Teaching Keyboarding

Teaching Keyboarding by Dr. Diane J. Fisher Assistant Professor Business Technology Education University of Southern Mississippi Modifications made June 7, 2012.

Middle School/Junior High Keyboarding • Term “keyboarding” replaced “typewriting” in early 1980’s • Offered as a major part of curriculum and can be discussed in career exploration • Focuses on personal use • Letters, reports, outlines • Keyboarding competence is major objective • Proper use and care of computer • Develop fluency • Input of assignments • Composing and proofreading

Important Information • Keyboarding Techniques • Learn the keyboard by introducing 2-4 characters a day • Allow time to make-up; the goal is LEARN the keyboard • Remember when learning the keyboard: • No regard to formatting (don’t worry about errors) • Emphasis toward speed while using correct finger placement • Finally focus on accuracy (correctness) when all keys are learned • Learn the applications for which the keyboard is used; for example: letter writing and spacing ONCE after periods at the end of sentences, spacing once after commas, etc.

Keyboarding on the Computer • Concentrates on input rather than output • More important skill than ever before • Teach computer terminology • Use keyboarding software as a supplemental resource

How to Teach Keyboarding • Stimulus-response (Dictation) • Teacher calls out a letter, student reacts with a stroking response • Crucial when learning new keys • Dictation helps students understand that keyboarding is practiced in rhythm • They should utilize each stroke in sequence with a steady pace

Keystroking • Correct alignment of fingers with the keyboard • Speed of finger movement in striking and releasing the key then returning the finger to home-row position • The “feel” of the appropriate motion patterns • In the beginning focus on speed, encourage students to focus on correct finger placement with each key stroke and not on the errors they are making • Accuracy comes later after keys are learned

How To Develop Keystroking Skills • Teach appropriate techniques • Develop rhythm by focusing on techniques that encourage the use of optimal speed • Teach the alphabetic keyboard first, introduce two-four keys each day • Introduce the keys in whatever order will permit the earliest use of words and sentences for practice (follow the text)

How To Develop Keystroking Skills • Permit sight keying in the beginning (watching their reach and location of the key using the correct finger), but encourage students to watch their copy as soon as they are able • Focus on speed until substantial improvement has been made before shifting the focus to accuracy • Review all keys learned each day before presenting new keys

Keyboarding = Techniques Develop Proper Keyboarding Techniques • Sharp, fluent stroking • Eyes on copy • Feet flat on floor • Fingers curved • Wrists upright • Keyboard at edge of desk/table • Sit up straight

How to become an Expert Typist • Technique, technique, technique… • Learn to type for long periods of time without hesitation • Hesitations reduce speed and increase errors • To reduce hesitations • Concentrate on copy • Maintain correct reading speed • Reduce number of times you look from copy to machine • Eliminate pauses between strokes

Reading • Students should read at a speed that matches their keyboarding rate • Pay close attention to sequencing of letters • Poor reading habits result in spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing errors • Correct habits of reading require typist to move eyes smoothly and continuously along lines of copy • Typists read 1 second ahead of fingers • Beginners about 1 letter ahead • Advanced typists about 1 word ahead

Evaluation • Must go on constantly • Receive feedback about the correctness of their responses • Should not be graded on correctness of their performance while learning a task/keys • Keep grading and learning activities separate; assign grades for performance of the learned task

Measuring Speed • Gross words a minute (GWAM) • Total words divided by total minutes keyed • Correct words a minute (CWAM) • Subtract number of errors from total number of words and divide by minutes keyed

Proofreading • A skill that must be taught • read copy slowly word for word, twice—once for meaning and again for correctness of details • read aloud from original while partner checks for errors in copy (reverse order & repeat for important documents)

Evaluation of Keyboarding Performance • Purpose • diagnose weaknesses • measure achievement • motivate students • determine grades

Evaluating Keyboarding Performance • Methods • subjective – primary method for assessing techniques and work habits • give students a copy of rating scale • objective – knowledge and performance tests • Specify expected student performance and behavior in form of objectives

Keyboarding Resources • Proven Techniques for Teaching QWERTY Keyboardinghttp://www.cwu.edu/~setc/ldtech/docs/Keyboarding_Techniques.pdf • Teaching Keyboarding--When? Why? How?http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech072.shtml • Lots of Keyboarding Info – Timed Test, Games, Articles, etc.http://www.neisd.net/alphasmart/AS%20Binder/Keyboarding%20Hotlist/keyboarding_hotlist.html • Keyboarding Resources – Activitieshttp://www.tcet.unt.edu/START/instruct/general/kb-act.htm • Suggested Keyboarding Activitieshttp://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/elemkey/suggested.html • Ideas for Keyboarding Instruction, Projects, and Activitieshttp://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/midlkey/compapp.html#appa

Keyboarding Resources • Keyboarding Gameshttp://pdf.alphasmart.info/Keyboarding_Activities1.pdf • More Gameshttp://pdf.alphasmart.info/Keyboarding_Activities2.pdf • Assessment of keyboarding skills http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/isu/itech/keybo/technique.html • Self-assessment http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/isu/itech/keybo/selfeval.html • Hands http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/isu/itech/keybo/hands2.PDF • Healthy computing http://www.pc.ibm.com/ww/healthycomputing/index.html

References • McLean, G. N. (1995). Teaching keyboarding. Little Rock, AR: Delta Pi Epsilon.

Teaching Keyboarding