tammyw Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I know there have been threads on this question before. I'm hoping there is a FABULOUS program that will inspire my DD who is almost 11 to learn to type. We only have Mac computers. I know some things work better on PC. I don't care if it's free or costs money - I just want something that will help mine to learn to type in a fun way that will make them want to do it (DS7.5 will also use it). TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Learning to type is about learning letter placement of the keyboard, which is the same for Mac and PC. ;) We just used an old typewriter keyboarding book and daily practice, 5-10 min. a day. I assume you are meaning you want a fun game/program to make learning to type exciting? Here are some ideas: Learning Games for Kids Fun to Type Power Typing Free typing games, lessons, and tests Freeware: top 5 typing software you can download Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 We are Mac users here and I use Typing Instructor with all my kids. They seem to enjoy it and it gets done daily without much prompting- in fact they argue about who will get to use it first. My 9 and 7 year olds still do the program but my 12 year old is beyond it now in terms of her skills. I may get her the adult version but she types up all her compositions and does a fair amount of typing for WWS so I hesitant to add one more thing to her subject load even though she could use some work on her speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 My boys learned with Dance Mat Typing on the BBC - it works whatever the system. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 We use typing web and it's free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Learning to type is about learning letter placement of the keyboard, which is the same for Mac and PC. ;) We just used an old typewriter keyboarding book and daily practice, 5-10 min. a day. I assume you are meaning you want a fun game/program to make learning to type exciting? Here are some ideas: Learning Games for Kids Fun to Type Power Typing Free typing games, lessons, and tests Freeware: top 5 typing software you can download Yes, I meant a program that works well on the Mac (some don't, I've read!) Thanks for the suggestions :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 It's funny that each program seems to have some complaints! I wish there was a program that worked for everyone. We've tried Dance Mat Typing before and it was just okay, but maybe I need to force mine to keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum comes in a Mac version and my son recommends it highly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 We have Macs and have used this version of Mavis Beacon. It's excellent, effective, has lots of fun games, and it's only $16. My DD could type 40-50 wpm by the age of 10. DS (dyslexic, slow verbal processing) isn't fast, but he types well enough to use it for real-time note-taking and writing — it has also vastly improved his spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 We use Type to learn. It's a little pricey but my son loves it. You can get a deal,on it through the homeschool buyers coop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Mavis Beacon for mac was AWESOME for us. We used it with the Dvorak lessons. We had done other things and tried for years, and MB Dvorak lessons were what nailed it. Well that and paying her. I'm guessing it will work for you too. :) I told her I'd pay her $1 per wpm for any month in which she increased by at least 5. That compelled her to work and rewarded her. She went from 8wpm to 40 in about 3 months, at which point I could no longer afford to keep up, haha. I didn't actually hand her the cash. It went toward an iPad with keyboard, so she could then use her new typing skills. Oh, I also gave her an email account and her own user account on the computer, with it set to Dvorak, just to make her extra motivated an unable to revert to pecking qwerty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Mavis Beacon for mac was AWESOME for us. We used it with the Dvorak lessons. We had done other things and tried for years, and MB Dvorak lessons were what nailed it. Well that and paying her. I'm guessing it will work for you too. :) I told her I'd pay her $1 per wpm for any month in which she increased by at least 5. That compelled her to work and rewarded her. She went from 8wpm to 40 in about 3 months, at which point I could no longer afford to keep up, haha. I didn't actually hand her the cash. It went toward an iPad with keyboard, so she could then use her new typing skills. Oh, I also gave her an email account and her own user account on the computer, with it set to Dvorak, just to make her extra motivated an unable to revert to pecking qwerty. What are Dvorak lessons? Sounds interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Dvorak is an alternate keyboard layout. Go into System Preferences, Keyboard, Input Sources, +, then select Dvorak with the CMD sign (abbr=DQ) from the pull-down of language options). Select Show input in menu bar so it shows up. At that point you can toggle back and forth with ease. Dd has her own user accounts, so hers are set to Dvorak by default. It's more efficient, eliminates midline crosses, and well enabled her to type when QWERTY wasn't going well. I can't say how convenient it is or whether it's worth the hassle for others, but for her it was essential. I don't know how you toggle that on a pc, though I assume pcs also have some kind of language input option. So if she ever has to take a computer class and isn't allowed to toggle the language, she's a mess. In general though, I think it's going to work out fine. With the iPad, she changes the language source for the wireless keyboard. For the on-screen keyboard you don't have Dvorak as an option unfortunately. Maybe someday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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