Tips on Teaching Keyboarding
in the Elementary Schools
Tom McGee
www.tommcgee.wikispaces.com
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Why Is Keyboarding Important?
• Keyboarding is a developmental skill that
occurs over a period of time. Poor habits
begin at an early age. It’s important for
students to develop GOOD keyboarding
habits as early as Kindergarten.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How Often Should Keyboarding Be Taught?
• Teachers do not have to be expert
keyboardists to TEACH the skills. Using a
program such as Type To Learn will actually
TEACH the skills
• Keyboarding should be reinforced every
time a student works on a laptop or
desktop.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How To Teach Keyboarding
“I LOVE how ‘Johnny’
keyboards with his feet on the
floor!”
“Who can name the HOME
keys?””
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How To Teach Keyboarding
Monitor “I LOVE how ‘Johnny’
keyboards with his feet on the
floor!”
“Who can name the HOME
keys?””
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How To Teach Keyboarding
Monitor “I LOVE how ‘Johnny’
keyboards with his feet on the
floor!”
Encourage
“Who can name the HOME
keys?””
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How To Teach Keyboarding
Monitor “I LOVE how ‘Johnny’
keyboards with his feet on the
floor!”
Encourage
“Who can name the HOME
keys?”” Reinforce
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

What Do You Monitor?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

What Skills Need to Be
Reinforced?
Skills To Reinforce:
1. Keyboard Awareness
2. Home Keys
3. Right Hand Vs. Left
4. Good Posture and Hand Positioning
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #1
Type To Learn teaches kids how to type on a computer!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #1
Type To Learn teaches kids how to type on a computer!
Typing programs such as Type
To Learn is a simulator that
helps students learn skills such
as home keys, 9inger
positioning, and hooks them
into fun games to practice their
skills. Keyboarding is taught
through monitoring progress
and correcting poor
keyboarding habits.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #1
Type To Learn teaches kids how to type on a computer!
Typing programs such as Type
To Learn is a simulator that
helps students learn skills such
as home keys, 9inger
positioning, and hooks them
into fun games to practice their
skills. Keyboarding is taught
through monitoring progress
and correcting poor
keyboarding habits.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #2
My Students are way too young to learn how to keyboard!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #2
My Students are way too young to learn how to keyboard!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #2
My Students are way too young to learn how to keyboard!
Studies have shown that most
students develop poor
keyboarding habits at an early
age. The older they get the
harder these habits are to break!
Students can learn and should
begin to learn keyboarding skills
as early as Kindergarten!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #3
There’s NO time to teach keyboarding!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #3
There’s NO time to teach keyboarding!
Keyboarding is important! It’s a
vital skill students need to
develop at an early age to
compete in a 21st century
learning environment.
Keyboarding should be taught
every time students open a
laptop, not just when they go on
Type To Learn. The job of the
teacher is to monitor, encourage,
and reinforce their skills while
they type!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mythbuster #3
There’s NO time to teach keyboarding!
Keyboarding is important! It’s a
vital skill students need to
develop at an early age to
compete in a 21st century
learning environment.
Keyboarding should be taught
every time students open a
laptop, not just when they go on
Type To Learn. The job of the
teacher is to monitor, encourage,
and reinforce their skills while
they type!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Lesson Sample #1
_ +
- =
{ }
[ ]
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Lesson Sample #2
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How Well Do You Know The Keyboard?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How Well Do You Know The Keyboard?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How Well Do You Know The Keyboard?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How Well Do You Know The Keyboard?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Reinforcement Tips
• Post a Good Posture Poster in the room
and make it visible
• Use blank keyboards as a 1 minute
assessment to practice learning the keys
• Use programs such as Type to Learn to
help simulate the skills
• Allow keyboarding practice for spelling
lists, paragraph writing, vocabulary lists, etc
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Reinforcement Tips
• Time the students (Words per minute)
• Hold Keyboarding Contests once in a while
for speed, accuracy, Know the Keys, etc.
• Have FUN with Keyboarding- Your students
will enjoy it!!
• Quiz: Name a key you type with the left
hand? Right hand?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Remember...
“We must prepare our students for
their future, not ours!”
Tuesday, October 13, 2009