Keyboarding—A Basic Literacy Skill

Keyboarding—A Basic Literacy Skill Presented byNadine Bunnell, Keyboarding SpecialistUtah State Office of Educationnbunnell@usoe.k12.ut.uswww.usoe.k12.ut.us/ate/keyboarding/key.htm

Basic Literacy Skills? • Speaking • Listening • Keyboarding • Reading • Writing • Thinking “Communicating Efficiently”

Literacy Skills “Research continually demonstrates (e.g., Odell & Goswami, 1983) that the average job requires workers to spend 70 percent of their time productively reading, writing, speaking, and listening.”Language Arts Core

Literacy Skills “If thinking is added to the list, the figure will approach 100% in some occupations.” Language Arts Core

Literacy Skills “Obviously, the most important career preparation we can give students is to develop these [literacy] skills.” Language Arts Core

Learning Phases of Literacy Phase 1: Students learn the nature of the task. Phase 2: Students improve through repetition. Phase 3: Students increase in response stability, accuracy, and spontaneity of responses.

Literacy Skills are: • ‘Automatic’ (see then do). • Based on: • Instant Letter Recognition • Instant Word Recognition • Developed through appropriate and purposeful practice. • Taught best through direct instruction.

Keyboarding:Basic Literacy Skill

Keyboarding: Life-Long Skill What percentage of jobs require effective keyboarding skills? 96%

Keyboarding: Life-Long Skill People who used to find “hunt and peck” keyboarding sufficient realize that it doesn’t make much sense to have a computer with lightning speed if the information inputted into the machine trickles in like molasses in January. Sandberg-Diment, 1984

Keyboarding: Life-Long Skill Keyboarding is a cumulative skill – what can be effectively learned at one level depends heavily upon what has been learned earlier. If hunt ‘n peck habits become ingrained, it becomes much more difficult to develop a competent keyboarding skill. You need that basic foundation early on. Deseret News, April 5, 1999

Educational Technology Core3rd – 5th Grade Band “It is recommended that in addition to the standards and performance indicators, keyboarding first be taught as a concentrated unit in 3rd Grade and reviewed in each succeeding grade to allow students to achieve a high degree of proficiency…”

Educational Technology Core5th Grade Assessment “…Students will be assessed during the spring of their 5th Grade year. The assess-ment will include a keyboarding skill test, a technology literacy self-assessment, and the inclusion of at least two pieces of student work in an electronic portfolio.”

Keyboarding is not only a life- long literacy skill… Keyboarding enhancesall other communication skills!

Keyboarding Enhances Literacy “Not only can elementary students learn to type, but those who do type improve their language arts skills.” Wood & Freeman, 1931 Erickson, 1959

Keyboarding Enhances Literacy “Keyboarding facilitates skill development in writing, spelling and grammar… “Students who can keyboard are not only faster but also more imaginative. They are free to think about composing text or copying material rather than constantly trying to find their place.” Erickson, 1959

Keyboarding Enhances Literacy “Students who key correctly: • Demonstrate improved language arts skills. • Can compose faster, • Produce documents with a neater appearance, and • Have higher self esteem.”

Keyboarding Enhances Literacy “In just three short months of keyboarding twice a week a teacher in the Salt Lake City elementary schools noticed benefits. She reported that ‘the kids are more careful about the beginnings and endings of their sentences.’” Salt Lake Tribune December 1983

Keyboarding Enhances Literacy “They recognize structure better and pay more attention to details.” In addition, she found that the keyboarding program instilled her students with confidence in using a micro- computer.” Salt Lake Tribune December 1983

Keyboarding Enhances Literacy Language Arts & Keyboarding compliment each other and…can be taught simultaneously!

Teacher Responsibilities You would not sit a child down at a piano and use a software program toteach piano playing.

Teacher Responsibilities Similarly, children are taught to play sports with a coach and much guided practice. The coach provides motivation, reinforcement, and correctiveaction.

Teacher Responsibilities In learning any psychomotor skill, an essential componentof the learning process is an active teacher who observesand evaluates the process of learning and provides feedbackin the form of correctives (comments and demonstrations) to help the learner improve. Typewriting: Learning & Instruction

Progression of Learning StudentSelf-Guidance Teacher/StudentGuidance Complete TeacherGuidance

Teacher Responsibilities The teacher is of paramount importance in guiding that practice!

It is the responsibility of all teachersto show that keyboarding skillis relevant in the lives of all students. KEYBOARDING —A Basic Literacy Skill

THE END For additional information on Utah’s Elementary Keyboarding Program, visit www.usoe.k12.ut.us/ate/keyboarding/key.htm

Keyboarding—A Basic Literacy Skill