It’s a computer dominated world, and we are all living in it. And while typing was once a useful career skill for the workplace, it has now become a must-have for all learners. According to experts, the hunt and peck technique interferes with the natural flow of thoughts, which, in turn, can impede learning. That’s where touch typing comes in and why we’re so excited to share this KidzType review with you! So, what is touch typing? Touch typing is the act of typing quickly without using your sight to determine the keys. It also refers to using all ten fingers without removing them from the keyboard, but rather sliding them. This makes for efficient and fast typing skills.
So what is KidzType? KidzType is an online, touch-typing platform that includes lessons, games, exercises, practice and a finger chart to provide kids with the essential skills of keyboarding. It is geared specifically to the unique needs of young users. At the same time, the program is made simple for parents who are overseeing those educational efforts.
When you first land at KidzType, the homepage is full of Dance Mat Typing activities. You might be wondering what those are! Dance Mat Typing is an interactive game that easily takes you through the introduction, tutorials, and basics of how to touch type. It has different levels and different stages so users can learn how to touch type in a step-by-step manner. It’s great for beginners. The game uses colorful cartoons that interact and communicate with the players, easily guiding them through all the stages of touch typing. The game teaches you how to use the letter keys, basic punctuation marks, and even how to capitalize words, all while touch typing. Kids start by practicing hitting the keys f and j before moving on to asdfg and ;lkjh. The level one activities end with kids writing words using these letters. Words such as sentences like this: dad had a salad. The final level of the Dance Mat teaches the shift key.
What I love most about the Dance Mat typing is you can see the fingers you’re supposed to use next to the keyboard. The fingers and keys are color-coded so kids can easily see which finger goes with which key! The Dance Mat Typing segments are, in essence, interactive typing methods that use colors and eye-catching graphics. The tutorials begin with home-row key familiarity and each of the following segments building on the last, so kids learn letter keys, basic punctuation and capitalization. The games incorporate cartoons that engage students. Students even learn proper posture and hand and wrist positioning to help ensure they are not developing any health issues from hunching over a keyboard.
KidzType also includes typing lessons that move at a slower rate than the Dance Mat games. The first lesson begins with only the J, F, enter, and space bar. And kids can pick their time! You can practice typing for 1, 2, or 3 minutes. And as you’re working, the key you need to hit shows up in blue. The lessons include the home row, top row, bottom row, shift keys, numbers, and symbols.
And if you don’t think the exercises and lessons include enough practice, KidzType also includes a page devoted to typing practice. Your child will begin by practicing the home row keys before moving on to the other rows. This is helpful to create memorization of the keyboard and where each key resides.
The practice exercises continue through the shift key, numbers, and symbols. Then the practice exercises introduce sentences. Finally, kids get plenty of practice writing paragraphs.
Again kids can choose between 1, 2, and 3-minute practice sessions.
One thing I love so much about KidzType is that it teaches touch typing through games, rather than just drills. Because how are ninjas and zombies not a million times more fun than that lame quick brown fox and lazy dog? We all know that when kids are engaged and having fun, that is where the learning magic happens! I saw my kids having FUN while learning and that makes this momma’s heart happy.
For example, the Type Rocket game provides kids practice typing individual keys on rockets that explode into fireworks on the screen. My older kids loved this game. They found it fun and challenging at the same time.
The younger kids loved popping balloons in Typing Balloon. It’s at a great level for beginning typists as all you need to do is type the letter rather than typing an entire word.
