The How-Tos of Touch Typing for Kids

Kids are like sponges. They can absorb any information or skill you present to them. But that makes it even more important to teach them the proper techniques from the start. There aren’t many how-to’s of touch typing for kids, but some basics can’t be forsaken.

Thankfully, there are different types of tools online that can assist in creating proper teaching methods. Also, they will reinforce all of the skills the child has already learned. While not being the “end all, be all,” touch typing for kids is an irreplaceable skill that should hold a spot in their education.

Touch Typing for Kids is Very Useful

While most of the industries that promoted touch typing in the first place are now replaced by technology, the skill itself is more popular than ever. Apart from obvious industries that are on the rise, like content marketing or social media advertisement, there are hundreds of sales jobs that require touch typing as a core skill.

Additionally, all types of customer support jobs have chat rooms that are filled with people who can type quickly and respond to messages instantly.

Finally, having the mechanical skill of typing quickly and correctly can lead children to become writers and creators. It may become a crucial skill for their livelihood sometime in the future.

Unlearn Touchscreens

The fact that children learn so quickly might be a double-edged sword for some parents and educators. Namely, there are a lot of kids who are already used to touchscreens and typing only with their thumbs. That instinct needs to be overwritten.

Thankfully, that is not so hard. The only thing necessary is for the first few exercises to be fun. Once they get the hang of keeping their hands on the keyboard correctly it will all be downhill from there.

Make Touch Typing for Kids Fun

Most older folk, and especially older educators, have a hard time understanding why exactly kids today are so hard to teach. The main reason is not complex. Rather, it’s simply the number of options today’s children have compared to older generations.

Unlike our forefathers, the question isn’t between staying in school and helping with the farm or business. No, today kids have all sorts of fantastic entertainment on the tip of their fingers, and strict child labor laws, for better or for worse.

That is why we need to use software and games to approach touch typing as a fun activity. It is much easier to show them how, by correctly typing, they can win the game. As for the much longer game called “life” – they might have unsurpassed graphics, but the progression is slower.

Short and Exciting Touch Typing Exercises

Most educators found out that shorter exercises have a greater impact on learning. It is hard for kids today to keep their attention high for forty-five minutes or an hour.

The best measure is ten minutes of practice followed by five minutes of rest. That can be repeated several times with different exercises.

Each task should have a clear goal and the ability to show the student what they have done correctly or missed. The swift succession of prizes and benefits will make the serration flowing while they practice.

After a while, typing becomes a pleasure. The students love learning more and even start practicing at home on their own.

Do a Cycle

While not a muscle, your brain reacts in the same way as the rest of your body. Repartition is essential for learning, but so is rest. You will need to create some time between similar exercises if you want them to stick as much as possible.

The best way to do so is to create a cycle of tasks that will repeat every few days. They can be in blocks or different from each other, but you should mix and match between practicing the home row, pinky keys, as well as different hands.

Don’t Lose Patience

Every person has their own rate of learning, and that is especially true for children. As an educator, it is vital that you don’t try to rush the process too much and frustrate your student for not going as fast and you want. Touch typing for kids should be a fun process and not a punishment.

If you are using software, you will be able to track their progression and see how quickly they are improving. Then you might want to try to change something in the exercises or the overall approach.

Whatever you do, don’t blame the student. It’s important to remember that lapses in education tend to be the fault of the master, not the pupil.

Steal Knowledge

The same way your students use the internet to share memes, you should use it to steal knowledge. Browse through best practices and results of other people and other teachers. There are a lot of people teaching touch typing for kids and you should use their experience.

Even if you have a lot of years under your belt as an educator, there is bound to be something new that you don’t know and that you can use in your classroom.

– KeyboardingOnline’s Program –

We here at KeyboardingOnline have perfected the process for learning proper computer keyboarding and typing. See how KeyboardingOnline can help you help your students learn proper typing skills to benefit them for the rest of their lives.