Review of research on keyboarding in the classroom. This is from a presentation in 2005.

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5. Keyboarding Cornucopia:
Successful Strategies for
Teaching Keyboarding
Leigh Zeitz
http://www.keyboardingresearch.org

6. Keyboarding is . . .
a set of cumulative
psychomotor skills involving
the touch method of input to a
keyboard.

7. It’s More than that . . .
Keyboarding is a
gateway to using
a computer
efficiently and
effectively.

8. Plan for Today
 Review Keyboarding Issues
 When keyboarding should be taught
 How keyboarding should be taught
 Playground Keyboarding Program
– In the Computer Lab
– In Physical Education
– In the Classroom

9. Facts
85% of elementary classrooms have
computers.
77% elementary schools have computer labs
24% of 6 - 11 year olds have home
computers.

10. Facts
ISTE NETS
Grades 3 - 5
Use keyboards . . . Efficiently and effectively
At least 4 states require keyboarding at the
5th grade (TX, NY, VA, MN)

11. Side Benefits
Builds Enthusiasm for Writing
Texas Guidelines
Improve Spelling (3rd/4th grade)
Hoot, 1986
Improved reading and vocabulary
Hoot, 1986, Wronkovich, 1998

12. Grade Level?
 3rd grade
– Bartholme, 1996; Instructional Resource of Curr/Instr
Div of Saskatchewan Education, 1991; Pisha, 1993;
Starr, 2001
 4th grade
– Erthal (1998); Hopkins (1998)
 5th grade
– MacIntyre, 1990; Wronkovich, 1998
 Not in Elementary
– Waner, Behymer, & McCrary, 1992

13. Issues
 Manual Dexterity
 Cognitive Development
 Attention Span
 Reading Ability
 Curriculum Placement

14. Manual Dexterity
 Size
– Need to be able to reach the keys
(Waner, Behymer, & McCrary, 1992)
– Younger students spend more time on spelling than
correct finger placement. (Kahn and Freyd, 1990)
– Typical keyboard is 11” x 5”.
Don’t wait until your students get bigger,
Get smaller keyboards.

15. Little Fingers Keyboards
10.5” x 4” 9” x 3”
20% smaller
 DataDesk Technologies
 http://www.data-desk.com
 $50 - 70

16. Manual Dexterity
 Agility
– Move fingers
independently
– Problems with
middle & ring fingers
– How many of your
students play the
piano?

17. Portable Word Processors
 Personal writing processor
 On-board keyboard instruction
 116 preprogrammed lessons
– Technique Builder Homerow
 Individualizes progress reports
 Spell check/thesaurus
 http://www.keyboardinstructor.com
 $189

18. Portable Word Processors
 Personal writing processor
 KeyWords applets
 Prints reports
 Enrolls up to 8 students
 http://www.alphasmart.com
 $199

19. Attention Span
 Not a factor in developing small movement
skills (Wronkovich, 1998)
 Attention span increases as students
become more proficient. (Kaake, 1983)

20. Reading Ability
 Typing is more than pressing buttons.
 Grouping letters into words.
 Reading creates a reason to type.

21. Curriculum
 Keyboarding needs to support curriculum
 Teach keyboarding 1 year before . . .
– use keyboarding
– computer applications (Texas Guidelines)
 Where in the curriculum?
– Teach independently (Bartholome, 1996)
– Integrate as communication (Waner, Behymer,
& McCrary, 1992)

22. How Fast is Enough?
 Upper elementary students write at
– 11 wpm
 Should be able to type faster than write
 Enter information into a dynamic writing
environment
 Allow for editing and revising

23. How long is the lesson?
 Students typically receive < 10 hours
– Sormunen, 1991
 50 hours over 3 elementary years
– Boone (ND)
 35 minutes/day for 4 weeks
– Robinson (1991)
 Review periodically
– 15 hours/year
– Robinson (1992)
 Once taught
– Use, reinforce, and refine
– Texas Guidelines, 1987; Adams, 1984; Wronkovich,
1998)

24. Hunt-Peck vs. Touch Typing
 Familiarity important at young ages
 Build familiarity through
– 5-minute practice sessions
(Kahn & Freyd, 1990)
– Use typing for writing
(Kahn & Freyd, 1990)
– Playground Keyboarding
(Zeitz, 2003)

25. BUT Familiarity CAN
Spawn Hunt-&-Peck
 Relies too much on visual feedback
 Too much attention to fingers
 Builds bad habits
Can you teach
familiarity w/o
a keyboard?

26. Familiarity w/o a Keyboard
Playground Keyboarding

27. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Experiment Layout
– Two third grade classes
• One with playground keyboarding
(experimental)
• One without playground keyboarding
(control)
• Identical computer lab instruction
• Connection between kinesthetic learning
and keyboarding achievement

28. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Build familiarity with keyboarding
– Develop habits of:
• Good posture
• Keyboarding technique
• Make keyboarding a reflexive response
• Speed and accuracy will follow

29. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Crucial first week
– Lay foundation for safe and proper
keyboarding
• Learn correct posture
• Hand shape
• Homerow orientation
• Finger technique

30. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Posture
– Connected good keyboarding posture to
good batting stance
– PowerPoint (link)
 Ready, set, go!
– Made it fun

31. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Key familiarity
– Air Typing (2 minutes each class)
• Used to introduce new keys
• Looky Lou Keyboard

32. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Textbook exercises
– Practice
– Review
– Assess
• 60 seconds
• Recorded on progress
report

33. Playground Keyboarding - In
the Computer Lab
 Reinforcement
– 10% instruction, 90%
reinforcement (Keyboard
Instructor manual)
– N.O.P.E.C.K Bucks
• Good posture, etc.
• No peeking
– No Peeky Towel

34. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 No Peeky Towel
– Forced them to not
look at keys
– Helped develop
memory
– Eliminated visual
cues

35. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Scheduling
– Shoot for four or five days a week
(Keyboard Instructor manual)
– We were able to do 2 days a week
• 20 minutes each day
• Not enough time

36. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Computer Lab
 Results!
– Mixed
 Control Group
– Increased 1.5 wpm from beginning
 Experimental Group
– Increased 1.8 wpm from beginning

37. Playground Keyboarding -
In Physical Education
Lori Smith

38. Playground Keyboarding -
In the Classroom
Aricia Beckman - PLS - 4th Grade
Keyboardinstructor.com

39. Happy Keyboarding
Keyboarding Research
and Resources
http://www.keyboardingreseach.org