Given our technological era, the need for keyboarding skills is evident. Though I believe that proper handwriting should still be taught to our kids, teaching our kids to properly use a keyboard is very important if we want them to be able to survive in this age of computers and the likes.
This being so, lots of companies try to develop keyboarding skills programs for our children. I received such a program a few weeks ago for us to try and review.
Keyboarding for the Christian School is a keyboarding curriculum design to teach kids to learn to type efficiently.
The program is in the form of an e-book as opposed to being an online typing program. You can either print the e-book or put it on a mobile device such as an Ipod, Ipad, Kindle or Blackberry, and read of of it as you do the typing, by propping it up next to your working computer (you could use a laptop too). The author of the program explains her choice this way:
"Why choose a printable e-book versus a web-based program? Think about the things you type. Are they readily available to copy from the screen or are they something that you are looking at on a piece of paper? Usually you are typing something from a rough draft. If the lessons are only available on the computer monitor; your student will not get the needed skill of transferring information from paper to the computer. . ."With this curriculum your child is taught how to type in a logical way, introducing keys in a very thoughtful pattern. The student is also taught proper sitting and typing techniques, which are crucial to avoid medical conditions that can arise from typing the wrong way (wrong body position and fingering).
Price: $15.95 for grade 6 and up.
$12.95 for the elementary version,which prepares you for the higher version. It is intended for grades K-5. (There is also a large print edition for the same price)
It is available for both private schools and home schools.
You can also pay $45 for a full-color printed copy of the e-book, shipping and handling included.
I used the elementary version with my oldest, who is 8, and he enjoyed learning typing. I expect him to learn to type well in the near future. The program is simple but to the point, the length of each exercise is just right, so that the student would not get bored but yet there is enough repetition for retention.
You can check out their freebie page for samples of what they offer.
Thanks to this review you get a special deal from the company:
20 % off code: SUMMER2012, valid up to August 29th.
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