Type to Learn 4

Last year, during our first year as a 1:1 computing school, teachers noticed that students lacked the ability to type efficiently using a laptop keyboard. We found that students were more familiar with how to text on their phones or use an on-screen tablet keyboard to type. Many of our students still used the old "hunt and peck" method for typing. This severely decreased their speed and accuracy while they were researching, blogging or journaling online. In addition this cut down on the amount of words they could type for timed writing assessments. We felt we had to find a solution to this problem.

We purchased a program called Type to Learn 4 through Sunburst Digital programs for students in grades 3-8 that used laptop computers. We spent a semester getting the program ready for students and training teachers how to use the software. Finally after anxiously waiting for several months the students have been able to log on and practice correct keyboarding skills and procedures. Plus the kids find the videogame-like setup of the program engaging and entertaining.

There are 34 lessons included in the program. Students progress through the lessons and assessments and are scored on their words per minute and accuracy levels. Then based on the improvement shown over the course of time they can unlock mini-games to practice their skills even further. Teachers can also upload custom content like spelling words or specific passages and use the program integrated in with their daily curriculum. The program helps students improve on their accuracy, left and right hand coordination, speed, timing, and words per minute. It is our goal to further enhance their typing skills so they can be successful in their later years of education.

Parents you can  download this program to your home computer since your child has a school account. Contact Mrs. Hollingsworth at jhollingsworth@kokomoschools.com for assistance or visit the Bon Air Tech Support page for Parents on our school website for instructions.

Check out what some fifth grade students have to say about using the program in class.