For as long as I can remember, I have gotten by, pecking away at the keyboard. My oldest son is also famous for this method of “typing”. Being that he is so very tech savvy, I was happy for him to have an opportunity to learn how to better his typing skills. Since he tries to spend much of his free time in front of the computer too, this way, he can learn a bit too! We received access to The Typing Coach Online Typing Course from The Typing Coach; this is a self paced course and we were given a one year subscription (which we could use with multiple students – myself and my two oldest sons).
As I mentioned this is a self paced course; we appreciate that in this house. Between drums and piano, drawing and foreign language lessons, it seems there is always something we are struggling to “get done” right now. And in the interest of fostering a love of learning, I have really ben striving to encourage learning for inspiration. Less requiring and more inspiring. I wasn’t quite sure how we were going to fit this program in honestly. But then we logged in and from the start I could definitely see how there was so much more to learn in this program, than just typing.
My oldest son and I went through the Visual Tour and the Introduction together; we also printed out the Student Packet, the Learning Checks and the Progress Charts to look over together. I was quite impressed with how clearly this was all put together; my oldest is 11 and really struggles with attention and focus, he has some sensory processing issues we are striving to work out…So we need materials that are not full of distractions, that are simple and straightforward. It really helps too, that this one is full of encouragement from the “teacher” reminding us of the benefits of perseverance and diligence and good old hard work!
Like I said, this doesn’t just teach typing. This is a typing course, but it all begins with teaching good posture. Do we even know what that is nowadays? I type this and I remind myself to fix my own posture. 🙂 This really is a simple, basic program It sets you up for success because it reminds you as you go along the value of mastering one row at a time. Repeatedly we see the reminder, not to move ahead, until we have successfully completed where we are right now. Simple right?
There are also slower paced lessons offered; for younger children and for those with special educational issues. We appreciate these a lot! We also appreciated the Teacher Resource area which has plenty of materials to help us understand the process and support our children as they learn. This has Typing Tickets, videos to explain and model, guides for working at a slower pace and an editable incentive chart because we all need those to help our kids keep going sometimes!
Before we begin any lesson, we need to have our word processing program open good posture, and our student packet at the ready. I love how we are reminded in every lesson to be sure to do everything you are told, stopping and rewinding whenever necessary to make sure you get it all. One thing that did surprise me was how they encourage you to listen to music as you work on each lesson. Bow for my oldest who is always drumming and tapping fingers and stomping feet I was sure this would be a disaster – big time distraction – Can I say how pleasantly surprised I was by how he seemed to work better with the music? Who would have thought? Honestly, not me!
As you work through the lessons there are Learning Checks to complete (silly nonsense that aren’t words at all says my younger son who is a struggling reader) to ensure that you are in fact mastering the material being taught. When you are ready, you go to their Practice & Testing Center where you set up the test based upon the level they are currently on. You can also choose 1,3 or 5 minutes ( we typically chose 5 minutes – maybe three minutes if we were feeling brave!) and the results are emailed to you when the test is completed.
From the beginning with the Before and After Snapshot where we are practicing using The Gettysburg Address, to the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Bill of Rights. There was even a test that required typing out Attitude by Charles Swindoll. With my oldest being rather reluctant and rebellious right now, that was quite a pleasant surprise to have him type out. And what a fun way to get in some history, some civics lesson and some good lessons in the faith too! I love a program that includes this type of material! 🙂
This is a fabulous, simple and affordable way to help our kids and ourselves better our typing skills. We definitely plan to complete this course over the summer. It is a great opportunity to learn how to type the right way and break some of those bad habits. It is so true, The Typing Course is “complicated made simple” in so many ways.
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