FAQs
Keyboard Instruction FAQ
Commonly Asked Questions
Q. We have a computer lab. Why not learn keyboarding there?
A. Memorizing key locations and forming good keyboarding habits requires daily practice. Just like learning to play an instrument, intermittent practice is almost no practice at all. For most elementary students access to the computer lab is limited to once each week for 30 minutes. If you are serious about keyboard instruction, this is just not adequate. If you did schedule your class in the lab every day, it would require a great deal of transition time and severely burden your lab. Furthermore, application of this new skill in the classroom is absolutely necessary to develop fluency. Additionally, with the high quality education software programs now available, the computing power available in the lab would best be used for academic reinforcement.
Q. At what grade level should formal keyboarding begin?
A. We believe and studies confirm that formal keyboard instruction should not begin before the third grade. While many kindergarten, first and second grade students can learn to keyboard, there are good reasons to wait until third or fourth grade. Many primary children do not yet have the dexterity to gain keyboarding skills quickly. Often, teaching these very young children requires a great deal more time and patience than it would if instruction was simply begun a bit later. Additionally, in most cases, we are not asking our younger students to write lengthy papers and reports. While in third and fourth grades there is a very natural application of the skill to written assignments.
Q. Which is more important: Speed or Accuracy? Which should I concentrate on?
A. Neither! Posture and technique are the only things that you should concentrate on as a teacher. All good things in keyboarding follow from laying a good foundation in posture and technique. Technique means good homerow orientation, good shift key usage and proper fingering on the keyboard (using the right finger path). Teach, review and reinforce posture and technique. Speed and accuracy will follow.
Q. Are our primary students developing bad habits by pecking out their names and short sentences?
A. No. Just as we allow a 3 year old to hold a pencil incorrectly, we should not be overly concerned about our K through 2nd grade students pecking on the keyboard. At this age “pecking” is not yet a stubborn habit, (it’s just the only method they know). Their poor form is easily replaced through proper instruction and brief daily practice in the third or fourth grade. (DO NOT let the hunting and pecking continue into the fourth and fifth grades).
Q. Should we spend time in the primary grades on keyboard instruction or orientation?
A. No. Keyboard orientation programs are really unnecessary during the early primary years. With daily practice and instruction, students in the third and fourth grade learn proper technique very quickly (whether they have had earlier instruction/orientation or not). For primary students, we recommend that computer time be used for academic reinforcement.
Q. If we are using The Writer keyboard instruction program, do we still need to do keyboard instruction in the computer lab?
A. No. While review and reinforcement in the lab will help instill good habits, The Writer keyboarding program is designed to be a complete and thorough program. Using the computer lab for keyboard instruction is simply not necessary. We recommend elevating the use of your computer lab to higher level, more stimulating applications.
Q. How much time each day should we spend on keyboard instruction?
A. Anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. With many software programs, there is far too much wait time; bells and whistles, games and graphics. The Writer provides a very concentrated keyboarding program. It is brief, daily, focused practice that is critical to acquiring good habits. The Writer provides a very intense program. Ten minutes of daily practice will result in the formation of strong and proper keyboarding habits.
Q. How many days does a formal keyboarding program require?
A. This really depends on the age or your students and their current level of keyboarding skill. Very broadly, your formal keyboarding program will require anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks.
Q. What is the minimum number of days each week that we should work on keyboarding?
A. Three, but that’s the very minimum. Shoot for four our five days each week. And if you can, a couple of brief sessions each day can really be powerful. Ten minutes, five times a day for 6-8 weeks, with The Writer, will instill proper homerow technique. This time is an investment that will page huge dividends for many, many years.
Q. Should I grade my students?
A. Yes. Students know that we grade everything that we believe is important. If we don’t grade it, we probably don’t care about it. (and if we don’t care about it, why should they?) We believe that “Keyboarding Technique” should be on every elementary report card. Along with the automatic progress report printouts, we have also included “Progress Report” forms in the Resource Material section of this guide.
Q. What is the most important role for the teacher during the keyboarding period?
A. Monitoring. Teaching keyboarding skills is 10% instruction (days 1-5) and 90% review and reinforcement. A teacher or other conscientious adult must be a roamer, monitoring students for proper posture, hand placement and finger technique. Copy the little NOPECK bucks from the Resource Material section and keep a bunch in your pocket. Hand one to every student sitting up straight, etc. You’ll see magical things happen.
