ALL KEYED UP!
by Jamie Keller
From tots to teens, students will learn that "q" is for qwerty, "p" is for posture, and "a" is for animated fun in this typing tutorial.
As computers become more and more commonplace fixtures in classrooms, many kids are learning to type even before they're learning to write. In our last typing roundup four years ago, there were very few programs geared for the primary grades. Now the market is flooded with them.
Some readers might be asking, "Keyboarding for preschoolers?" This brings up the inevitable question of when is the right time to begin keyboard practice. Theories abound. For this piece, we contacted publishers directly to hear their views on the issue.
At EdVenture Software, John Crandall, creator of Roller Typing, thinks schools should wait until second grade, "because it really isn't until this grade that their hands are physically big enough to reach all of the keys."
