Touch Typing for Academic Success
Post-Course Information
How to help students improve typing after supervised typing training
Partnership with parents is critical for success.
While some students are self-motivated and very aware of what is required of them, others need parental support to stay on track.
To maximise the effectiveness of the course parents should:
Ensure students complete the set practice;
Print out the necessary worksheets for students to complete;
Ask students about the learning tools we talk about, ideally getting them to show you their own device.
I’ve compiled videos to help parents support practice at home
Progress Worksheet
This worksheet is designed to help parents and students understand what they need to do/have done.
It is for your benefit only, I will never collect them.
Students cannot get it wrong! It is simply an aide memoir for them to check off each day.
This video gives a quick overview telling how to complete it.
Vital viewing if students are unsure how they should be practising
The ‘catch-up’ webinars are not compulsory, but students’ progress better if they attend.
1 minute timed tests
I ask all students to do at least one, one minute time test every day.
This enables me to see how they are progressing. Watching progress helps me to give individual feedback and guidance.
This video shows how to complete a test on Tying.com which is what I want all students to do.
If your child finds the Typing.com test too hard
If your child finds this Typing.com typing test too difficult then they could try to do a timed test on Nessy Fingers. However, this is not without problems.
If this is what you decide to do please email me their results as Nessy overwrites each test. It only keeps the baseline and last test taken.
How long should students practise each day
The longer students practise the better.
This course I am recommending a minimum of 40 minutes a day.
Suggested time breakdown
The 40 minutes could be broken down this way:
25 mins lessons;
15 minutes games;
5 minutes problem keys;
5 minutes timed test.
All of this can be done on Typing.com.
How a completed sheet looks
Typing Games
We play a number of typing games in lessons.
More information on each game can be found by clicking the image below.
To find out more about the games discussed in the video click on the image above.
Can students just play games?
I am delighted as long as they practise BUT,
The only rule I would stipulate is:
More time should be spent on lessons than games
Games improve speed but this can be at the expense of accuracy. It is more important to be accurate at this stage.
I am slow to introduce competitive games like Nitro Type, because students are often so keen to win races they stop using the blind keyboard which is counterproductive.
It’s great if children do more than 40 minutes as long as they don’t get fixated on one particular lesson/game.
Can students use other solutions after the supervised lesson?
Many students prefer to work on many different solutions and games. If this motivates them to practise I am happy!!
Students still have user ids in Typing Club & Nessy Fingers
Typing Clubs lessons 17 & 18 are a helpful, straightforward way to start each session, but it is a suggestion not a compulsory extra.
Nessy Fingers allows students input their own spelling lists to learn by typing, which some students enjoy.
The best visibility is obtained when they use Typing.com.
This visibility enables us to give better instruction.
For optimal supervision & instruction, I recommend student use Typing.com
While supervision and instruction are important, the most vital part of learning is how much the student practises using correct finger positioning. Therefore, if students are resistant to practise on Typing.com, it is good to try other solutions.
Even typing out their favourite website, comic, book …
Students do NOT have to follow the Fasttracks provided
they can choose to do each lesson
We just want students to do as much typing in the school holiday as possible.
What to do if my child is not progressing?
Some find typing harder than others. I explain to students before I start teaching, that in the same way not everyone is great at singing, not everyone is great at typing and it has nothing to do with an individual’s intelligence.
We celebrate progress!!
I purposely do not celebrate the students who are the fastest or the most accurate. While this is worth acknowledging, IF it is down to a natural aptitude, it can be understandably discouraging for those who work extremely hard and cannot achieve high-speed and accuracy.
I keep a close eye on students’ progress. However, parents are sometimes in a better position to highlight when students are not progressing.
If you feel this is a case please do bring it to my attention, as I expect all students to make progress.
The first thing I will check is how long and often students practice as this is often the reason.
However, when students are practicing diligently and are NOT progressing, I want to help so they don’t become discouraged.
A MUST watch if you suspect your child is not progressing
Download extra Student Worksheets
Daily Practise & Weekly Progress Form:
Typing.com worksheet;
Typing Club Worksheet;
Typing dot com Games;
Free typing games.
What parents should know about Typing.com
How to check you child’s activity and progress on Typing.com
What parents should know about Typing Club
This video explains how best to use Typing Club.
It shows how to use the Fastrack worksheets and what parents should be looking for in their childs progess.
It shows how to switch off the finger help when doing a timed test.
I have created a number of new timed tests that I hope students will enjoy.
It also explains the limitations I have found in Typing Club reporting, and why I much prefer Typing.com.
Check students finger positioning
We take great care to ensure all our students use the correct finger placement when we supervise their typing.
It would be wise for you to do the same when they type independently.
Ensure all typing practise is done on the ‘blind’ keyboard. You can skip the first 30 seconds that explains the ‘blind’ keyboard.