Keys to the Future

"Students learn best when reading and writing are meaningful to them," says Sulzby. "Writing with the keyboard and then reading what you've written makes all the drill and practice meaningful." However, even seventh graders may have difficulty learning keyboard skills, especially if they haven't been involved in a good writing program in their schools.

Some third and fourth grade teachers are reluctant to teach basic keyboard skills and practice sessions for 30 to 45 minutes a day because of the other demands placed on them. Joanne Troutner, who wrote about media specialists' involvement in PC keyboarding instruction in 1983, and who is today director of media and technology for the Tippecanoe School Corporation in Lafayette, IN, says media specialists are perfect in helping teachers decide what curriculum units can be replaced with keyboarding lessons. (She recommends, for example, that the amount of handwriting instruction be reduced. "We're actively involved in the 'big picture' of the curriculum and can help teachers see the bits of curriculum [that are] no longer as important as they were in the past," Troutner says. "We'll always be writing things down on paper but we'll be typing a lot more."

The days of just teaching typing at the high school level are over, says Troutner. She's surprised that so many high school business education teachers still believe it's their preserve alone to teach typing, a misconception that has prevented many fourth- to eighth-grade teachers from adding keyboarding instruction to their curriculum.

Although the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) require that students be able to "apply basic keyboarding techniques" by the end of the fifth grade, the student guidelines have only been adopted by 30 of the states and are subject to different interpretations, says NETS project director LaJeane Thomas of Louisiana Tech University. "The sixth- to eighth-grade NETS don't mention keyboarding skills; they assume that students know how [to type]," says Thomas. But because curriculum is set at the state and district levels, how kids learn those skills, and how much time they spend applying them, is decided locally.

What's the best software for fledgling keyboarders in grades three and up? Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Software Revue, recently ran a test of popular keyboarding applications used in schools and recommends Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing from Broderbund, which is now in Version 15. He also recommends Typing Instructor Deluxe from Individual Software, and Sunburst's Type to Learn 3, which are nicely designed, have excellent tutorials, and can assess keyboarding speed. "A good solid keyboarding program can drill out the bad habits," Buckleitner says, adding that his recommendations are highly visual and can demonstrate the position of fingers. Troutner also recommends Mavis Beacon and Type to Learn, along with All the Right Type from Ingenuity Works. "These programs work whenever the kids are ready to learn, and they're fun," she says. "One of the most important things about teaching typing is not to turn the kids off."