s
to teach them techniques that will not allow them to meet minimum
standards, but also grow beyond the basics. Can these students with "nos=
e
and elbow" reach 60 or 70 words per minute?
Yes, there is the Dvorak keyboard that is designed to reach 100+ wpm
speeds, but there are significant barriers to adoption.
.02
Dave
David Baker
Mount Tamalpais School
Dean of Technology
Math Department Chair
http://www.mttam.org/
dbaker@mttam.org
A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> on
November 20, 2009 at 11:10 AM -0800 wrote:
>Too funny - nose & elbow. =20
>
>As a general rule I still push for home row and appropriate finger
>placement, but a couple years ago I had a young man that was able to use
>2 fingers on one hand and 3 on the other and was still able to nail the
>WPM and accuracy.
>
>I should have put that on youtube. It was hilarious to watch.
>
>I'm thinking that today kids could probably pick up the keyboard and
>just use their thumbs...
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Renee Ramig [mailto:rramig@sevenhillsschool.org]=20
>Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 11:29 AM
>To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>Subject: Re: Is Typing Speed Important Anymore
>
>What I have found is that more and more students are using the computer
>at younger and younger ages. Students that use technology a lot for
>anything text related - texting, IMing, social networking, twittering,
>etc. become fast at getting the information out there. The people at
>the other end, of what is "instant" communication don't have the
>patience for kids that are slow at pushing out the information.
>
>About five years ago I stopped worrying about how they typed. If a
>student can do 40 wpm with decent accuracy using their nose and elbow,
>that is fine with me. Since the keyboarding programs are all geared
>toward teaching proper fingering techniques, for most students it is
>really frustrating. They already type at 30 or more words per minute
>using their own technique, and trying to change the way they type
>actually slows them down.
>
>The only problem I have is with the 20% or so of students that really
>have minimal keyboarding skills when going into middle school. We
>require everything to be typed up in one format or another (Word, Google
>Docs, etc) in school and for homework, so students that are only typing
>10-15 wpm in 6th grade can really be hindered by not being able to get
>the information into the computer quickly. =20
>
>I try to have the classroom teachers do keyboarding three times a week
>for 6-8 weeks in 4th - 5th grades. This usually ends up being more like
>twice a week for 4-5 weeks, but it does help a little bit. We also do a
>speed test in sixth grade, and any student not typing at 25 wpm (at 85%
>accuracy) just gets a letter sent home with online typing programs that
>can help them improve their speed. It is not required or graded. =20
>
>Renee Ramig
>Seven Hills School
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: A forum for independent school educators
>[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Keith E Gatling
>Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 7:29 AM
>To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>Subject: Re: Is Typing Speed Important Anymore
>
>Oh, I don't deny that speed and accuracy are important. My question is
>should we even be testing for speed anymore, or can we assume that once
>we give them the basic skills, and they use them over and over, speed
>will come?
>
>keg
>
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