with keyboarding?"
I believe it is a necessary skill that should be assessed at school and pra=
cticed at home. Class time is too precious, we can do better.=20
M
Matt Pearson
(on iPhone)
On Dec 5, 2010, at 3:37 PM, "Gary S. Stager" <district@stager.org> wrote:
> I suggest you read this literature review on keyboarding instruction prov=
ided as a service by me at http://stager.org/keyboarding.html
>=20
> Gary Stager
> Constructing Modern Knowledge
> http://constructingmodernknowledge.com
>=20
> On Dec 4, 2010, at 5:23 PM, Keith E Gatling wrote:
>=20
>> Let's go back about 40 years, to when I was 14. It could safely be assum=
ed
>> that there was a typewriter in most houses, but just because that typewr=
iter
>> was there didn't mean that every kid knew how to type properly, with the
>> correct fingers, and knew all the special tricks of the machine.
>>=20
>> A lot of kids back in 1970 were pretty decent two-finger typists, but wh=
o,
>> again, didn't know what all the special buttons on the machine were for,=
or
>> how they could make their lives easier.
>>=20
>> I was also a pretty good two-finger typist, and had been typing all of m=
y
>> papers since 4th grade, but being made to take an actual typing class wh=
en I
>> was a sophomore was the best thing anyone could've done for me. I learne=
d
>> the right fingers, and that made me faster. I learned what Tab Set, Mar =
Rel,
>> and all those other buttons I had been ignoring for years, were all abou=
t;
>> and they made getting those papers written for Mr Rosenberg a piece of c=
ake.
>> My friends who didn't take the "boring" typing course struggled with thi=
ngs
>> that were a snap for me. Also, taking the typing course taught me a lot
>> about the proper *formatting* of a document; something I'm still fussy a=
bout
>> to this day.
>>=20
>> Can we assume that just because everyone has a computer in their house a=
nd
>> can navigate around FB, YouTube, and Google, that they type well enough =
to
>> help them out in the long run? I don't think so. You can't assume this a=
ny
>> more now than you could have assumed 40 years ago that every kid knew ho=
w to
>> type because there was a typewriter at home.
>>=20
>> And what about those smaller virtual keyboards (or finger keyboards even=
)?
>> Do we assume that learning keyboarding is useless because *some* keyboar=
ds
>> are a little smaller? I don't think so. Yeah, it takes a little adjustme=
nt
>> for me to get used to a slightly smaller keyboard (and the key word here=
is
>> *slightly*), but the skills I learned 40 years ago still carry me throug=
h
>> quite well on those machines. Finger keyboards? My ten-figer skills are
>> still helpful when I'm trying to thumb-type on a QWERY phone.
>>=20
>> Another reason why proper typing is so important is that if you can type
>> fast enough, it's a whole lot easier to do a total brain dump without lo=
sing
>> your train of thought. If you're still looking around for where the keys
>> are, you're likely to forget what it was you were going to write in the
>> first place.
>>=20
>> And it doesn't have to be all that boring or all that intense. I suddenl=
y
>> fell ill a few weeks ago and had to come up with a plan that anyone coul=
d
>> teach. So I gave my 6th graders, many of whom had abysmal typing skills,=
my
>> 2nd grade typing book to work on. We should be done with it in about two
>> weeks, and they're racing each other to see who finishes first.
>>=20
>> The lessons don't have to be boring either. Once we got enough keys unde=
r
>> our belt, I was able to make sentences that they found amusing (and that
>> also raised a few parental eyebrows). The short essays I've had them wor=
k on
>> at the end of each book have tended to be about something of cultural or
>> personal interest.
>>=20
>> And that's the other important thing: I look at the time I spent teachin=
g
>> them how to type as a way to get other "life lessons" taught at the same
>> time. They think they're learning how to type, but they're really learni=
ng
>> other things that I think are important for a whole human being to know.
>>=20
>> So...do we need to keep teaching keyboarding? My answer is an unqualifie=
d
>> YES.
>>=20
>> [ For info on ISED-L see https://www.gds.org/podium/default.aspx?t=3D128=
874 ]
>> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution=
, non-commercial, share-alike license.
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>=20
> Gary S. Stager, Ph.D.
> Senior Editor & West Coast Bureau Chief
> District Administration Magazine
>=20
> Editor
> The Pulse: Education's Place for Debate
>=20
> 21825 Barbara Street
> Torrance, CA 90503
> (310) 874-8236 Voice
> (413) 812-4767 Fax
> www.districtadministration.com
>=20
> [ For info on ISED-L see https://www.gds.org/podium/default.aspx?t=3D1288=
74 ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,=
non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L
>=20
[ For info on ISED-L see https://www.gds.org/podium/default.aspx?t=3D128874 ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
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