Western Dubuque Community Schools Keyboarding Guidelines

Western Dubuque Community Schools Keyboarding Guidelines

2016-2017

Grades 1, 2, 3, 4

V.10.0

Why students need to learn to type

Ben Hunt, , 2012

"The bottom line is this ? if you type with one or two fingers of each hand, the average person (adult) can probably manage 40-60 wpm (words per minute). If you learn to touch-type, you can increase that speed to 60100 wpm.

Most of the things we do on a computer involve typing to some degree. And the quicker you can type, the quicker you get those tasks done. The quicker you get your stuff done, the more productive you are which lets you:

? Complete tasks and jobs more quickly ? Get more achieved in limited time ? Do more jobs in a month ? Have more free time to sit back and think up ideas ? Or just try out alternatives

And this makes you better at whatever it is you do."

Touch-typing

"Touch-typing is nothing magical. It's quite a simple process. Here's how it works.

Instead of watching the keyboard as you type, you watch the screen, and you type without looking. You place your hands on the keyboard, with both index fingers touching the little lumps (normally) on the F and J keys. You simply learn the position of each key on the keyboard, and through practice your body (your physical memory) remembers which finger moves where to hit that key.

After a while, the process is so automatic that you only have to think a word for it to appear on the screen. I find it a very enjoyable way to work, because it's less tiring, and you don't have to keep shifting your eyes from keyboard to screen.

Another benefit is that touch-typing helps free your mind from the mechanics of what you're doing, helping you to focus on the task in hand. Because touch-typing is easier, it's less tiring.

Another bonus is that touch-typing involves less movement, and so is lower-impact on the hands and wrists, which can help prevent RSI (repetitive strain injury)."

The "catch" of learning to type

"Here's the catch...

To learn to touch-type, you have to stop typing the way you have always done it. This means you need to accept that you'll be slower for a few months before you get quicker. But you will get quicker ? significantly quicker ? and it is worth it."

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How to learn

? You need to learn the best fingers to use for each key. ? It helps you go in bite-size steps, building from the first few "home" keys to the full keyboard in a

manageable way. Click on the below graphic to watch a video about why you should learn to touch-type. (Ben Friman, , March 22, 2012)

Proper keyboarding technique includes:

Correct Posture and Body Position

In order to "cement" the correct keyboarding posture so it becomes "habit" is simple... practice, practice, practice. The teacher must be diligent in positively reinforcing the way a student sits at the computer every time s/he sits at the computer. This is easy to do but difficult to remember since we all want to revert to our previous way of teaching. Make it a point to supervise the student as s/he types and comment about the great job s/he is doing. Provide polite reminders about what needs to be fixed. Just as a teacher wouldn't yell at a student for less than perfect printing technique, the teacher wouldn't yell at a student as s/he is learning how to correctly sit at a computer.

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The student should sit in front of the keyboard between the "B" and "N" keys. The student should sit with his or her feet flat on the floor. This is accomplished by sliding forward on the chair until the feet "land" on the floor. The student's back should not rest against the chair unless the chair is specifically designed as a computer chair (lumbar support). The chair should be pushed back far enough for the student's arms to be released at his or her side and slightly in front of the middle of the body.

Here is a graphic of the correct posture when typing: (University of New Mexico, )

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* Not always possible in our current learning environment.

Correct Keyboard Position

It is easy to overlook the position of the keyboard while a student is typing. Basically, we don't want the student to rest his or her wrists or arms on the table/desk that the keyboard is placed on. This may result in harm to the student in the form of carpal-tunnel syndrome as the student begins to type more and more over his or her lifetime.

The answer? Simply have the spacebar edge of the keyboard placed at the edge of the table/desk. This approach means that the student will not have a surface to rest his or her wrists on.

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The question will be asked, "But we have wrist-rests on our keyboard so why can't we rest our wrists on the desk?" The answer is this:

"Proper typing technique stresses the importance of bending or cupping the hands in order for the fingers to strike the keys at a downward angle. If the user's wrists are resting on a pad while typing, the fingers must reach for the keys at a more stressful angle. For this reason, many occupational health experts suggest only using a keyboard or mouse wrist rest between typing and mousing sessions. The user's wrists should not touch the pad during active typing." (Michael Pollick, wiseGEEK, 2013)

Correct Arm, Hand, and Finger Position

Proper finger placement is a must in order to be able to type efficiently, accurately, and quickly. Click on the following photo to see how your students' fingers should be positioned on the keyboard:

Your students' fingers should be curved when typing. Have them picture holding a ball or have them imitate "monkey hands". Their wrists should be held straight between the hand and the arm. This will be tiring for them at first so don't be afraid to give them lots of short breaks (15 seconds maximum). The right hand thumb is the preferred thumb to use on the space bar.

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Here is an image of the keyboard that shows the fingers that touch the assigned keys. Note that the letter "C" can use either the left middle finger or left index finger (there are two differing trains of thought on this).

Correct Keystroking Technique

A straight, downward tapping of the fingertips will result in more accurate and quick keying. This takes quite a bit of practice, however, to start feeling natural. Students will want to "hunt and peck" and jab at the keys. This will result in mistakes being made much more often than typing with a light touch.

What are Western Dubuque's keyboarding expectations?

