The document describes different approaches to teaching keyboarding skills to elementary school students. It discusses when keyboarding should be taught, how to address issues like manual dexterity, attention span and reading ability. It also compares teaching hunt-and-peck versus touch typing. A key approach described is "Playground Keyboarding", which builds keyboard familiarity through physical activities without access to an actual keyboard, such as "air typing". Examples are given of implementing Playground Keyboarding in a computer lab, physical education class, and regular classroom.

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5. Keyboarding Cornucopia:
Successful Strategies for
Teaching Keyboarding
Leigh Zeitz
http://www.keyboardingresearch.org

6. Keyboarding is . . .
a set of cumulative
psychomotor skills involving
the touch method of input to a
keyboard.

7. It’s More than that . . .
Keyboarding is a
gateway to using
a computer
efficiently and
effectively.

8. Plan for Today
 Review Keyboarding Issues
 When keyboarding should be taught
 How keyboarding should be taught
 Playground Keyboarding Program
– In the Computer Lab
– In Physical Education
– In the Classroom

9. Facts
85% of elementary classrooms have
computers.
77% elementary schools have computer labs
24% of 6 - 11 year olds have home
computers.

10. Facts
ISTE NETS
Grades 3 - 5
Use keyboards . . . Efficiently and effectively
At least 4 states require keyboarding at the
5th grade (TX, NY, VA, MN)

11. Side Benefits
Builds Enthusiasm for Writing
Texas Guidelines
Improve Spelling (3rd/4th grade)
Hoot, 1986
Improved reading and vocabulary
Hoot, 1986, Wronkovich, 1998

12. Grade Level?
 3rd grade
– Bartholme, 1996; Instructional Resource of Curr/Instr
Div of Saskatchewan Education, 1991; Pisha, 1993;
Starr, 2001
 4th grade
– Erthal (1998); Hopkins (1998)
 5th grade
– MacIntyre, 1990; Wronkovich, 1998
 Not in Elementary
– Waner, Behymer, & McCrary, 1992

13. Issues
 Manual Dexterity
 Cognitive Development
 Attention Span
 Reading Ability
 Curriculum Placement

14. Manual Dexterity
 Size
– Need to be able to reach the keys
(Waner, Behymer, & McCrary, 1992)
– Younger students spend more time on spelling than
correct finger placement. (Kahn and Freyd, 1990)
– Typical keyboard is 11” x 5”.
Don’t wait until your students get bigger,
Get smaller keyboards.

15. Little Fingers Keyboards
10.5” x 4” 9” x 3”
20% smaller
 DataDesk Technologies
 http://www.data-desk.com
 $50 - 70

16. Manual Dexterity
 Agility
– Move fingers
independently
– Problems with
middle & ring fingers
– How many of your
students play the
piano?

17. Portable Word Processors
 Personal writing processor
 On-board keyboard instruction
 116 preprogrammed lessons
– Technique Builder Homerow
 Individualizes progress reports
 Spell check/thesaurus
 http://www.keyboardinstructor.com
 $189

18. Portable Word Processors
 Personal writing processor
 KeyWords applets
 Prints reports
 Enrolls up to 8 students
 http://www.alphasmart.com
 $199

19. Attention Span
 Not a factor in developing small movement
skills (Wronkovich, 1998)
 Attention span increases as students
become more proficient. (Kaake, 1983)

20. Reading Ability
 Typing is more than pressing buttons.
 Grouping letters into words.
 Reading creates a reason to type.

21. Curriculum
 Keyboarding needs to support curriculum
 Teach keyboarding 1 year before . . .
– use keyboarding
– computer applications (Texas Guidelines)
 Where in the curriculum?
– Teach independently (Bartholome, 1996)
– Integrate as communication (Waner, Behymer,
& McCrary, 1992)

22. How Fast is Enough?
 Upper elementary students write at
– 11 wpm
 Should be able to type faster than write
 Enter information into a dynamic writing
environment
 Allow for editing and revising

23. How long is the lesson?
 Students typically receive < 10 hours
– Sormunen, 1991
 50 hours over 3 elementary years
– Boone (ND)
 35 minutes/day for 4 weeks
– Robinson (1991)
 Review periodically
– 15 hours/year
– Robinson (1992)
 Once taught
– Use, reinforce, and refine
– Texas Guidelines, 1987; Adams, 1984; Wronkovich,
1998)

24. Hunt-Peck vs. Touch Typing
 Familiarity important at young ages
 Build familiarity through
– 5-minute practice sessions
(Kahn & Freyd, 1990)
– Use typing for writing
(Kahn & Freyd, 1990)
– Playground Keyboarding
(Zeitz, 2003)

25. BUT Familiarity CAN
Spawn Hunt-&-Peck
 Relies too much on visual feedback
 Too much attention to fingers
 Builds bad habits
Can you teach
familiarity w/o
a keyboard?

26. Familiarity w/o a Keyboard
Playground Keyboarding

27. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Experiment Layout
– Two third grade classes
• One with playground keyboarding
(experimental)
• One without playground keyboarding
(control)
• Identical computer lab instruction
• Connection between kinesthetic learning
and keyboarding achievement

28. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Build familiarity with keyboarding
– Develop habits of:
• Good posture
• Keyboarding technique
• Make keyboarding a reflexive response
• Speed and accuracy will follow

29. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Crucial first week
– Lay foundation for safe and proper
keyboarding
• Learn correct posture
• Hand shape
• Homerow orientation
• Finger technique

30. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Posture
– Connected good keyboarding posture to
good batting stance
– PowerPoint (link)
 Ready, set, go!
– Made it fun

31. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Key familiarity
– Air Typing (2 minutes each class)
• Used to introduce new keys
• Looky Lou Keyboard

32. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Textbook exercises
– Practice
– Review
– Assess
• 60 seconds
• Recorded on progress
report

33. Playground Keyboarding - In
the Computer Lab
 Reinforcement
– 10% instruction, 90%
reinforcement (Keyboard
Instructor manual)
– N.O.P.E.C.K Bucks
• Good posture, etc.
• No peeking
– No Peeky Towel

34. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 No Peeky Towel
– Forced them to not
look at keys
– Helped develop
memory
– Eliminated visual
cues

35. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Scheduling
– Shoot for four or five days a week
(Keyboard Instructor manual)
– We were able to do 2 days a week
• 20 minutes each day
• Not enough time

36. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Results!
– Mixed
 Control Group
– Increased 1.5 wpm from beginning
 Experimental Group
– Increased 1.8 wpm from beginning

37. Playground Keyboarding -
In Physical Education
Lori Smith

38. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Classroom
Aricia Beckman - PLS - 4th Grade
Keyboardinstructor.com

39. Happy Keyboarding
Keyboarding Research
and Resources
http://www.keyboardingreseach.org