Alphasmart is a very sturdy and easy to use machine that schools like to give elementary aged children. My nephew used one and loved being able to keyboards simply. The teacher should be able to train her how to down load her files so they can be printed out.
Yippee!
I've never heard of
http://www.donjohnston.com/products/write_outloud/index.htmlbut from the website it looks like a simple wordprocessor that one uses on a PC (laptop, desktop or netbook) that has the advantage of converting text to speech. This seems like it would be good if the child is having trouble reading, or to make the child more aware of what they have typed, for editing purposes.
10 minutes a day of keyboarding practice seems like a great plan. 2 sessions spread out over the day seems like it would be ok too.
At age 8, your DD may not really be ready to touch type fluently, so I understand the teacher's concern that learning to type and using typing for school might be too much to do all at once. But if you work on typing steadily, she will eventually learn to type comfortably. I took it as a great opportunity to learn a physical skill - practice matters more that understanding.
You might enjoy reading 'cheaper by the dozen' as aloud reading - there is a whole chapter on typewriters in it.
love and more love,
Grinity