Q. I don’t know how to “touch type”. Can I still teach this program?
A. Absolutely. While it does help to be a typist, it’s not critical. Ideally, you should be involved in some type of inservicing or training, but if that is not available just read this guide very carefully and you’ll have all the information you need to do a good job instructing your students. We also have the ‘Ready, Set, GO!” video instruction series. This provides all of the instruction you and your students will need. Learn along side of them. You’ll be glad you did.
Q. Is The Writer Keyboarding program adequate for a middle school or high school level keyboarding program.
A. The Writer Keyboarding program can be used (and is being used) very successfully in both middle school and high school. Not only will The Writer provide well structured lessons, technique reinforcement and assessment, but it will allow for students to apply those skills in a number of different writing formats. More and more secondary educators and technology leaders are refusing to use their powerful technology facilities for simple finger training drills. Instead, they turn to The Writer. It's effective, convenient and compared to computer facilities...a bargain.
Q. My students often look at the keyboard while typing. Is this a bad thing?
A. Yes and No. Our goal is to develop a reflex response. We want to bypass the brain all together. Students who depend on looking at the keyboard are still making conscious decisions about the keys they are pressing. Additionally, many times, we are asked to type from written material. Looking back and forth can be very time consuming and interrupt the flow of keyboarding. Often students will start by looking at their keyboard, but with the amount of repetition built into our keyboarding lessons, this looking eventually goes away.
Q. How can I help my students to not look down at their keyboard while typing?
A. Telling students to stop almost never works. The only way to make students who look at the keyboard stop is to force them to stop. Our PowerSkin overlays are perfect for this purpose. PowerSkins are very thin silicon rubber key covers. They allow students to type out their lessons, but does not allow them to see the keys. By eliminating all visual cues, students must rely on and develop their memory. If you have them, use them. If you don’t we recommend that you get them or find some way to simply and effectively cover the keys.
Q. My students say the letters or words out loud as they do their drills. Is this okay?
A. Absolutely! As long as they are not interfering with the concentration of others, this type of vocalization can be beneficial to the memory process. We want our students to eventually type words, not letters. So if students are reading the words on the screen as they keyboard, they will be reinforcing “word typing”.
Q. What is the goal of this keyboarding program?
A. The goal of The Writer keyboarding program is to provide an easy to implement and cost effective means to deliver high quality keyboard instruction to a large number of students. The ultimate goal being: Every student masters this fundamental literacy skill. The digital divide is now more about skills than access to computers.
Q. Some of my students like to lean back as they do their lessons. How important is “good posture”?
A. Only very! Just like proper positioning is critical for the baseball player or basketball player, good posture and proper positioning is critical for the keyboardist. Good posture contributes not only to accurate keyboarding, but also to good muscle and spinal alignment. This alignment allows for good body support, good blood flow and less aches and pains. This is truly a health concern. Poor posture should not be an option for your students.
Q. My students are doing a good job in my class during our keyboarding lessons, but when they are in the library or other classrooms they’re not quite so conscientious. What can I do so that my students maintain their good habits outside of my classroom?
A. Good question. This is very common, especially for those schools using a lab-based keyboarding program. The kids are fine in the lab, they just peck on every other computer they use. Two things can be done. One, do a great job with your keyboarding program. By practicing everyday, your students will begin developing habits…good habits. The other thing that must be done is to make proper keyboard use a school-wide expectation. Every teacher and every adult in that school needs to remind students and, if necessary, correct students who may be using a keyboard incorrectly. Make a point at your next faculty meeting to ask all teachers to support this worthy goal.
Q. How often should I do an “Assessment”?
A. Once each week is adequate. Having students do an assessment each week lets that student know that their progress is being measured and monitored. Additionally, students enjoy seeing their progress. Simply have students press the “A” key in the main keyboarding menu. A 60-second assessment exercise will automatically begin. The score will automatically be recorded and printed out on their progress report. There is also a “Chart Your Progress” sheet in the Resource Materials section of the Forming Habits of Success Manual. Students can chart their speed and accuracy over the course of the program.
Q. What type of review or reinforcement schedule do you recommend?
A. Review and reinforcement is critical. This will be the instructional component that will create the long term habits and keyboard fluency we’re looking for. This can come in one of a few different forms. Practice Sessions – working on keyboarding lessons for 10-20 minutes once a week or direct application – students using the Writer, Fusion or computer to do their daily writing assignments. Frequent direct application is highly recommended.
