On Sat, Dec 4, 2010 at 11:48 AM, Renee Ramig <rramig@sevenhillsschool.org>wrote:
> For schools out there that no longer teach technology (fully integrated),
> do you find the need for keyboarding?
>
> This is our third year of full integration. We use technology daily, but
> we don't teach technology. In K-1 they have 5 laptops in each class. In
> 2nd - 5th they have one full set of laptops in each grade (two students for
> one laptop). In middle school, there is about a 1.5 to 1 ratio. The
> laptops on shelves spread around the middle school that students use as
> needed.
>
> In 2nd and up, the students use the computers 3-4 times a week for a
> variety of things including math, research, writing, organizing and
> creating. In K-1, each student generally gets access 1-2 times a week
> during station time. We are using it mostly for language arts in K and math
> in 1st. In middle school, students use laptops almost daily for lots of
> different tasks.
>
> I use to teach keyboarding three days a week for the first six weeks of
> school in 4th and 5th grades. I have asked the 4th and 5th grade teachers
> to try and fit it in, but they have found it just too time consuming. They
> encourage the students to do keyboarding practice at home. Of course, the
> students that don't need to practice are the ones that do it. The ones that
> need it, never practice.
>
> At this point though, I am not sure there is the need for keyboarding
> instruction anymore. The middle school kids use the laptops almost
> everyday, and none of them seem hindered by their lack of keyboarding
> skills. Granted, I am not sure a single kid uses the standard 10 finger
> method of keyboarding, but they all seem to be at 20 wpm using their
> creative style of keyboarding. We haven't had a formal keyboarding program
> for three years now, and yet the middle school students seem more confident
> in their keyboarding abilities than they did four years ago.
>
> We are actually investigating the use of iPads in a pilot program next year
> in three grades (K, 4 and 8). This will totally change the way they type
> since it is a virtual keyboard. The students that have iPads seem to have
> no problem using a virtual keyboard. It is usually the teachers that have
> problems with it.
>
> With students using computers more and more at school and at home, and with
> the input method changing on some devices, should we be taking class time to
> teach keyboarding?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Renee Ramig
> Seven Hills School
>
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--
Norman Constantine
Director of Technology Integration
Wakefield School
The Plains, VA
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