online typing programs not working

[workingmom]

DD 6th grade has been doing typing club for several months but she's not very fluent in typing and often I see her going back to pecking rather than staying the proper technique. In middle schools they used to offer 1/2 semester typing courses but seems like the middle school dropped that. Any suggestions or instructor led live zoom type courses you've had success with on outschool or other sites? I'm worried when she start part time enrollment next year at the middle school she won't be fast enough  with her typing. 

 

 

[HomeAgain]

We put a box over the keyboard.  You can put individual stickers on, but the box worked well for my 5th grader when he started typing this year.  He's not fast yet, but he has technique down.  The rest will be just practice.

TBH, I don't think a lot of kids are taught technique anymore.  I've seen a LOT of young adults lately who hunt and peck, and it seems to correlate to the integration of computer skills earlier in school.

 

Adding: We use a typing book.  I looked at online programs for this kid but he's my perfectionist, so being able to easily go back to a much earlier lesson was a must.  On days he's having a hard time, we just go back to home row words or beginning upper row.

Edited April 24, 2021 by HomeAgain

[PeterPan]

Agreeing that you have to work on technique and proper finger placement. Mavis Beacon was really good here, but it's not free. You can also do dictation, having them type the words, phrases, or sentences you give. With my dd I paid her for typing progress. Took her 3 months once she got really motivated, lol.

If it's still not coming after there's motivation and effort, you could be seeing fine motor or visual motor integration issues. 

[workingmom]

On 4/24/2021 at 6:41 AM, HomeAgain said:

We put a box over the keyboard.  You can put individual stickers on, but the box worked well for my 5th grader when he started typing this year.  He's not fast yet, but he has technique down.  The rest will be just practice.

 

What's that mean put a box of over the keyboard?

[HomeAgain]

5 hours ago, workingmom said:

What's that mean put a box of over the keyboard?

I cut off the side of a box, took off the top flaps. It sits over/around the keyboard like a little table, with the cut out side facing the person so their hands can go in.  If they look down, they see the box bottom.  It takes a lot more effort to pull back and look under so it encourages feeling by memory first.  It's not a fast process and can be frustrating, but worth it. Like I said, there have been plenty of days we went back to home row practice and added in other keys slowly.

[workingmom]

Ooh got it

 

Do any of you think it makes a difference to learn typing on a laptop where I notice the keys are flatter vs the plug in keyboards for desktops where the keys seem deeper.

[PeterPan]

20 hours ago, workingmom said:

Ooh got it

 

Do any of you think it makes a difference to learn typing on a laptop where I notice the keys are flatter vs the plug in keyboards for desktops where the keys seem deeper.

No, the issue is it requires discipline to learn to touch type. You can hawk them, pay them, whatever it takes. She may even have a fine motor issue or VMI issues. My ds has dys

[PeterPan]

20 hours ago, workingmom said:

Ooh got it

 

Do any of you think it makes a difference to learn typing on a laptop where I notice the keys are flatter vs the plug in keyboards for desktops where the keys seem deeper.

No, the issue is it requires discipline to learn to touch type. You can hawk them, pay them, whatever it takes. She may even have a fine motor issue or VMI issues. My ds has dysgraphia and typing is a bear for him, very slow. But we've got the discipline side, where he's trying to touch type. That's mental and getting them to agree it's the goal.

My dd did exceptionally well with Mavis Beacon and I paid her. But I also switched her to an alternate keyboard layout (Dvorak) but still a QWERTY keyboard so she COULDN'T peck, haha. 

 

[knitgrl]

This might not be your issue whatsoever -- dd had an issue with one of the online typing programs because she only did it 1-3 times a week, and got frustrated because she did not see any improvement. I switched her to a different online program and made sure she did it everyday, and improvement was more apparent.

[fourisenough]

Yep, agreeing with others: the only way to improve is daily or 2x daily practice. I can’t imagine that a live class would be any better for this than an online program. My kids all learned via BBC Dance Mat Typing (I can still hear those voices in my head!). Once they know proper position/technique, they move on to NitroType to improve speed. My current 6th grader does 3-4 NT races every morning as a part of her “warm up work” while I’m wiping down the kitchen, loading dishes, getting ready to start school with her. She is typing in the low 60’s wpm. She’s been working at it daily for probably 3-4 school years, though.