key to developing and finally mastering a skill.  I have had tremendous feedback at how well these students progressed on learning how to touch type!

I would like to share a few blogs with you. Just cut and paste the following links!

http://chatterandclatter.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-keyboard-classroom.html

http://debrakb.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-keyboard-classroom.html

For more go to www.keyboardclassroom.com

Carrie

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.

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 Keyboard Classroom, he found his learning disorder went away. He no longer mixed up his B’s and D’s and P’s and Q’s. 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.org/?p=172

Keyboard Classroom 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 months, practicing just 15 minutes a day! It
really works.

For the past 24 years 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!

More than fourteen years ago, I 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.”

Dr. Spence 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!

For the past 3 1/2 years I have been selling this fluency-based learn to type computer program for children ages 8 to 14. It’s the only program of its kind anywhere. It’s called Keyboard Classroom.  Check it out!

Carrie