In order to address the needs of our students for now and in the future, we have specific expectations. The following are the minim expectations to begin developing quality keyboarding skills. These expectations are expected of all teachers whether they actively teach keyboarding skills to the students or not. That being said, any teacher who has students using computers is responsible for supporting and assisting students with their keyboarding skills.

? Students should use the recommended keyboarding program () at least once per full week of school. Note below: Words per Minute are only recommendations and not required. 5

o Kindergarten: Let the kids become familiar with computers by games, mouse, monitor, etc. o First Grade: The Home Row, The Top Row, The Bottom Row. Keyboarding technique should

be reinforced. Login using Username and Password. o Second Grade: The Home Row, The Top Row, The Bottom Row, Home Row and Beyond,

Venturing Out, Easy Home Row Words, Easy Top Row Words, Easy Bottom Row Words, Beginner Wrap Up (Goal: 12 words per minute with 95% accuracy.) Keyboarding technique should be reinforced. o Third Grade: Same as Second Grade, Alphabet Soup (A-M), Alphabet Soup (N-Z), Learn to Bust a Capital Letter, Learn to Bust a Capital Word, Basic Punctuation (Goal: 15 words per minute with 95% accuracy.) Keyboarding technique should be reinforced. o Fourth Grade: Same as Third Grade, Most Common English Words, Numbers Letters Numbers, Speed Drills, Intermediate Wrap Up (Goal: 17 words per minute with 95% accuracy.) Keyboarding technique should be reinforced. o Fifth and Sixth Grades: Same as Fourth Grade (Typing Web), Advanced Course for those who are ready. Reinforce all skills. Keyboarding technique should be reinforced. o Seventh and Eighth Grades: Pre-assessment 5 minute timed; All 20 lessons; Post-assessment 5 minute timed (same assessment at pre-assessment) (Goal: 25 words per minute with 1 error or less per minute on a 5 minute assessment.) Keyboarding technique should be reinforced.

? Keyboarding will be taught by the classroom teacher with the support of the media specialist, the technology teacher, the Director of Instructional Technology, or a paraprofessional.

? Students and teachers have accounts created for them. Do not create additional keyboarding accounts or change the password assigned to the teacher or student. Western Dubuque Schools follows the COPPA laws and having administrative staff being able to access sites that contain student information is required.

? Students may use computer lab computers, laptop computers, tablets, or netbooks as long as the keys are tactile keys (the keys can be depressed).

? Weekly keyboarding should not be considered a preparation time for staff. Teachers will lead the lesson or use the time for student assessment or remediation.

? Keyboarding could be used as a classroom center or large group instruction in the Computer Lab or on keyboards in the classroom.

? Elementary keyboarding will not be a graded subject. Middle School and High School may grade keyboarding.

Keyboarding Timeline

Establishing a keyboarding timeline is a very tricky thing to do. Students progress at different levels of skill and understanding so it is virtually impossible to establish a timeline that applies to all students. However, it is possible to create a schedule that provides information about which lesson the majority of your students should be on at a given time.

It would be wise to mention at this time that the goal of keyboarding is not to see how fast the students can type: Our foremost concern is to stress ACCURACY OVER SPEED. In almost all cases, speed becomes the byproduct of correct technique and accuracy. So vigilance on your part is essential because students can seldom self-monitor their technique and their natural inclination is to see how fast they can type.

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Keeping in mind that some students will move at a quicker learning rate than others as well as some students moving at a slower learning rate than others, following is a general timeline of the TypingWeb program. Our goal should be to have the majority of our elementary students completing Lesson 15 by the end of the current school year. Teachers and paras are encouraged to allow students to progress through the rest of the keyboarding program as time allows.

Lesson 1: Introduce the proper keyboarding technique (click here to watch Jim's introduction to students). Have students demonstrate and practice correct technique. Show the diagram that appears on page 3. Make this a fun lesson and activity. Show the students the Home Row and have them identify the Home Row by placing their fingers on it. Have them do this multiple times until they feel comfortable doing it. You may need to physically place a student's fingers on the correct keys because it does not feel natural to most students the first time they try.

Lesson 2: Have your students go to the online course. Have the students go to the Beginner Course: J, F, and Space. Explain that the right hand thumb should be used on the space bar (the long bar below the top, bottom, and Home Row.) If a student is left-handed, they may use the left thumb.

Explain to the students that when they reach the "Lesson Complete" window, they need to raise their hand so you can check the screen and review their score. Check the student's Lesson Accuracy score. We are trying to achieve 95% or higher (this is your call based on the students in your class). If the student has not achieved this, YOU click on the "Return to Lessons" and have the student repeat the lesson until s/he achieves 95% (or the accuracy score you believe is fair for the student).

If the student has achieved 95% (or your fair score), you click the button that moves the student to the next lesson. Do not take the Typing Test.

A MUCH needed addition has been added to the keyboarding course! If the student decides that s/he will move on to the next course without you checking their screen, you can restart the student on the lesson. Just go to the Lesson Tab in the student's account, look for the lesson they need to re-do, click the "Refresh Arrow," a screen will appear asking if the lesson should be restarted, click OK, and the lesson will restart. Slick!

Lesson 3 and more: Keep reminding the students to use the correct keyboarding technique and fingering. Monitor them at all times and correct errors and provide lots of positive reinforcement for those typing as they should.

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