(We received this product for free and were compensated for our time. All opinions are our own!)
When my family first got a computer, oh, almost 20 years ago now, we were enthralled with the idea of not having to hand write out each and every one of our homeschool assignments. While there is definitely great value in learning and practicing correct handwriting, typing on a keyboard certainly makes mistakes easier to correct and provides a bit more room and encouragement for creativity.
Of course, along with a computer comes a keyboard. Learning how to type was goal #1 for our new computer, and there really was only 1 program available. Nowadays, there are quite a few different typing programs, for kids and adults, and determining which one you want to use can be a bit time consuming.
That’s where reviews like this come in handy :0) We aren’t just going to say “Rah-rah, try TypeKids Touch Typing Course for kids today!” Nor are we going to simply tell you the draw of the program and the benefits we’ve seen.
The Boy and I are going to SHOW you the improvement we’ve observed in just a few lessons with TypeKids. There’s nothing boring about this program whatsoever. I mean, who doesn’t like pirates, maps and buried treasure?! Opportunities to win more points based on your typing improvement? Check! A program that knows which letters you need to work on and provides specific exercises for them? Check! Funny characters, good humour and interesting storyline? Check!
Proper Posture and Positioning
The program starts off teaching the proper posture for sitting at a keyboard, positioning of hands (similar to piano lessons :D) and fingers.
Cool Characters and Storyline
Each lesson begins with a continuation of the previous story then proceeds into the exercises. The number of exercises in each lessons increases as students progress through the course – for example, lesson 1 has less exercises than lesson 9. The Boy loves the exercises, because depending on how well he does, he can earn more points to play games in the “arcade”. As for the storyline, he’s 9, and he’s really into it! There’s always an interesting twist and fun characters to follow.
Check Up On Your Progress
After each lesson you receive a progress report. It’s more of a tool for students or parents/teachers (depending on whose e-mail address you used to sign up and login) to recognize where improvements are being made and what needs to be worked on, but it’s pretty neat to see the progress via a chart. You can also access this through the site.
See Improvement in Touch Typing in Just a Few Lessons
From lesson 1 to lesson 5 we saw a big improvement in The Boy’s touch typing. The program encourages students to speak the letters as they’re typing them initially, in order to solidify the positioning of the letters on the keyboard. But once they’re comfortable and moving faster through the lessons, it’s almost not necessary.
In all, we are really pleased with how The Boy has gone from tapping to typing in just a few lessons with TypeKids. It’s a fun, interesting program AND with practice, you’re guaranteed to see improvement in typing.
