Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Typing program

he little fella is interested in learning to type. I found him starting to type a story on the PC last week but he has to look at the keyboard all the time.
Haas anybody used a typing program that they could recommend
Thanks

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Dance Mat typing is a good place to start. Not a typing program, but a web site. It's free, and it teaches the keyboard.

After that, try Type to Learn. They use it in a lot of schools.

This is a great site keet. Love the animation. I'm going to have my DD try it out...

When I was in third grade, we would learn to type using "PAWS in Typing Town" in computer class. It was an okay program, but the graphics are not up-to-date at all.

It is very expensive, though, and I imagine it would be bought by schools more than parents.

What I love most about this thread is the though of all these young minds being let out of their finger cages! I learned to type at age 12, which was considered wildly early way back then, and I felt like a blind person who could suddenly see. Not that I would know, but that is how it seemed to me.

Then I remember getting to use my first word processing program at age 19! Wow! I could print out my paper, and find errors, and go back and fix them without having to retype the paper all over again. I felt like I could fly.

My spelling never really kicked in, as some of you know (thanks for putting up with me!) but in most places I can hide behind spell checker. Another step forward.

My son learned to type at age 9, and we went from being 'below grade level' at writing to really impressing people. Also it helped with his grade skip, because he was about 18 months younger than the other kids, and they had the stamina to stay up late doing homework. Typing well gave my son the chance to finish up his homework more rapidly and get the sleep he needed.

Smiles,
Grinity

The most important thing you need when learning to type is an actual will to learn--not just to pass some program or satisfy your parents, IMHO. When I was younger, I loved to type stories on Word and I'd often type for an hour or so without any nagging from my parents. Then we had to do a typing program in school, and I progressed way fastercthan the other students. Right now I can type up to 153 WPM, but my time usually hovers around the 130's.

Also, IMing is bad if you can't type correctly. You end up forgetting to capitalize and using abbreviations like "u" for "you".

Well, there's my two cents.

Double post. Whoops. ;(

Pretty good 2 cents! I agree completely.