Is it effective to teach keyboarding in school?
Hi!
By the time a student is in 2nd or 3rd grade, they’re generally already a digital native. They’ve done their fair share of typing, even if they have never been formally taught how to properly use a keyboard. Several schools across the US and other western countries offer applied technology classes in middle school. However, this seems to be a little too late to truly help students develop good typing skills.
Regards,
The Typesy Team
When it comes to typing, there is no such thing as too much practice. If a student has developed their own method of typing, test their speed, accuracy, and ability to type without looking. In all likelihood, relearning typing skills with the touch typing method will improve the student’s overall typing ability.
Between texting and posting, young people today are more familiar with keyboarding than any generation prior. With the ubiquity of personal devices, many students are more than proficient when it comes to typing with their thumbs. This is why it is perhaps more important than ever to ensure our students are developing the correct typing skills. The longer a student goes without formal keyboarding training, the longer they have to build bad habits. It is advisable to first introduce structured keyboarding lessons before the middle school years. That way, students have developed the literacy and motor function skills needed but have not yet had too much time to develop bad typing habits.
As presented in key national standards, keyboarding is deemed an essential skill. Many states have converted from paper- to computer-based tests, meaning students must have a solid foundation of keyboard learning in order for test scores not to skew. As the world continues to rely more heavily on technology, the ability to type has become a necessary skill for any and all entering the 21st-century workforce.
Without dedicated practice time, students could develop bad habits or work at a speed much slower than what they would ultimately be capable of. Once accomplished, the ability to touch type will yield positive results for students for the rest of their lives and is therefore decidedly worth dedicating time to.
Regards,
Typesy Team